The Night Before

Sean's inner struggle lasted only a brief moment.

In that brief moment, he let go of his qualms over seven lives.

He arrived outside Christine Palmer's office and knocked on the door.

Christine was tidying up her desk, with a cardboard box beside her.

They seemed to be her personal belongings. She was finding a suitable place for each item.

"White... Doctor."

Christine hesitated over how to address Sean, because she had learned that although her boss bore the title of doctor, he was not actually qualified to practice medicine.

"About what happened earlier..."

"It's all right. I work in surgery. Things like that aren't uncommon."

Christine's smile was so sweet that it struck Sean straight in the heart.

He awkwardly licked his lips, unable to find anything to say for a moment.

"I heard from Linda that the clinic can provide accommodation. Is that true?"

Sean nodded. "Yes, but the conditions aren't great for now. There are only three suites upstairs. If you don't mind..."

"Of course I don't! Apartments in Manhattan are far too expensive. This will save me a lot of money. Thank you, Dr. White."

"It's only right. After all, I promised."

After saying that, Sean took his leave. He quickly left Christine's office, his brow deeply furrowed.

What was that feeling?

Was it the feeling of being attracted to someone?

As someone who had a girlfriend, he felt that something was wrong with his state of mind!

Very wrong!

He could covet her body, but he absolutely could not fall for her heart! Right! That was how it was!

Sean discovered that talking himself through it was pretty effective!

So it wasn't just stress relief that came easily~

He had to remember this and use it more often!

Come to think of it... where had that little Polaris gone?

Linda Carter and the new nurse, Claire Temple, were inventorying medical equipment and medicine. Seeing that they were busy, Sean did not disturb them.

He simply wandered up to the second floor.

The moment he went up, he saw that one bedroom door was open. When he walked in, he found the bathroom door wide open, with a slender figure standing beneath the shower and rinsing her hair.

"..."

Should he take a few more looks? That firewood figure of hers~

Why were there especially many temptations today?

Could all the annoying things that had happened today be because the flowers blooming inside the wall smelled sweeter outside it?

"Ahem, ahem~"

Polaris turned around when she heard him cough. Once she saw that it was Sean, she had no particular reaction. She simply turned back around and continued washing her hair.

Only then did Sean notice Polaris's hair color.

Black.

After glancing at the black water that had not yet drained away on the floor, he realized that the girl had dyed her hair black.

Sean pulled the bedroom door shut for Polaris and felt rather bored.

Inside the bathroom, Polaris's face turned bright red.

She cursed Sean endlessly in her heart.

Shouldn't someone quietly leave when they saw another person bathing? Did he have to remind her that he had seen her bathing?

Ah, this was so annoying!

Thinking of how Sean had seen her, she could not help touching her own butt.

That only made her even more irritated.

At eight o'clock that night, the clinic closed on schedule.

There was too much work to do tonight. Forget about the night shift.

"Dr. White, I'm getting off work now. I'll move in tomorrow."

Christine said to Sean.

"No problem, Dr. Palmer. The room has been kept for you."

"Just call me Chris."

"I'd rather call you Christine. I like the name Christine."

Sean's words made Christine pause slightly before she laughed.

"Of course you can."

That woman's smile was far too sweet, sweet enough to melt into someone's heart.

Tsk~ Sean felt that he might be in danger—the kind of danger where he could fall at any moment.

"What are you looking at?"

Linda Carter came over to Sean's side at that moment. She even tilted her head to look in the direction Sean had been watching.

"Mm~ I was thinking about something."

"Would you like to tell me about it?"

"No."

Sean rolled his eyes and urged Linda to hurry up and clean the rooms.

Wasn't it enough for her to be a nurse? Why was she worrying about her boss?

After spending so much time with Sean, Linda had naturally come to understand some of his personality.

She felt that her boss was not difficult to get along with. It was just that his temper could be a little strange sometimes.

For example, when he dealt with Dr. Ava Ellis, Linda found Sean's attitude particularly odd.

Dr. Ava Ellis was an especially seductive woman. Even Linda, as a woman herself, found it difficult to resist her charm.

Yet Dr. White's attitude toward Ava Ellis was nothing like a man's attitude toward a seductive woman.

It was more like he was dealing with a subordinate who annoyed him.

But Ava Ellis always acted like she was desperately fawning over Dr. White.

Even though she hit a wall every time, she never tired of it. That made Linda Carter deeply suspicious of their relationship.

"The other nurse we arranged to meet today probably won't be able to come. But another nurse contacted me."

Linda said to Sean.

"You decide."

"All right. The professional certificates and work history she provided are all in order. If you don't object, we'll hire her."

"We?"

"Yes! We! Me, Nurse Claire Temple, Dr. Ava, and Dr. Christine Palmer—we all think so."

"Okay~ I'll say it again: you decide. And while we're at it, move your luggage to the clinic tomorrow too."

Sean was not sure whether Kingpin or the others had given up, so Linda's safety still needed to be considered.

"But my home is in Manhattan."

Linda found it strange.

Sean half-squinted and glanced at her. He did not need to say anything; Linda already knew what she should choose.

"Okay~ Dr. White."

"Have the procedures for that plot of land been completed?"

"The contract has been signed. We'll transfer the title tomorrow. What do we need that land for?"

Linda could not understand the point of spending several million on a residential plot.

"How about employee housing?"

"Ah?"

This boss had to have gone crazy!

Linda thought uneasily.

"What are you 'ah'-ing for? I'm going home. Watch the door."

"Yes, yes~"

Sean did not have Yuriko drive him. Instead, he walked to the bookstore, intending to catch a ride with Vanessa.

Unfortunately, when he arrived at the bookstore, he saw Lauren Strucker closing up. After asking, he learned that Vanessa had not come to work at all that day.

Watching Lauren drive away with a hint of envy, Sean could only walk home by himself.

Come to think of it~ was that girl even eighteen yet?

What he did not notice was that more than one group of people had been following him along the way.

The moment Sean returned home, he obediently went into the bathroom to clean himself up, then headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Although cooking was not a skill he excelled at, Sean still had some basic ability. At the very least, preparing a simple dinner was no problem.

American food... honestly, it could not get much simpler.

After finishing all that, he went to the bedroom.

Just as expected, Vanessa was still sleeping under the covers~

Sean mischievously reached his hand beneath the blanket and started kneading at random.

Vanessa woke up from his teasing and turned over with a frown.

"Oh? You even use Elektra when you sleep? Are you hinting that she's a lazy girl?"

Sean laughed when he saw Vanessa in Elektra's form, casually running his hands over those long legs a few times~

Not bad to the touch~

Vanessa looked at him strangely and slightly opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Sean sealed her lips with his own.