Return of the Crowned Heiress (Felicia)

Felicia finally snapped out of her confusion.

Why would Stephan say she was going to find Arnold?

What kind of joke was that?

Her expression darkened. She opened her mouth to retort, but he forced a kiss on her before she could speak. A commanding, demanding, and relentless kiss swallowed her words before they could escape. She struggled, but Stephan was unyielding. His dominance left her no room to retaliate.

Felicia didn't have her silver needles with her, but she didn't need them. She knew the human body's meridians like the back of her hand-every pressure point and every weak spot was burned into her memory. Moreover, Stephan sustained some serious injuries after that fall in Alverton. With precision and speed, she curled her fingers into a claw and drove them into his waist, hitting the exact spot to make him buckle. A low grunt escaped Stephan, his body stiffening as his dark eyes bore into her. There was no pain in his expression-only a simmering danger that seemed to deepen the room's already charged atmosphere. Then, a faint, coppery scent filled the air.

Felicia froze, her anger giving way to guilt. Had she hit him too hard? She knew she'd gone for a sensitive spot, but she hadn't intended to hurt him like this.

"Don't move!" she exclaimed, quickly climbing out of bed. She flicked on the lights, revealing his disheveled state and the crimson beginning to seep through his shirt.

"I'll get the first aid kit. Just don't touch it!"

Stephan watched her scurry out of the room, the corners of his lips quirking into an amused smirk. Her flushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips were evidence of their earlier confrontation, which pleased him for some inexplicable reason. When she returned, she set the first aid kit on the bed and carefully began tending to his wound.

She had been silently grumbling about how Stephan deserved it. If he hadn't forced that kiss, she wouldn't have gone so hard on him.

But when she lifted his shirt to check the damage, her complaints died on her lips.

A deep gash marred his waist. It was a wound from when they'd fallen off the cliff in Alverton and were swept downstream by the raging waters. Stephan had shielded her the entire time, taking the brunt of the sharp rocks. The cut had been healing, but her attack had reopened it.

Felicia felt a pang of guilt.

Her movements softened as she carefully cleaned and dressed the wound. What she had initially intended to be quick and perfunctory became delicate and precise.

Stephan had been ready to dismiss

it entirely and brush off the injury casually by saying, "Just patch it up, it's nothing." But he swallowed the words as he watched her furrowed brows and the guilt written all over her face.

"At least this little brat has some conscience left," he thought.

The red in his eyes began to fade, and though the lingering heat of his earlier emotions hadn't entirely subsided, his gaze was now calmer and more composed. Felicia, still tending to his wound, sighed dramatically as she sprinkled her handmade medicinal powder over the cut. "My medicine... This stuff is expensive, you know." "She had some conscience but not much," Stephan told himself.

Once she finished, Felicia gritted her teeth and handed him the rest of the bottle. "Here, take this. Use a little each day. It'll stop the bleeding and help it heal faster." Stephan accepted it with a smirk, tapping the glass bottle thoughtfully. "This won't end up like last time, will it?"

Both of them knew exactly what he was referring to.

The last time she had given him

some of her medicine, it had been a scar-removal ointment. What followed afterward spiraled wildly out of control-something neither of them had entirely forgotten.

Felicia's frustration boiled over. She snapped, "And what about just now? You didn't have any drugs in your system then, so you were plenty clear-headed! Yet you still pinned me down and..."

She bit back the last part. She had been about to say, "You gave me a long kiss!" Instead, she chose to glare at him furiously.

When he didn't respond, she made a move to snatch the bottle back. "If you don't want it, give it back! I made this myself. I could sell it for a fortune."

Mindful of his injury, Felicia decided against trying to grab the bottle back. She gathered her medical kit and stood to leave.

Just as she turned, Stephan's voice cut through the silence. "Are you that desperate for money?"

"I sure am," Felicia replied without hesitation, carefully tucking her homemade.medicine into her backpack She padded it with clothes to prevent the bottles from breaking, her focus unwavering.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"Who wouldn't want more money?"

As she zipped her bag closed, an idea sparked in her mind. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to Stephan, her gaze practically sparkling.

Her tone shifted with sudden enthusiasm as she said, "You know, I think I just came up with a business opportunity!"