Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 264

"I just think it's a shame. How did someone so remarkably brilliant end up paralyzed?" Phoenix shook her head, her gaze resting openly on his unfeeling legs.

Her stare felt like needles, making Caleb incredibly uncomfortable. A wave of embarrassed anger rose in his chest. "Are you here to mock me? I know you're the star of the moment, and even Grandfather is full of praise for you."

"But that doesn't give you the right to trample on me."

Phoenix blinked, her bright eyes locking onto Caleb's as if they could see right through him. "I can tell. Deep down, you are refusing to accept this. You're furious at the unfairness of it all."

Caleb's expression stiffened, and he couldn't help but meet her gaze. Those eyes seemed to hold a magnetic pull, firmly capturing his attention.

"You used to be so full of pride. You once boldly claimed you could double the Prescott Group's revenue in a year. Yet, just six months later, you plummeted from the clouds into the mud, transforming from a genius into a cripple. That proud young man died, leaving behind only a depressed, isolated invalid."

"Stop it! Shut up!" Caleb squeezed his eyes shut in agony, shaking his head repeatedly.

But Phoenix's voice didn't stop. Instead, it sliced open his scars with the precision of a scalpel. "You think because your legs are paralyzed, your life is over. But a true genius is never defeated by a setback. Even if you're half-paralyzed, you can still use your mind to command empires and win wars from a thousand miles away."

Caleb's pupils constricted sharply as he stared blankly at Phoenix.

A true genius is never defeated by a setback...

Those words were like a powerful ray of dawn, violently piercing through the gloom he had hoarded for years, bringing a long-lost spark of vitality.

Ever since he became disabled, he had wallowed in despair, feeling his life was ruined.

Over the years, he had locked himself away, refusing to face the outside world, simply because he was afraid of seeing the pity and mockery in others' eyes.

His parents' comfort and advice had done nothing but scratch the surface of his pain.

But now, Phoenix's blunt, unvarnished words forcibly shattered the walls around his heart.

It wasn't that Phoenix was particularly good at giving advice, but... she was a genius too. Only someone of the same breed could truly shatter the arrogance and self-loathing of another.

"Can I... really do it?" Caleb looked down at his legs, his voice trembling.

"Why not?" Phoenix curled her lips, a hint of playful arrogance in her eyes. "Caleb, if you can't even overcome this little hurdle, what right do you have to be called a 'prodigy'?"

"Paralyzed legs? That's just a little extra difficulty setting God threw into your game of life. Are you going to forfeit just because it got a little harder?"

"A genius never surrenders!"

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