Return of the Crowned Heiress novel Chapter 515

Stephan's message to Maurice was loud and clear—stay away from Felicia.

The way he had gone about it was domineering, protective, and unapologetically bold, leaving no room for negotiations. It was a warning as plain as day.

Maurice scoffed and replied lazily, "Off-limits, eh? And what if I decide to touch her anyway?"

His subordinate wiped the sweat from his brow and reminded cautiously, "Mr. Glovers, with all due respect… She's not into you. You know what they say, forcing it just doesn't work."

"Forcing it doesn't work, huh?" Maurice mumbled, then chuckled. "Well, I'm not trying to make it work. I'm doing it just for the sake of doing it."

His subordinate choked on his words, unable to argue. He thought to himself, "Damn it. The logic is twisted, but somehow, it still makes sense."

Still, was it really okay for his boss to go against Stephan openly like this?

The subordinate racked his brains and made one last attempt. "Mr. Glovers, there are plenty of beautiful women out there. If you wanted, you could have them line up around the block. Why put all your eggs in one basket? Especially this one?"

Maurice burst out laughing again. This time, it was a deep, resonating laugh that made his chest heave. It was as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

The rest of his men were completely baffled by his reaction.

After some time, Maurice's laughter faded. He dropped his gaze and muttered in a very soft voice. If one didn't pay attention, one would've missed it entirely.

"They're not her, and there won't be another like her…"

Sure, the world was full of beautiful women, but there was only one Felicia Fuller.

…

Felicia found a safe spot to stop and helped the Fuller couple settle in. She handed them bottles of water and some food. Finally, she took out some medical supplies and passed them along, instructing them to treat their own injuries.

"She's right, Licia. Let's leave together," Dexter chimed in, barely managing to stand. His voice was strained, as though the words were being pushed out through clenched teeth.

Earlier, one of the ants had bitten him on the heel. In the chaos, he had been too focused to notice the pain. But now that they were relatively safe, the burning agony flared back up. It was bad enough that he almost wanted to scream.

Myra was the first to notice something wrong with him and shouted, "Darling, are you okay?"

Dexter could no longer hold it together and collapsed to the ground, sweating bullets as he clutched his leg in pain.

"Licia, please have a look at him! Your father was bitten by an ant earlier! The wound is on his heel… Oh my gosh!" Myra let out a scream the moment she pulled up Dexter's pant leg to reveal the bite.

The wound was swollen, oozing pus, and already beginning to rot. It was far worse than anyone could've imagined from something as small as an ant bite.

Felicia examined it and said in a low voice, "Those weren't regular ants. They were bullet ants, and the ones you guys ran into might have been mutated. A single bite can hurt as much as a gunshot. In severe cases, it can be lethal."