Chapter 3 I Said You're Responsible

Jeff?

Aydan's eyebrows knitted together at once.

He understood all too well the influence Jeff carried, but the problem was that he didn't want this situation known to anyone-anyone at all-other than the woman standing in front of him.

The Dixon family's sprawling business world was tangled with hidden alliances and quiet rivalries, and as the designated successor, every step he took was watched, dissected, and judged.

This secret-one that struck directly at his pride as a man-could be seized by adversaries and used to destabilize his standing within Dixon Group if even the faintest hint escaped.

Under no circumstances could it reach the ears of the Dixon family's private medical staff.

Those physicians answered to the entire family, and there was no way to know where their loyalties truly lay. Confidentiality simply didn't exist with them.

That was precisely why Hugh had arranged for Aydan to see his trusted confidant in the first place.

And yet, his most humiliating and deeply personal truth had already been uncovered by this woman named Ximena.

Involving Jeff now would only multiply the danger.

More importantly, the full evaluation-from the initial checks to the final verdict-had been carried out by her alone.

To start over with another doctor who knew nothing, and endure that degrading ordeal once more?

The mere idea sent Aydan's anger surging dangerously close to eruption.

"These are for you." Ximena gathered several pages, along with the medical file and lab reports, slipped them into a manila folder, and passed it to him. "Mr. Dixon, everything is here. You can bring these to Dr. Barnes tomorrow."

After that, she glanced at her watch, rose from her seat, and shrugged out of her white coat.

"I'm done for the day." She lifted her bag, clearly intending to head out.

Aydan didn't reach for the folder on the table. Instead, he raised his eyes and locked them onto her. "You're not leaving."

Ximena halted, turning back with clear confusion in her expression. "Mr. Dixon, my shift is over."

"I said you're not leaving." Aydan stood, his tall frame radiating an oppressive force as he moved toward her.

The consultation room door slammed behind him, and he even turned the lock.

The already narrow room instantly filled with strain and hostility.

Ximena frowned. She had dealt with her fair share of difficult patients, but none who radiated such overwhelming dominance paired with such erratic conduct.

Folding her arms, she looked at him, impatience edging into her tone. "Mr. Dixon, what exactly are you doing? Unlawfully holding a doctor-do you realize what that implies?"

Aydan simply let out a cold laugh. He stopped directly in front of her, staring down with undisguised superiority. "You diagnosed me."

"And?" Ximena held his gaze steadily, without flinching.

Aydan lowered his voice, slow and resolute, as though delivering a final decree. "And you should also be the one who sees it through. You will handle my treatment."

Ximena scoffed at the sheer absurdity of it.

In all her years practicing medicine, she had never encountered a demand so domineering and unreasonable.

"Mr. Dixon, let me be clear-this is a hospital, not your corporation, and I do not work for you." She continued flatly, "My responsibility was to diagnose and file the report, and that task is finished. Your continued care will be overseen by Dr. Barnes, a specialist fully qualified for this case, which is the best possible arrangement. Now please step aside. I'm leaving."

"I said you're responsible," Aydan repeated stubbornly, completely disregarding her explanation.

He refused to let others dictate his outcome, and even more so, he refused to expose his weakness to yet another person.

Annoying as this woman was, at least the secret remained confined to her alone-for now.

"Dr. Hayes." Aydan's voice turned icy, threaded with quiet threat. "You might want to rethink this. Dixon Group happens to be the largest shareholder of Apex Medical Center. Assigning you to oversee my care, or ensuring you're unemployed by tomorrow-either option takes one phone call from me."

An unmistakable threat.

For most young doctors dependent on their position, those words would have inspired panic.

But Ximena merely regarded him in silence for a moment, and then calmly set her bag back on the desk and leaned against it once more.

Crossing her arms, she looked up at the man who believed power bent everything to his will.

"Aydan Dixon." She spoke his full name evenly. "First, using influence to bully others is childish. Second, I'm not only a physician-I'm also a specially appointed visiting professor here. If I were to leave, the loss wouldn't be mine-it would be the hospital's."

She paused, her eyes briefly tracing the rigidly handsome lines of his face.

Then she added without embellishment, "And at this moment, you're the one who needs me, not the reverse. If you want assistance, you should learn how to ask properly."

Aydan was stunned into silence.

A professor?

He stared at her remarkably young features, unable for a heartbeat to reconcile them with that title.

Also, her comment about manners struck him like a sharp slap.

He had never pleaded with anyone.

And yet, he had no rebuttal.

She was right.

He was the one who was unwell, and he was the one who required a physician capable of absolute discretion-and competence.

At present, this woman was his sole option, and unmistakably, his best one.