The Cripple Was Never Weak
Victory Toni · Ongoing · 63.8k Words
Introduction
“Who would have thought that even a sickly wretch like Dominic Blackwood would find himself a bride?”
At the altar, after their vows were spoken, she lifted her veil and knelt before Dominic Blackwood, pressing a hesitant kiss to his lips. The marriage contract was signed. No matter his deformities, he was now her husband.
She wasn’t afraid of the scars that marked his face, nor was she repulsed by the wheelchair that confined him. Every morning, she prepared his breakfast, attended to his needs, and thought of nothing beyond her duties as a wife.
“Young Master Blackwood is a cripple who can’t even perform,” her best friend argued.
“When he dies, you’ll still be untouched. You should aim higher.”
Later in their marriage, Dominic found himself wanting to enjoy his little wife in every way the press of her lips against his, the brush of skin against skin, the intimacy a husband and wife were meant to share.
But Liora refused him, blushing furiously.
“No, we can’t. The doctor said you’re not allowed to exert yourself.”
Desire surged through Dominic, hot and relentless. He cursed inwardly.
I should have gotten rid of that doctor and this wheelchair long ago.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, he finally revealed the truth.
In the blink of an eye, the deformed cripple disappeared, replaced by a powerful man tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome. He silenced Liora’s protests as he leaned over her, caging her against the bed with his arms.
His voice dropped low as he asked,
“What about now"?
Chapter 1
As she stood before the mirror in an ill fitting wedding gown, Liora Hale studied her reflection in silence. The dress was beautiful
ivory satin embroidered with delicate silver thread but it hung awkwardly on her narrow frame, It had never been meant for her. Her lips curved into a faint, wry smile.
How fitting, she thought. Even on her wedding day, she was wearing someone else’s life.
The woman staring back at her looked calm, composed almost indifferent but Liora knew better. She had no illusions about what awaited her once she stepped beyond this room.
Behind her, the door opened with little ceremony. “Sign this contract.”
Liora didn’t turn as the thick document flew through the air. She reached out on instinct and caught it cleanly, the paper brushing against her fingers like something alive. Slowly, she lowered her gaze and began to read.
Clause after clause detailed obligations, restrictions, conditions far more ruthless than any marriage vow. This wasn’t a union. It was an exchange. Her eyes stopped at the bottom of the final page. Dominic Blackwood.
The name was written in neat, controlled strokes, elegant to the point of severity. But the ink had bled faintly through the paper, as though the pen had been pressed down with unusual force.
Either the man had signed in pain… or in anger.
“You’ll be well taken care of as his wife,” Harold Hale said coolly behind her. Then, after a brief pause, his tone sharpened. “But don’t misunderstand your position. You’d better behave and don’t disrespect him in any way.”
Harold continued, his voice low and deliberate.
“Think carefully about what will happen to your grandmother if you ruin everything.”
Her fingers tightened around the contract.
So there it was the blade he always kept hidden behind his smile. It should have been Selene not her.
The thought surfaced unbidden, bitter and sharp. Selene Hale the beloved daughter, the pride of the family, the one born beneath a lucky star. Selene, who had been engaged to Dominic Blackwood in name only… and had fled the moment she learned the truth.
A dying groom, a crippled heir and a man rumored to be living on borrowed time. Why would Selene sacrifice herself when there was a spare daughter readily available?
Just hours before the wedding, Selene had disappeared without a trace. Panic had erupted within the Hale household, but it wasn’t grief that filled Harold’s eyes it was calculation. To confess the truth to the Blackwoods would have been an unforgivable insult, a humiliation they could not afford.
So Liora had been summoned and now, to protect the only person in the world who had ever truly loved her, Liora found herself dressed in a wedding gown meant for another woman.standing in as the bride of the Blackwood family’s sickly heir.
Harold liked to call it a privilege. Liora knew better. If it were truly an honor, Selene would not have run. “You’re right,” Liora said suddenly.n“Thank you for the reminder,” she continued lightly. “If not for you, the small matter of my becoming the young mistress of the Blackwood family might have slipped my mind entirely.”
