Chapter 458
Chapter 458:
She sat up — and her head punished her immediately, the pain so acute she nearly went under again. She gripped the edge of the bed, waiting for the room to stabilize.
The door opened.
Claire came in and stopped short at the sight of her. “Ms. Green — you’re awake!” She hurried over and took hold of her arm. “You’re far too weak to be sitting up. Please, lie back down p>
Kristine grabbed Claire’s arm with both hands. “I need to leave. Right now p>
Claire kept her voice gentle but firm. “You need to recover first. You won’t make it to the door in this state. Just rest — we can talk about everything else once you’re stronger p>
Kristine wasn’t listening. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand.
She made it three steps before her legs folded beneath her. She hit the floor hard.
O𝘳𝗀anі𝘇e 𝘺o𝘶𝗿 l𝘪br𝘢𝗋𝘆 𝗼𝘯 𝘨𝗮𝗹no𝘷е𝗹𝗌.с𝗈𝗺
Claire rushed to help her up, genuine distress on her face. “Ms. Green, please — let me get you back into bed p>
This time, Kristine didn’t fight her. She let herself be guided back, but she stared at her own legs with a hollow, frightened expression — as though they belonged to someone else. She hadn’t been in an accident. There was no injury she could account for. So why did she feel like this? Why was there nothing left in her limbs at all?
The thought that followed was cold and specific, and it terrified her more than the weakness itself.
She shoved the thought aside and pushed Claire away, sliding off the mattress deliberately and landing on the floor with a dull thud.
“Ms. Green!” Claire stared at her in alarm.
Kristine ignored her and began crawling toward the door on her hands and knees. She was leaving this house today. If crawling was the only way, then she would crawl.
She had almost reached the doorway when a pair of legs appeared directly in front of her.
She looked up.
Colton stood over her with a cold, unreadable expression. “You wake up and immediately start this. Can you not be still for five minutes?” He bent down and lifted her with no apparent effort.
She reacted as though his hands burned her. “Let go of me! Put me down p>
But her struggling was barely perceptible, and they both knew it. The complete absence of her usual strength only confirmed what she had already begun to suspect.
Colton set her back on the mattress and straightened. “You need to rest. I’ll have a doctor come p>
“I don’t want your doctor.” She looked up at him, her voice sharp with accusation. “And don’t pretend I don’t know what you’ve done p>
His brows drew together. “What are you talking about p>
“This weakness. It’s because of you, isn’t it? You did something to me p>
His expression flickered — a split second of something he couldn’t quite contain — before his face settled back into blankness. He looked away. “You’re imagining things,” he said flatly.
“You’re lying to me,” Kristine hissed, clenching her jaw. “If you didn’t do something to me, why can’t I feel my own legs p>