Trampled To The Bottom, Now I'm At The Top

Dylan rested his fingers against the armrest of his wheelchair. His knuckles stood out beneath his skin. He kept his eyes on Chelsey as he spoke, and his low voice carried a cold warning.

"Did you understand what my grandfather said?" he asked sharply. "All you have to do in this marriage is give me children. Know your place and do what you're supposed to do. As long as you do that, I'll make sure you and your family are protected."

His expression grew colder as anger darkened his eyes. There was no room for argument in his voice. "But if you can't even do that, or you're here because you're after something else..."

Chelsey met his sharp stare with a small smirk. She didn't bother waiting for him to finish. She pulled the light blanket from his lap, crouched in front of him, and gently moved his knees apart. She did it quickly without showing the slightest hesitation.

Dylan stiffened immediately, and the tension coming from him sharpened. Surprise flickered across his face, but it only lasted a second before he looked at her with cold, intense caution.

His voice dropped as he snapped at her, "What the hell are you doing? Who said you could touch me?"

Chelsey ignored his protest and pressed her fingers along his legs from his thighs down to his ankles. After checking them, she spoke, her voice firm. "I don't want the Warren family's money, and I'm not having your children."

She looked straight into his cold eyes and laid out her terms. "So, how about we make a deal? Let me stay with the Warren family as your wife, and help me get out from under the Clark family's control. In return, I'll treat your legs, clear out the toxins that have been building up in your body for years, and get you walking again."

Dylan's brows drew together as the tension around him grew heavier. For the past few years, he had gone to nearly every well-known doctor he could find in hopes that someone could treat his condition.

None of them had been able to help him. They had all reached almost the same conclusion. The nerves in his legs had suffered severe damage, and he would never walk again. The toxins that had remained in his body for years couldn't be cured either, and according to them, he probably wouldn't live past thirty.

Unless he could somehow find Dubhe, one of the major disciples of the hidden Kginia Valley.

If Dubhe agreed to treat him, there might still be the slightest chance that his condition could improve.

"That's ridiculous," Dylan responded mockingly. His voice dropped lower, and the coldness in it made his disbelief obvious. His handsome face tightened as he looked at her as though she had just made the most absurd claim he had ever heard.

"You don't have to believe me right now," Chelsey said as she reached for his belt. "We'll find out soon enough once I try."

Dylan stiffened from head to toe, and alarm immediately flashed through his narrowed eyes. "What are you doing?" he snapped.

Hadn't she just told him she had no intention of having his children? So why was she suddenly reaching for his belt without the slightest hesitation?

Chelsey almost found his reaction funny. He had become so tense and guarded that he looked ready to have her dragged out of the room if she moved even an inch closer.

"Calm down," she replied. "I'm not trying to do anything to you. I need your pants off so I can treat your legs properly."

"No. That's not happening," Dylan said coldly. He clearly didn't believe a single word she was saying.

Chelsey held back a sigh and reached into her handbag for the Dual Flame Needles. Dylan barely had time to react before she inserted one needle into a precise point along the outside of his thigh. She turned it carefully for several seconds, then pulled it straight back out.

A sudden, unmistakable sting shot through Dylan's thigh. That leg had been completely numb and unresponsive for the past two years.

His eyes widened at once. A faint sound caught in his throat as disbelief hit him. His leg had actually felt something.

Chelsey smiled when she saw his reaction. "Believe me now? Take your pants off. And relax. I'm the woman here. It's not like I'm going to take advantage of you, is it?"

Dylan still didn't trust her completely, and the caution in his eyes hadn't disappeared. However, after what he had just felt in his leg, he finally stopped resisting her.

Chelsey carefully lowered his pants and continued treating his legs. At that moment, she wasn't looking at him as a man at all. As far as she was concerned, Dylan was nothing more than a patient who needed treatment.

Dylan studied the gold needles positioned across his thigh. His attention settled on the detailed patterns carved into the metal, and recognition slowly sharpened his gaze. He looked back at Chelsey with open suspicion before speaking in a cold voice. "If I'm seeing this right, those are the legendary Dual Flame Needles. So who exactly are you?"