Medical Center. Ward.
Adam grabbed the meds and slipped into the room to secretly treat Dr. Montgomery.
"Ahh!" Dr. Montgomery let out a pained wail.
"Dr. Shepherd, you might wanna tough it out a bit," Adam said with a wry smile. "Otherwise, I won't need to keep this hush-hush for long."
This was just a regular ward—soundproofing was meh at best. Her cries were hardly contained. If secrecy wasn't a thing, no biggie. But it was a thing. If any passing doctor or nurse overheard, who knows what kind of wild rumors would spread? 😬
Dr. Montgomery's husband, Dr. Shepherd, was already a walking emotional wreck—especially right now. He'd probably assume the worst. If Adam had actually cuckolded him, fair enough—but he hadn't! He was just doing a favor for Dr. Montgomery.
Sure, Dr. Shepherd had forgiven his wife, the original "grassland." But Adam wasn't betting on him forgiving anyone else who stepped on that turf. No way was he taking that blame. In his book, the pediatric chief didn't outweigh the neurosurgery chief. The risk-reward ratio? Not worth it.
"This is karma!" Dr. Montgomery muffled her sobs with her hand, fighting the discomfort before finally breaking down. "It's all payback for cheating with Mark!"
"Did he give you a kudzu rash down there?" Adam asked casually while treating her.
Kudzu rash—named for the patchy, vine-like marks it leaves. Mark, the guy who'd stolen his best friend's wife, was clearly a shameless playboy. Catching something nasty wasn't a shock. But Dr. Montgomery had been here for months, reconciled with her husband for over a month. Then Mark shows up, and bam—kudzu rash?
Here's the kicker: kudzu rash isn't some slow-burn skin condition. It doesn't lurk for months—it flares up fast. Emmm… Adam pieced it together and silently mourned for Dr. Shepherd, the green giant, for a few seconds. That punch this morning? Totally deserved. 😏
Chances are, Dr. Montgomery didn't come home last night, and Mark popping up at the hospital this morning tipped Dr. Shepherd off. Old wounds plus new suspicions—boom, explosion.
Fair. The first time Dr. Shepherd caught his wife and best friend in bed, he didn't flip out. He just stood there, calmly watched for a bit, then quietly closed the door. Xu Wenchang from Homecoming would've tipped his hat and called him a pro.
Too bad Dr. Montgomery wasn't as slick as Zhang Chengcheng from that show. She didn't have the chops to coo "sweetie" at a hot young guy one second, then turn around and sob to her husband the next: "It was a heat-of-the-moment mistake! I didn't plan it! He hit on me, he seduced me—I fought it, I swear, for so long, but I caved. I just made a mistake every guy in the world makes, except I'm a woman. If it's that bad, why don't you go find someone too? You can't just think about yourself—think about me for once!"
Nah, Dr. Montgomery didn't pull that card. But Dr. Shepherd? Way saucier than Xu Wenchang. He didn't give his cheating wife a chance to spin it—shut the door, walked out, hopped a plane from Boston to New York. That night, a totally plastered Meredith picked him up at a bar, took him home, and the next morning, he strutted around crowing about how she'd taken advantage of him. Emmm… No need for his wife to suggest compensation—he'd already treated himself. 😎
If it weren't for Dr. Montgomery later hitting him with that mind-boggling line—"Even if I'm Satan, even if I cheated, I could still be your soulmate, your one true love"—and him forgiving her, Dr. Shepherd could've gone toe-to-toe with a player like Hong Shixian. But nope, he ended up more like Xu Wenchang after all.
"No!" Dr. Montgomery snapped Adam out of his wandering thoughts, her voice low and strained. "Me and Mark—that was months ago! This is just the fallout from that mess! I left my city, my home, to save my husband and my marriage. Now I'm living in a trailer on a mountainside—with my husband and his mistress's dog! I was walking the dog, threw a stick, and needed to pee. I didn't want to wake my husband, who's already fed up with me, so I squatted right there. And this is what I got! It's karma!"
She broke down again, sobbing into her hands.
Adam kept his head down, focusing on the treatment, avoiding her face. He didn't want to crack up. What a mess! Her rival, Meredith, had pawned off her dog on Dr. Shepherd—said it couldn't stay at her place, but the mountain had space, so they could co-parent it. In the U.S., pets are a big deal. Co-raising one is a bonding milestone—think Sheldon and Amy with their turtle. Huge step!
To play nice, Dr. Montgomery not only had to be civil with her rival but also care for the dog Meredith gave her husband. And then, while walking it, she caught this rash. Living on a mountainside—wild grass everywhere, gorgeous views—sounds dreamy, right? But it's a breeding ground for bugs, snakes, and germs. Anyone who's lived rural knows: summer mosquitoes are brutal, and centipedes are massive. A pristine mountain's even worse. One slip, and you're toast.
Those folks romanticizing raw nature, dreaming of the Amazon? They'd last a day before begging for concrete walls. Look at Dr. Montgomery—a skilled doctor, undone by squatting for a quick pee in the wild. One kudzu rash later, she's a wreck. Emmm… If this were a palace intrigue drama, Adam would bet Meredith orchestrated this as a silent, savage revenge. 😈
Staring at Dr. Montgomery's infection—enough to freak out anyone with trypophobia—Adam couldn't help but sigh. Brutal. This wasn't your average kudzu rash. It was severe.
"Dr. Shepherd, should I grab an ice pack?" Adam dodged her rant, changing the subject.
"Would it help?" she groaned, wincing.
"Should ease it a bit," Adam said. Heat and itching? Ice always helps some.
"Fine," she nodded.
After finishing her treatment, Adam fetched an ice pack. This morning, she'd iced her husband's punch-bruised hand. This afternoon, it was her turn. Now she got why he'd brushed off her help, insisting he was fine.
"Dr. Montgomery, rest here. I'm stepping out—call me if you need anything," Adam said.
He'd done his part. No point in hovering while she iced her wounds in that state. Time to bounce. ✌️
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