Suddenly There Are Three (Bailey and Artemis)

Chapter 148

Great, just great! You're the lord and master here, okay?

As though resigned to her fate, Bailey snagged a spoon from the table. Taking a spoonful of warm

water, she held it to his mouth.

“Open up. Otherwise, I'm going to pinch your nose and force it down your throat.”

Artemis' thin lips turned up, curving into a faint smile.

He loved seeing her all aggrieved because she had to relent for his sake. It gave him a sense of

accomplishment that had him feeling better than if he had signed a multi-billion contract.

The urge to rip him into pieces seized Bailey.

What a cunning fox! How shameless!

After feeding him a few spoonfuls of warm water, she eyed him coldly and growled, “For the sake of

forcing me to pick up the scalpel again to perform a craniotomy on your grandfather, you even went as

far as setting me up and risking your life. You're really Old Mr. Chivers' good grandson. Your filial piety

is touching beyond words, Artemis!”

Artemis lifted his eyes to her, the expression on his face grim. “You think I only set you up because of

my grandfather?” he asked in a hiss.

At that, Bailey was momentarily startled.

She didn't want to give so much thought to certain things, such as his feelings for her.

Lowering her head a fraction, she dodged his dark and unfathomable gaze. Then, she countered

placidly, “What other reason could there be if not for your grandfather's sake when you went as far as

risking your own life? Artemis, you're a businessman, so benefits are most important to you.

Meanwhile, the greatest advantage of you doing this is me picking up the scalpel again to save your

grandfather's life.”

In response, Artemis snorted coldly. “You overestimated my sensibility and filial piety. If it were only for

my grandfather's sake, I wouldn't have risked my life. Do you not have a heart, Bailey? Do you really

have no idea about my feelings for you—”

All of a sudden, he couldn't catch his breath. Clutching his chest, he started coughing violently, perhaps

because he was overly emotional.

Upon seeing that, Bailey hastily leaned over and patted him on the back. “Okay, okay, I'll stop arguing

with you. Calm down so that you don't pull on your wound.”

Artemis snapped, grabbing her arm before flipping over without warning, pinning her on the bed.

After that, he plastered his broad and muscular chest against her upper body without allowing the

tiniest gap between them.

Shocked, Bailey barked, “Have you lost your mind, Artemis? H-How dare you make such a drastic

move when you've only just gotten off the operating table?”

Having said that, she quickly reached out to touch his back. When her palm came into contact with a

sticky substance, her expression immediately darkened.

The man's wound had reopened and was presently oozing blood nonstop.

“You've ripped open your wound, and now it's seeping blood. Get up first. We'll talk again after I suture

it back closed, okay?”

Regretfully, Artemis ignored her. He hugged her around the waist tightly, his jet-black eyes locked onto

her face, which had anxiety etched across her features.

Well, she has some conscience at least, to be this worried and concerned about me.

“Let me hug you for a while,” he whispered into her ear.

Enraged, Bailey reached out to shove at his shoulder.

When her hand made contact with his shirt, however, she suddenly withdrew her hand.

If I were to push him off, his heart would probably suffer more trauma, likely putting his d*mn life in

danger.

“Mr. Luther, we're both adults, so could we do something age-appropriate? Your wound has reopened,

so I've got to suture it back again. Can you... understand me?”

Artemis didn't reply to that. Instead, he reached out and caressed her exquisite face. In a hoarse voice,

he asserted, “I only cooked up such an elaborate ploy in hopes that you'd be able to walk out of your

traumatic past under tremendous pressure. That was all.”

Bailey's brows furrowed slightly. She glared at him with pursed lips, saying nothing at all.

Alas, Artemis was exceedingly determined. He was stubbornly resolved to have her understand his

true intentions. “Be good and repeat after me that I only set you up and forced your hand to help you

break free from your trauma.”

Bailey averted her face, and her body started trembling slightly.

What would it mean if I were to say that? It would mean that I understand his intentions and are tacitly

acknowledging his feelings for me. I've tried so hard to keep a distance from him, but I never expected

fate to bind us together time and again without allowing me any room to resist.

Seeing as she wasn't speaking, Artemis quirked an eyebrow. He stretched out atop her and rested his

head against her shoulder, uttering airily, “Think about it first. I'll get up when you've made up your

mind.”

At once, Bailey was dumbfounded.

She gritted her teeth.

Does he have no shame that he's actually threatening me with his life? If I were to go with my temper, I

would kick him to the wall and get him lodged so deep that nothing could get him out!

Inhaling deeply, she repeated through clenched teeth, “To help me break free from my trauma and

stand before the operating table once more to repay Old Mr. Chivers the debt of gratitude I owe him,

you, Artemis Luther, went as far as risking your own life and putting tremendous pressure on me to

force my hand so that I could shatter the shackles of pain. I'm truly grateful for that... Mmph!”

Before she had finished speaking, a cool sensation traveled up from her lips. All her unspoken words NôvelDrama.Org owns this.

disappeared between the man's lips.

Her eyes went wide, and she gaped at his handsome face that was looming ever closer to her

incredulously.

This scoundrel actually kissed me! D*mn it! What the h*ll?

Chuckling lowly, Artemis reached out and clasped her chin, forcing her to part her lips.

In the next second, he dipped his head and captured her lips.

Wholly stupefied, Bailey even forgot to struggle.

It wasn't until her body had gone limp after an indeterminate time had passed that she abruptly jolted

back to her senses. She lifted her hand to slap him across the face.

What a scoundrel! He's simply a shameless rogue!

The expected smack didn't ring out. Instead, the man atop her restrained her hand the instant she lifted

it.

In the next heartbeat, the lips plastered against her pulled away. Free to obtain fresh air again, she

started taking big gulps.

“Let go of me, you scoundrel!”

Artemis extended a finger and brushed it across her lips which were red and swollen following his

ravishment. His voice hoarse, he murmured, “Didn't you enjoy it greatly earlier? Why are you mad all of

a sudden? Are all women this fickle?”

His remark had Bailey at a loss for words.

What the h*ll? How did he reckon that I was enjoying it greatly?

Suppressing her temper, Bailey kept consoling herself inwardly. Never mind, it's okay. Just regard it as

having been bitten by a dog. You can't possibly bite the animal in return just because it took a bite out

of you, can you?

After holding back the rage within her, she glowered at the man with a murderous look in her eyes.

“Why did you stop? You might as well go further and die on top of me,” she sneered.

Chortling, Artemis countered, “No, that won't do. This world is wonderful, so why would I be so

impulsive to give up my life? Besides, I've now discovered my greatest joy in life. How could I die just

like that?”

When he had finished saying that, he rolled off her. Perhaps the magnitude of his movement was too

great as he pulled on his wound, the pain so excruciating that he gasped.