Seeing that he wasn’t saying much, Rowan Linden didn’t press the issue. He smiled and said, "In any case, as long as you two are getting along well now, that’s all that matters."

With that, he pulled his hands from his pockets, took two more steps to the bedside, and bent over to check the wound. He saw no signs of blood seeping through and straightened up, but still looked worried as he launched into another lecture.

"Your wound doesn’t seem to be a major problem right now, but you have to remember not to overexert yourself, no matter what you’re doing. You don’t want to pull at the wound and cause it to tear open again. Don’t put pressure on it, don’t bump it against anything, and don’t let it get wet..."

He rattled off a long list of instructions before finally stopping. What could he do? It was a professional hazard; the doctor in him took over whenever he saw a patient.

Seth Quinn didn’t seem impatient with the incessant nagging. He just raised an eyebrow slightly, waiting for him to finish.

As his friend, he understood him and knew he meant well.

Still, whenever Rowan’s professional habits kicked in, Seth Quinn couldn’t help but find him a little fussy.

He glanced down with a faint smile, wondering if a girlfriend would find Rowan’s fussiness annoying or feel incredibly blessed by it.

Then he suddenly remembered: Clara had mentioned wanting to introduce Sarah Shelby to him.

’Sarah Shelby and Rowan Linden?’

’One is active, the other is quiet. One is impulsive, the other is calm and patient. Their personalities would actually complement each other perfectly.’

"What are you lost in thought about now?" Rowan Linden asked, seeing him fall silent again with his head bowed in a smile. He couldn’t resist waving a hand in front of Seth’s eyes.

’The bullet hit his back, not his brain. So why does he keep zoning out like this?’

Seth Quinn looked up at him. "I was thinking about you and Sar—"

Before he could finish, the hospital room door swung open, interrupting him. Both men turned toward the entrance in unison. It was Clara Grant, her expression calm and composed once more.

Clara Grant walked to the side of the bed and stopped. Before she could say a word, Seth Quinn spoke first, his words aimed at Rowan Linden. "Perfect timing. You can apologize to my wife."

Clara froze, taken aback by his words. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out why he was telling Dr. Linden to apologize to her.

Rowan Linden, however, understood immediately. Seeing how completely devoted to his wife Seth had become, he could only shake his head with a helpless, soft laugh.

But after his laugh, he turned to Clara with a serious expression and said sincerely, "He’s right. I should be the one apologizing. Clara, I’m sorry. I lied to you about Cherie’s illness."

Clara had been upset with him before, thinking that a doctor shouldn’t make light of something like that, but his sincere, unhesitating apology actually made her feel a little embarrassed. She waved her hands dismissively. "Dr. Linden, it wasn’t your fault."

As she spoke, she shot a glare at Seth Quinn and said irritably, "The one to blame is the mastermind. You were just forced to go along with him."

Seth Quinn: "..."

’All I did was try to stand up for my wife. How did I end up in the line of fire?’

"No, no, I was still in the wrong," Rowan insisted. "As a doctor, I violated my ethical code, and I went against my own personal principles. So it’s only right that I apologize to you."

Rowan insisted on apologizing. He had been feeling guilty for deceiving her, and now that the truth was finally out in the open, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

...

After Rowan Linden left, the more Clara thought about it, the more she felt he was a genuinely good man. He took responsibility and wasn’t afraid to admit his mistakes—a good man a woman could spend the rest of her life with.

"Dr. Linden really is a great guy," Clara said as she sat by the bed, peeling an apple. "I need to find a chance to introduce Sarah to him, and soon, before someone else snatches him up. Good men like him are a rare find these days; they’re in high demand. If I were still single, I’d have my eye on him, too."