Osvaldo blinked slowly. What the hell was this woman saying?
He’d just threatened her life, and now she was talking about healing him?
A low laugh escaped his lips. Deep. Dangerous. That damned dimple appeared. She was insane. Bold. Stupid. But he was intrigued.
"You think you can fix me?" he asked, voice mocking, eyes gleaming. "You don’t even know what’s wrong with me."
Once upon a time, maybe... maybe... he believed someone could cure him. That belief died years ago. Not after all the doctors, the scientists, the herbalists he had hired. Even his father’s antidote had failed.
It was stated that he would slowly recover when he turned twenty-five, but the only thing that changed was his seasonal madness. It never left, it just stopped being stagnant.
His madness had no name, no cure. It came and went like a curse, devouring him, piece by piece.
He had learned to survive it. Barely. His illness had made him a genius. A monster. A man torn between genius and insanity.
And now... this tiny plumpy woman stood in front of him, offering salvation?
He let out another dark chuckle, eyes gleaming like silver flames. "You can’t even fix yourself, Penguin. What makes you think you can fix me?" Penny’s lips twitched at his brutal words, but she was determined.
She couldn’t heal herself that is why she needed him.
"I’m asking for one year," Penny said. "You help me with my body, and I’ll help you with your mind. If I fail, I leave. But I won’t take a cent from you."
Osvaldo’s brows lifted. She wasn’t begging. She wasn’t crying. She was serious.
Her voice didn’t shake, even though her body was clearly tense, her eyes locked on him like prey cornered by a predator. She wanted to run, but she wouldn’t.
Desperation made people bold, and Penny was very desperate.
She was desperate. It’s not like she hadn’t heard all of his threats, but she was a survivor. She knew she would survive no matter what.
She had been through worse. Dealt with her monstrous family. Anyone that survives Maybelline Willard, is never going to die again.
"Do you agree Mr Osvaldo?" Penny asked.
Osvaldo studied her for a long, loaded beat. This woman... she had guts.
"You really think your body is more important than your life?" he asked slowly.
"It’s the only thing I’ve ever been judged for. The only thing that’s ever made me invisible. If I can fix that, then I’ll finally be seen. Loved. Free."
She wasn’t saying it to make him feel sorry. She was just saying it. Like truth didn’t weigh her down anymore.
Osvaldo’s jaw tensed.
"You really are insane," he said.
"Then we’re a perfect match," she replied.
He raised her chin with one hand, eyes on her neck.
"It’s nothing I can’t handle," he said quietly, almost to himself.
"Y, Young Master?" a voice echoed from the hallway. Penny turned just in time to see the three Adkins lawyers step in, briefcases in hand.
Osvaldo finally pulled himself from the wall and turned to meet their gazes. Face devoid of any emotion.
They looked terrified, yet so calm. They all knew Osvaldo was like a ticking time bomb. Everyone is terrified of the monster before them, except the woman behind him.
She looked calm, even if she was standing face-to-face with this beast.
How is that possible?
"Prepare a new contract, Timothy," Osvaldo said to the man calmly and Timothy bowed maintaining a safe distance just in case his brain does its deed again.
This man was a genius just like his father. But with a twist. Unfortunately, he has become the same thing that caused his father’s death.
While the world thought the Adkins had their wealth from the numerous oil companies they owned globally. They are also the family that provides the most medicinal cure for the world’s deadliest sickness.
Dewitt had found the cure for cancer and that had been the cause of his death.
This is the reason, they have sworn to protect Dewitts last heir with their lives.
The fate of the world lies in Osvaldo’s hands right now. The lab he now owned belonged to his father.
At first, they all thought he wouldn’t be like his father, but even with the years of not being able to learn how to speak or even write, Osvaldo had shocked them all.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO A MAD BILLIONAIRE