Chapter 568 - 564: You Look More Convincing

Emeric Grant’s question almost made Ethan Sterling jump out of his skin.

He spun around in alarm, shaking his head and waving his hands frantically. "Doctor, you can’t just say things like that! I’m her brother!"

Emeric Grant looked at Cecilia Sterling, who just smiled faintly and nodded in confirmation. "Her biological brother."

Upon hearing this, a look of understanding dawned on Emeric Grant’s face. He then pursed his handsome lips, seeming to want to say something but holding back.

Cecilia stared right at him, sensing he had something on his mind.

But before Emeric could speak, a young nurse from the workstation approached with the newly prepared medication. "Dr. Grant, your medicine is ready."

Emeric took it from her with a word of thanks, then turned to Cecilia to take his leave. "Well, I’ll get back to my work now."

Since he didn’t say anything, Cecilia naturally didn’t press him.

Ethan Sterling watched Emeric Grant leave with a strange look in his eyes, then turned to his sister. "Is he a friend of yours, sis?"

’A friend?’

Cecilia shook her head. "No, he’s the doctor who delivered my sister-in-law’s baby. We’ve just met a few times."

Ethan furrowed his brow, looking puzzled. "Didn’t it seem like he wanted to say something to you just now?"

"You could tell, too?"

"Yeah, he looked like he was about to say something but then stopped." Ethan pouted, and then his eyes widened. "I know! He’s into you, isn’t he?"

His voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either, and it was enough to make two young nurses—who had already taken notice of Cecilia when Dr. Grant came over to talk—glance in their direction.

Cecilia gave a helpless smile. "Of course not."

She didn’t think Dr. Grant was interested in her. And given the situation, whatever he had held back was definitely not going to be a confession of love.

She didn’t know what he wanted to say, but she was sure it had nothing to do with him liking her.

"I think he is! You’re so beautiful, it’s totally normal for guys to like you. Wyatt Sherman fell for you at first sight!" Ethan said with great conviction.

"That doesn’t mean every guy who sees me is going to fall in love at first sight. I can sense whether someone is interested in me or not, and Dr. Grant isn’t," Cecilia explained earnestly.

Seeing her expression, Ethan could only nod. "Alright, fine."

Cecilia watched him sit down beside her and couldn’t help but ask with a smile, "Why do you look so disappointed? Are you afraid I’ll be single for too long? No downtime allowed?"

"Of course not." Ethan looked at his sister with a serious expression. "Quite the opposite, actually. I don’t think anyone is good enough for you. Saul Thorne is barely acceptable, I guess. Wyatt Sherman is nice too, but he’s just... missing something."

"What about that doctor just now? What do you think of him?"

"Don’t know him, so no comment."

"You’re surprisingly rational." Cecilia patted the back of her brother’s head. "Open this water for me, will you? I’m dying of thirst over here."

"Oh, right."

Two hours later, after her IV drip was finished, Cecilia felt her energy had completely returned, and her fever was gone.

Laughing and joking with her brother, she walked out of the infusion hall. When she looked up, she saw Emeric Grant standing by the corridor wall, clearly waiting for her on purpose.

When Emeric Grant saw Cecilia emerge, he instinctively straightened up.

Cecilia was sharp. ’Looks like he’s planning to say what he held back earlier,’ she thought. She turned to her brother and said in a low voice, "Why don’t you go down to the garage and wait for me in the car?"

Ethan glanced at Emeric Grant before nodding lightly. "Okay."

Once Ethan had left, Cecilia walked right up to him, openly curious. "So, Dr. Grant? Do you need a favor from me?"

A flash of surprise crossed Emeric’s eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

Cecilia’s lips curved into a smile. "What other reason could you have for seeking me out? It’s not like you’re about to confess your undying love or diagnose me with a terminal illness just by looking at me, right?"

Her words coaxed a smile out of him.

He looked at Cecilia and nodded lightly. Since she’d already figured it out, there was no reason to be awkward about it. He got straight to the point. "I know we don’t even have a doctor-patient relationship, let alone a friendship, so I realize asking you for a favor out of the blue is rather presumptuous and abrupt."

"It’s okay if you’re not willing. I’d understand."

Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "Let’s hear what it is first. Then I’ll consider whether or not to agree."

She was quite curious herself what kind of favor Dr. Grant could possibly need from her.

’From his perspective, he probably knows nothing about me except that I’m attractive, right?’

Emeric didn’t beat around the bush. He opened his mouth and said, "I’d like to ask you to be my girlfriend."

"Huh?"

Cecilia’s eyes went wide, nearly popping out of her head.

"No, no, that’s not what I mean." Realizing his poor choice of words, Emeric quickly clarified, "I’m asking you to pretend to be my girlfriend."

"Oh..." Cecilia’s mouth formed an ’o’ of understanding.

’What a false alarm,’ she thought. ’And here I was, thinking a handsome boyfriend had just fallen into my lap.’

Seeing that Cecilia had no further reaction, Emeric continued, "I know it’s a bit forward, but I really can’t find anyone suitable. A friend of mine suggested one of those online ’rent-a-girlfriend’ services, but I don’t think that’s very reliable."

"The reason is, my family..."

"Then why did you choose me?" Cecilia interrupted his explanation, looking at him seriously.

Emeric looked back at Cecilia and answered just as seriously, "Because I think you’re beautiful. It’s more convincing that way!"

Cecilia was instantly delighted. "Your reason is also very convincing. Perfectly logical."

A smile spread across Emeric’s face as he asked uncertainly, "So... is that a yes? It’s just for one day!"

He had a family event he couldn’t get out of, and he had to bring a girlfriend home because he’d been telling everyone he already had one to fend off the various blind dates his family kept arranging.

"What are the physical boundaries?" Cecilia asked suddenly.

Her question completely stumped him. Emeric stared blankly for two seconds before managing a sound. "Huh?"

"I mean, how far do we have to take the act? Linking arms, holding hands, an arm around the waist or shoulders, that sort of thing..." Cecilia explained.

She was asking in all seriousness, not trying to tease him.

But Emeric hadn’t thought about the physical aspect at all and had no idea how to define the limits on the spot.

"I think you should be the one to decide. No matter what, I have to respect your wishes. After all, you’re the one helping me with this act."

"I don’t have a problem with it. If you’re going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. If we get exposed, all our effort would be for nothing, right?" Cecilia said openly.

Not expecting Cecilia to agree so readily, Emeric was grateful and expressed his thanks with great sincerity. "Thank you. I can pay you for your time."

Cecilia immediately waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, that’s not necessary."

"How could I not? I can’t let you do all this for nothing. Besides, in a situation like this, you’re at a bit of a disadvantage as a woman." Emeric’s tone was sincere. There would inevitably be some physical contact, and since Cecilia was a woman helping him out, he felt a little embarrassed about it.

But Cecilia replied in earnest, "I don’t feel like I’m at a disadvantage. I’m beautiful, and you’re not bad-looking either. We can just treat it like a game of being a couple for a day. Just for one day, we’ll act like we’re a real couple. That’s the only way it’ll feel authentic!"

Emeric stared at Cecilia without blinking. Why did he get the feeling she was even more excited about this than he was?