Testing the Waters

Chapter 3: Testing the Waters

​The study fell into a deathly silence.

​Sebastian's eyes flashed with a murderous glint. His grip on her chin moved down to her slender neck. "Who told you about my legs? Who sent you?!"

​Everyone knew his legs were destroyed in the accident, and the world’s best doctors had declared him permanently paralyzed. For this girl to claim she could cure him meant she either knew a dangerous secret or was a fraud sent by his enemies.

​Natalie felt the oxygen leaving her lungs, but her gaze remained steady. She reached up, her delicate fingers pressing precisely on a pressure point on Sebastian's wrist.

​Instantly, Sebastian felt a strange numbness shoot up his arm, causing his hand to lose power and release her. He looked at his own hand in genuine shock.

​Natalie coughed lightly, catching her breath. "No one sent me. I am a doctor. I can see the muscle tension in your legs. Your meridians are blocked by a rare toxin, not broken by the accident. The doctors you hired are either incompetent, or they are deliberately keeping you in that chair."

​Sebastian’s heart shook. She was right. He was poisoned, and he had been feigning total paralysis to catch the mastermind behind his accident. But this secret was guarded by his most trusted allies. How did this twenty-year-old girl know?

​"Who are you really?" Sebastian demanded, his voice dropping to a low growl.

​"Just Natalie," she smiled, a radiant, mysterious smile that momentarily dazed him. "Your substitute wife. Think about my offer, Mr. Vance. You give me a room and protection from the Lopez family, and I will give you back your ability to walk within three months."

​Sebastian stared at her for a long time. Finally, he leaned back in his wheelchair. "Jennings!"

​The door opened instantly. "Yes, Master?"

​"Arrange the room next to mine for the Young Mistress," Sebastian ordered, his eyes never leaving Natalie. "And monitor her. If she takes one wrong step, throw her into the river."

​"Yes, Master," Jennings said, hiding his immense shock. The Master was letting her stay!

​Natalie bowed slightly. "Goodnight, Husband."

Chapter 4: The Outcast's Return

​The next morning, the news of the Vance-Lopez marriage hit the headlines. However, the media only reported that the Vance family had taken a bride, without mentioning Natalie’s name.

​In the Lopez mansion, Victoria and Melanie were celebrating over a lavish breakfast.

​"Mom, it's wonderful! The Vance family just transferred fifty million dollars to our account!" Melanie laughed, looking at her newly manicured nails. "Natalie must be crying in terror right now. I heard Sebastian Vance breaks the bones of anyone who touches him."

​"Let that brat suffer," Victoria sneered. "She was just a parasite in our house anyway."

​Just then, the living room doors were pushed open.

​Natalie walked in, dressed in a stunning, high-end emerald silk trench

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