I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 283

Xander paused.

In his nearly thirty years of life, this was the first time someone had ever asked him that.

Did it hurt? The concept was as foreign to him as a completely different language.

He slowly shook his head, his expression remaining perfectly unbothered. "It doesn't matter."

Nora had already stopped right in front of him. She leaned in slightly, her eyes fixed on the layers of gauze, the crease between her brows refusing to smooth out. "How could it not hurt? You got three stitches. Did you not get anesthesia?"

Xander shook his head. "No."

"It's just a minor scratch. Anesthesia would be a bit too dramatic for this."

Nora looked up at him, entirely disagreeing with his assessment.

Her tone turned serious. "How is that being dramatic? Getting sick or injured is never about being dramatic."

Xander stared at her, the faint smile on his lips faltering for a split second.

Then, he spoke slowly. "You're right. It didn't hurt much a moment ago, but it's suddenly starting to ache a little."

A surge of guilt washed over Nora. Just looking at the wound made her wince. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Harrison. You only got hurt because of me."

Xander seamlessly seized the opening, not holding back in the slightest. "So, do you want to thank me?"

Nora froze for a second, completely caught off guard by his bluntness. But on second thought, she really did owe him her gratitude, so she nodded. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

A half-smile graced Xander's lips. He hopped off the treatment bed and stood in front of her. Towering over her by nearly a head, he looked down. "I'm pretty hungry and I need to grab some food. Care to join me?"

Nora checked the time on her phone. The sample collection was nearing its end, and her team could handle the rest. She looked back up at him. "I'm almost done here. Let's go together when I wrap up."

Xander nodded, mentioning he still had a bit of work to finish up nearby anyway. He pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it in front of her. "Call me when you're done?"

As Nora pushed the door open, they took turns reporting their progress.

Everything was fully collected without any omissions. A few of the younger patients had tricky veins, but overall, it had been a smooth run.

Nora nodded after listening to the debrief. "Great job, everyone. You've all worked hard. Take the afternoon off to get some rest."

The conference room fell dead silent for two solid seconds.

One of the researchers' eyes widened as a pen slipped from their fingers and clattered onto the table.

A junior team member whipped their head around to look at her, an expression of utter shock painting their face. "Director Newman, did you just say... rest?"

Nora swept her gaze over the room and chuckled. "What, do I have something on my face? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

The junior researcher chimed right in. "Are you kidding? You are full of surprises today, Director. You, the ultimate workaholic, actually know the word 'rest'?"