Chapter 80.

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.