She turned at last, facing him.
“Although,” she added, tilting her head slightly, “correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t my new status make it incredibly easy to punish anyone who tried to hurt me?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Harold’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowing. That was no idle question. It was a warning. Liora met his gaze without flinching, her expression demure, almost innocent.
“So don’t hurt my grandmother,” she said softly. “She’s the only family I have left. If something were to happen to her…”
Her smile deepened, just a fraction. “I truly can’t imagine what I’d be capable of.”
“You!” Harold hissed, rage flashing across his face but before he could continue, a knock sounded at the door. A staff member entered, head bowed. “Sir, it’s time. The guests are waiting for the bride.”
Harold swallowed his fury. In an instant, the mask returned. He straightened his suit, forced a smile, and grabbed Liora’s arm with a grip that bruised.
“Don’t forget your place,” he muttered under his breath as he escorted her forward.
The doors to the ceremony hall opened. Liora stepped into the light. A hush swept through the crowd, quickly replaced by whispers sharp, curious, cruel.
“I heard he’s practically on his deathbed. This marriage is nothing but a desperate attempt to steal more years from fate.”
“The Hales? That shameless daughter of theirs? Wasn’t she chasing some man she met at a party?”
“Poor thing looks half-starved. Can she even hold up that dress?”
Each word struck, but none slowed her steps.
Her face hidden beneath the veil, Liora walked steadily down the aisle, her gaze fixed on the man waiting at the center. Dominic Blackwood sat in a wheelchair.
A dark mask covered the lower half of his face, obscuring his mouth and jaw. His posture was upright, dignified but every few seconds, his body betrayed him. A violent cough tore from his chest, his hand clenching into a fist as he struggled to suppress it. He failed.
The sound echoed through the hall, raw and unsettling. For a fleeting moment, Liora wondered if he would collapse before the ceremony ended..So this is my husband, she thought bleakly. I enter as a bride… and may leave as a widow.
As soon as Harold placed Liora’s hand into Dominic’s, he recoiled slightly, covering his nose with a handkerchief before retreating with indecent haste. The pastor began the vows.
“Do you agree to take this man as your husband,” he asked Liora solemnly, “for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day until your last?”
Did she have a choice?
She had already signed away her freedom.
“I do.”
The question was posed to Dominic next. He coughed once, twice before finally forcing out the words. “I do.”
Relief washed over the guests when the pastor hurried to conclude. “Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
The words had barely left his mouth when horror dawned on his face. Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Surely this dying man could not, before anyone could intervene, Liora stepped forward.
She lifted her veil and draped it over Dominic’s head, enclosing them both in a private world of white silk and shadow.
Two become one beneath the veil..She reached out and removed his mask. Scars marred the lower half of his face jagged, uneven, unmistakably violent. For a heartbeat, even she was startled. But she did not recoil.
Instead, her expression remained calm. “The ceremony is complete,” Liora said quietly. “The contract has been signed.”
She met his eyes. “We are husband and wife now. What you cannot do alone, I can help you with.”
For the first time, Dominic truly looked at her.
Without the mask, his reaction was impossible to hide a faint frown at being denied the chance to speak… followed by something else.
Interest, amusement and beneath it all was a dangerous, flickering glimmer of life.
Last Chapters
#57 Chapter 57 A Prank
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#56 Chapter 56 Ning Confession
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#55 Chapter 55 Fake Relationship
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#54 Chapter 54 Mrs Blackwood
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#53 Chapter 53 The Smile
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#52 Chapter 52 Secret
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#51 Chapter 51 Her thoughts
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#50 Chapter 50 Dr. Rachel
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#49 Chapter 49 A Kiss
Last Updated: 6/10/2026#48 Chapter 48 Away from Liora
Last Updated: 6/10/2026
You Might Like 😍
The Last Sempyr: Alpha's Fated Mate
Commander Ruel is the Alpha King’s deadliest weapon. A war-forged Alpha feared by armies and obeyed by thousands. Cold. Ruthless. Untouchable.
The moment his hand touches mine, everything changes.
He says I'm his prisoner, yet he keeps me chained beside his bed every night.
