Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 258: "Mrs. Harrison.

Ryan Sterling was tall, and his hands were large. As his hand closed over hers, his well-defined fingers immediately locked tight.

Rory Linden reacted instantly, snatching her hand back and jumping to her feet!

The living room fell silent.

Ryan Sterling’s hand froze in mid-air. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened.

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Ms. Rory. I thought I was dreaming!"

Ryan Sterling was wide awake now. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He’d had a dream last night—a dream about Rory Linden.

He had opened his eyes in a daze, half-asleep and half-awake, and saw her right in front of him.

In that instant, he had been completely unable to distinguish dream from reality.

He’d fully believed he was still in the dream.

And had acted on his deepest impulse.

The woman’s shocked expression and reaction were what finally yanked him back to reality.

Rory knew Ryan must have been groggy with sleep.

She was incredibly embarrassed herself, regretting her unnecessary gesture of covering him with a blanket.

"...It’s fine. Sorry to have troubled you last night. If you’re not fully awake, you can sleep a little longer."

Rory knew Ryan had only stayed because he was worried about Leo.

It was so early; it wouldn’t be right to kick him out the moment she got back.

In truth, Ryan was desperate to leave immediately.

But he was young, and he was currently experiencing a certain morning phenomenon common in young men.

He was even silently grateful that Rory had covered him with a blanket.

Otherwise, the awkward situation around his waist would have made him want to find a hole to crawl into and hide.

"I’ll, uh, I’ll just rest a little longer. I’ll leave in a bit."

The tips of Ryan’s ears turned red as he spoke.

Logically, it was a normal physiological phenomenon. As a doctor, Rory would certainly understand and wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

But he still felt mortified and couldn’t summon the courage to throw off the blanket and leave just yet.

When Rory had first come in, she’d only given him a cursory glance and hadn’t noticed anything.

But now, seeing the way Ryan was awkwardly clutching the blanket, she guessed what was going on...

"Then you should get some more sleep. I’m going to grab some water and get some rest too. You can just leave whenever you wake up."

Rory picked up a glass and got some warm water from the water dispenser in the dining area.

The apartment had a large open-plan living and dining room.

Ryan wasn’t the least bit sleepy now. Trying to distract himself, he searched for a topic. "Ms. Rory, um... have you been in surgery this whole time?"

"Mhm."

Rory downed a large glass of water.

Ryan asked again, "What kind of surgery?"

After finishing the glass, Rory clearly felt it wasn’t enough and refilled it partway.

Over the sound of the running water, she answered, "To put it simply, an artificial heart transplant."

"They have artificial hearts now?"

"Mhm, they’ve been around for a while. They were developed abroad first, and then domestically. They’re quite expensive."

"I see... What does an artificial heart look like? Is it very different from a person’s original heart?"

Ryan had just woken up and his mind was still a little fuzzy, so he asked whatever came to mind.

Rory noticeably slowed her drinking. "The principle is the same, but the appearance is different. There are several generations, and the choice depends on the patient’s condition. You can look up the specifics yourself."

"Oh..." Ryan pursed his lips, then asked, "By the way, I have a friend with Marfan syndrome. She mentioned to me a while ago that her heart was bothering her. Can I have her come see you?"

"Sure. Just have her book an appointment with me through our hospital’s app." Rory put down her glass. "I’m going to bed."

As the master bedroom door clicked shut, the living room fell silent once more.

Ryan threw off the blanket, feeling a little relieved that he was wearing slacks, which weren’t too revealing.

What if he’d decided it was too much trouble last night and just come over in sweatpants after changing at home...

Rory would have definitely noticed when she came in.

Still, the slacks didn’t hide it completely.

The more Ryan thought about it, the more embarrassed he became. He couldn’t stand to stay in the apartment a second longer, so he got up and left.

-

Rory didn’t wake up until noon.

She changed her clothes and went straight to the hospital.

Charlotte Rhodes was already awake.

Rory went to her room to check on her condition. "Auntie Rhodes, the surgery was a success. You’ll need to stay in the ICU for a few days, and once your condition allows, you can be transferred to a regular ward. Evan Hollis will be able to visit you then."

Charlotte Rhodes was extremely weak. She lay still, merely shifting her gaze to Rory as she said:

"It’s all thanks to Evan’s persistence that I decided to transfer hospitals and have you perform the surgery. It seems listening to him was the right choice..."

Rory’s expression flickered with surprise.

She had thought transferring was Charlotte’s own decision, not a suggestion from Evan.

When she and Evan were colleagues, she had only been an assistant to Keith Hawthorne.

They hadn’t worked together in five years. Why did he have so much faith in her?

Normally, even for a fast-track surgeon, five years was not enough experience to be ready for this kind of surgery. They’d still be considered too green.

Rory suspected Evan had ulterior motives.

’Could it be...’

’Evan’s goal was for the surgery to fail, for Charlotte to die on the operating table?’

Looking at Charlotte, Rory smiled. "Thankfully, the surgery was a success. I didn’t betray your trust."

"I don’t trust you, but I trust my son."

Charlotte averted her gaze, her voice weak but firm.

Having survived a close call with death, she no longer felt the need to hide the fact that she saw Evan as her son.

’This is absurd,’ Rory thought.

’If Charlotte ever found out that this "son" of hers was the cause of all this, I wonder what her reaction would be. What she’d say, what she’d do.’

’That’s a question only time could answer.’

Rory said, "Please get some rest. I have another surgery soon."

For the next two days, Charlotte remained in the intensive care unit, with doctors taking turns on duty to monitor her condition around the clock.

Rory also worked nonstop at the hospital for two days.

When she got tired, she would nap for a bit in the on-call room.

It wasn’t until Leo’s birthday that Rory finally left work early. She went home, changed into a nice outfit, put on some light makeup, and then went to pick Leo up from school.

When she arrived at the kindergarten gate, it wasn’t yet time for dismissal.

After the kidnapping incident, many parents from the summer program had learned of Rory’s identity.

She had just arrived when...

"Mrs. Harrison! It’s rare to see you picking up your child."

One of the other children’s mothers walked over, greeting her with an easy familiarity.