# Chapter 158: A Favor That Cuts Both Ways
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 158 of "The Untouchable Ex Wife" — a chapter where old feelings twist into new schemes, and gratitude becomes a trap being quietly set. Let’s dive right into the story.
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The hospital corridors carried that familiar, sterile chill — the kind that clings to the air no matter how clean everything looks. Stefan Hunt stood outside Joanne's ward, his expression carved from stone as he listened to the attending doctor's cautious report.
"Mr. Hunt, don't worry. Miss Garcia is doing just fine. She'll recover and be discharged from the hospital in a week if nothing goes wrong," the doctor explained carefully, measuring each word before it left his lips. But then, hesitating, he added: "However, her body is weak. It seems like something's troubling her, so she's not trying to stay alive. She doesn't eat much either, and just relies on the IV drip to survive. It's all a bit complex... it'd be good if you could give her some moral support."
Stefan nodded, an unreadable mask over his handsome face. "Thank you, I'll do that then."
The hospital dean and Joanne's attending physician walked alongside Stefan as he made his way toward Joanne's ward. He was just about to send them off, his hand already raised in a gesture of dismissal, when a sudden thought snagged his attention like a stray thread.
"By the way," Stefan said, pausing mid-step. His voice shifted just slightly — casual curiosity, but with a hidden edge. "Why did Renee come to this hospital?"
The dean's face brightened with recognition at the name. "Miss Everheart? She came with Mr. Baldwin." He remembered her clearly, though mostly because of Justin's imposing presence. "It seems like something went wrong with her brother's surgery, so they rushed him here as an emergency case. His attending doctor was hired by Mr. Baldwin though. He made a medical team with the doctors here."
Something sparked behind Stefan's eyes. "Something went wrong with his surgery?" He frowned, fingers curling at his side. "What happened?"
A doctor from the medical team adjusted his glasses nervously, his voice dropping to a hushed, fearful tone. "It was an accident during a face recovery surgery. The patient couldn't take the anesthesia and fell into a coma. It's quite serious."
"I see." Stefan's features relaxed slowly, all the sharp angles of his face smoothing into comprehension.
So that was it. Something had gone wrong with Quinton's surgery, and Justin had happened to be there at that exact moment — swooping in to help Renee when she was weakest. That was why she'd been moved enough to embrace him. She had only done it out of gratitude.
Stefan's mood lifted almost instantly. A thin smile crept across his lips.
Women, he mused, were so easily moved. They felt a surge of affection for any man who offered even a small favor in times of crisis. And if that was the threshold, then why not raise the bar himself? If he hired an expert doctor to cure Quinton — the finest specialist money could buy, with no limit on the fee — wouldn't Renee feel an even deeper wave of gratitude? Perhaps she would throw herself into his arms instead.
He rolled the thought over in his mind, savoring its sweet symmetry. Then he turned to the dean with a serious, measured tone. "There's something I need you to do for me — you must find the best doctor around to cure her brother. There's no limit to the fee." His voice grew harder, more deliberate. "As for the medical team, you have to stop them for now."
The implication hung in the air like a blade waiting to fall. The current team treating Quinton... under Justin's hire... they had to be stopped. Not because Stefan was suddenly charitable — no, he was playing a far longer game. He wanted to be the one to save Renee's brother. He wanted to be her hero, her miracle, the one she'd turn to with tears in her eyes and gratitude in her heart.
But if the existing medical team was dismissed—if Justin's help was forcibly stripped away—then the situation would become desperate. Renee would be left floundering, powerless, with her brother teetering between life and death. And right at that precise moment, Stefan would step in, golden and divine, offering salvation on a silver platter.
Gratitude, after all, was a currency he knew how to spend. And he intended to buy Renee's heart with it.
But what Stefan didn't realize — what he failed to see through his carefully crafted manipulation — was that love isn't a transaction. You cannot dismantle one person's kindness just to install your own. And Renee Everheart was no naive girl who would confuse a calculated rescue with genuine affection. Yet, the trap was already set. The doctors were being told to stand down. The clock was ticking.
The only question was: who would arrive first? The man who wanted to save Renee's heart, or the man who was trying to steal it?
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**Reader's Impressions & Rating:**
Oh, this chapter cuts so deep. Stefan's psychology is fascinating and chilling — he genuinely believes that love and gratitude are the same thing, that he can out-engineer Justin's kindness by creating a crisis and then solving it. But there's something so tragic about him too. He keeps trying to win Renee back with schemes when all she ever needed was someone genuine. Watching him order that medical team to be stopped gave me serious goosebumps — he's playing with Quinton's life, his own obsession clouding everything. The tension is building so deliciously. I couldn't stop reading!
⭐️ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
We might see the fallout of Stefan's dangerous move. Justin will likely notice the medical team being pulled back and grow suspicious of Stefan's involvement. Renee, already fragile from her brother's condition, might be forced to make an impossible choice. And if she discovers that Stefan deliberately delayed Quinton's treatment just to manipulate her — Stefan will face a side of Renee he's never seen before. The tables are about to turn, and not in his favor.
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