He says he doesn't want me, yet his wolf growls whenever another man gets too close.
Every day he fights the mate bond.
Every night he comes back to me anyway.
The man who shows mercy to no one becomes terrifyingly protective when it comes to me.
What neither of us expected is the truth hidden in my blood.
He was raised to destroy my kind.
I might be the last of them.
Now a kingdom wants me dead, a traitor wants his throne, and the only man capable of protecting me is the Alpha whose touch feels dangerously like home.
But if Ruel discovers what I truly am, he may become the one thing I can never survive.
Ruined : You will always be mine.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.
Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.
As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
A pack of their own
Glimmerdrop: The Crownwake Series
"This is your last chance to push me away."
At the fiercely hierarchical Haldorian Academy, magic-less commoner Hettie just wants to remain invisible. But Zadok, the academy's most untouchable elite, backs her into a corner she can't escape.
His fatal obsession sparks ruthless revenge: Dana, a high-tier wind mystic, turns paper into deadly blades during combat class, nearly blinding and disfiguring Hettie in a bloody attack .
The massive class divide and brutal bullying force Hettie to draw a line, demanding their romance be kept strictly underground .
That forever unattainable golden boy pinned her against the tree trunk, his scalding and aggressive kiss accompanied by a hopeless surrender: "You're going to be my doom ."
Worse still, Hettie discovers her parents’ dark secrets are dragging her into a deadly conspiracy of betrayal . Survival clashes with forbidden desire. In this deadly, cross-class temptation, whoever gives in first is doomed!
How Not To Fall For A Dragon
Which is why it was more than a little confusing when a letter arrived with my name already printed on a schedule, a dorm waiting, and classes picked out as if someone knew me better than I knew myself. Everyone knows the Academy, it’s where witches sharpen their spells, shifters master their forms, and every kind of magical creature learns to control their gifts.
Everyone except me.
I don’t even know what I am. No shifting, no magic tricks, nothing. Just a girl surrounded by people who can fly, conjure fire, or heal with a touch. So I sit through classes pretending I belong, and I listen hard for any clue that might tell me what’s hidden in my blood.
The only person more curious than me is Blake Nyvas, tall, golden-eyed, and very much a Dragon. People whisper that he’s dangerous, warn me to keep my distance. But Blake seems determined to solve the mystery of me, and somehow I trust him more than anyone else.
Maybe it’s reckless. Maybe it’s dangerous.
But when everyone else looks at me like I don’t belong, Blake looks at me like I’m a riddle worth solving.
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
The Missing Mafia Princess and her CEO Mafia Don
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna
"Bella." Ethan's tone shifted, taking on that warning edge I knew too well. "Faye is vulnerable right now. She's terrified you'll resent her, that this will divide the pack. The last thing she wants is for this baby to come between us."
"Then you shouldn't have done it." I met his eyes squarely, letting him see the ice in mine. "Go back to your son."
"For fuck's sake." He dragged a hand through his hair. "How many times—it was artificial insemination. They used my sperm, yes, but Faye and I never—"
Bella let out a cold snort. Such brazen lies. Her mate had an affair with his brother's partner, and his entire family helped force her out with nothing, all to make way for the mistress to take her rightful position. Poor fool—he thought she was just an unwanted adopted daughter, easy to dismiss and control. He never knew the computer genius he'd been searching for was his own Luna.
Since he'd tainted himself, Bella was done. She rejected him and reclaimed what was hers, rising to the top with help from Victor, who'd been secretly in love with her for years.
When Ethan tried winning her back: "You don't want our child growing up fatherless."
Bella smiled mockingly. "The child's father isn't you."
The Hockey Alpha's Fake Girlfriend
Then there’s Rafael. Dark. Untouchable. The boy everyone talks about but no one really knows. He should be the last person Vivienne gets close to, yet she can’t look away. He pulls her in with a kind of danger that feels both terrifying and safe, like he sees the parts of her no one else can.
But Rafael carries secrets—secrets that could destroy them both. And the closer Vivienne gets, the harder it is to tell if he’s her way out… or the reason she never escapes.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
