That evening. Dustin finally woke up after hours of
sleeping and found that he was in a hospital room. A shocked voice rang
out the moment his eyes opened. "Huh? You aren't dead, Rhys?" Dustin's
gaze followed the source of the voice and landed on Ruth sitting beside
him with a dazed expression as she looked at him. "What? Disappointed to
see me alive?" Dustin snapped. "Ahem. Um, I'm just surprised." Ruth
grinned bashfully. ""Where's your sister?" Dustin asked, changing the
topic. "Oh, she went to get your medicine." Ruth examined him and said,
"I heard that the venom is something called the Deadly Slither. It's
extremely poisonous and can kill a person quickly! It's a miracle that
you're still alive!" "You're right. The venom is potent. It even managed
to knock me out for a few hours. No wonder it's one of the world's top
ten most poisonous venoms," Dustin marveled. "Why does that sound weird?"
Ruth was puzzled. Before Ruth could come out of her daze, two people
entered the hospital room. One was Natasha, while the other was a
curvaceous lady dressed exquisitely. The two women resembled each other.
Not only were they both very well–dressed, but they both had a powerful
air to them. "Dustin, you're finally awake! How are you feeling?"
Natasha's face lit up as she rushed toward him. "I'm feeling better now
that I've gotten some sleep." Dustin smiled. "Here, take this. It's a
secret medicine I got you. Take it with some water, and you'll be fine in
no time." Natasha pushed a small white bottle into his hand and poured
him a glass of warm water. "Secret medicine? What is it?" Dustin asked
curiously. "Don't underestimate it. It's the result of three years of
dedicated research and experiments by Dr. Rowan Cross. It can treat all
kinds of venom," Natasha urged. "Rowan Cross?" Dustin was surprised. "You
know him?" asked Natasha, with a raised eyebrow. "I've met him once."
Dustin did not deny it. He had met Rowan a few years before when Rowan's
enemies were hunting him down and Dustin had saved the poor man. The
antidote had been Dustin's gift to him. "It's always been difficult
getting ahold of Dr. Cross' whereabouts and even harder to see him in
person. You should take it before anything happens," Natasha urged.
"There's no need. My body's already free of venom. You can take it back."
Dustin declined politely. "It was difficult getting my hands on this
baby. Why would I ever return it? Just keep it even if you're fine now.
It'll come in handy in emergencies," Natasha insisted,
stuffing the bottle into Dustin's pocket. Dustin accepted it. After all,
she did it out of kindness. "Oh, right. There's something else I should
mention. I think I saw Dahlia Nicholson at the hospital entrance,"
Natasha said abruptly. "Huh? What's she doing here?" Dustin was puzzled.
"I heard her grandfather is critically ill and receiving emergency
treatment." "Critically ill?" Dustin immediately became worried. "Are you
sure?" "Positive. Or Dahlia wouldn't be downstairs right now," Natasha
replied. "I'll take a look." Dustin got up and left the room. Henry
Nicholson had treated Dustin like his own, so there was no way he would
do nothing while the old man was ill "Natasha, you wasted one of the
Harmon family's favors just for him?" The woman beside her finally spoke.
She was Natasha's mother, Jessica Ballard. "I'll pay Dr. Cross back
myself. It has nothing to do with you," Natasha replied indifferently.
"Do you like that kid?" Jessica frowned. "So what if I do?" Natasha
raised her chin defiantly. "You should remember that the two of you will
never end up together. He's just a nobody while you're the daughter of a
wealthy family and the heiress to the Harmon family. Your statuses are
worlds apart!" Jessica reminded. "I don't care," Natasha responded
coolly. "But I do!" Jessica's tone was firm. "You can make up your mind
about anything except your marriage! Don't forget that you're already
engaged to Tyler!" "Sorry. I'm not interested in Tyler Grant all" Natasha
quipped. "You have no say in this matter! You are the eldest daughter of
the Harmon family. With wealth and power comes responsibility!" Jessica
chided. "Responsibility?" Natasha scoffed. "Do you mean using marriage to
climb the ranks?" "This is for your own good and the entire family's!
Tyler is an impressive person. He's already a Major General despite his
young age. He has a bright future ahead of him. He's the perfect choice
for marriage!" Jessica lectured. "If you like him so much, you marry him
then! I have no intention of doing so," Natasha retorted bluntly. "Why
are you so stubborn? If you don't marry into his family, you will never
become the head of the Harmon family! Why don't you understand this?" "It
doesn't matter since I was never interested in becoming the head of the
family, to begin with," Natasha replied
matter–of–factly. "Is your entire future worth sacrificing just for that
kid?" Jessica spat. "Of course! I don't think Tyler is better than him
anyway!" "You have that much faith in him?" Jessica's expression
hardened. "That's right!" Natasha announced proudly. Jessica paused when
she heard her daughter's answer. Resolute, she inhaled before declaring
with a cold voice. "Fine! Since you're not going to give up, I'll give
you one chance. If that punk can pass three tests, I'll never bring up
the topic of your marriage to the Reeves family again!" "What kind of
tests?" asked Natasha with a raised brow. "First, he must defeat Edwin
Hummer to prove his strength!" Jessica demanded. "Edwin has Boulderthom
to back him up! It's it a bit unreasonable to ask Dustin to defeat him?"
Natasha frowned. Jessica snorted. "If he can't even defeat Edwin Hummer,
why should I accept him into our family? What right does he have to fight
Tyler? Well, I'm giving you both a chance. If he fails, you better return
to Millsburg and get married!" Jessica turned and left the room.