The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 48

Claire wasn’t bothered at all.

Everyone else seemed worried she might just jab needles into Baldrick without a second thought, and honestly, she was just as anxious about treating someone who didn’t fully trust her.

“No need,” Baldrick said right away.

He’d already pulled up his pant leg, basically telling Claire to go ahead and do her thing.

Pandora trusted Claire completely, so she just stood by, watching without a word.

“This isn’t really comfortable for you. Why don’t you lie down on the bed? I’ll take care of the needles there.”

Baldrick nodded and did as she asked.

“Just try to relax,” Claire said gently.

The bedroom was warm, the air conditioner quietly humming in the background, so there was no worry about catching a chill.

Claire asked Baldrick to take off his jacket and pants. He hesitated for a second, clearly a little embarrassed.

“Don’t think of me as your friend’s granddaughter. Just see me as a doctor. To us, everyone is just a patient, not a man or a woman,” Claire reassured him.

It wasn’t like he’d never had a female doctor before, or never had a nurse give him a shot, but somehow, this felt different. Still, he had to get used to it.

With Jack’s help, Baldrick got his clothes off, and Claire immediately covered him with a blanket. She adjusted the temperature until the room felt cozy, and only then did she get started.

Instead of jumping right into acupuncture, Claire began by gently massaging his swollen knee. It was badly swollen, and the fact that Baldrick had flown all the way to Apex like this said a lot about how much he wanted to get better.

“How did your rheumatism get this bad?” Claire couldn’t help asking as she worked on his leg.

She’d heard from Dane that Baldrick’s health issues went way back to his younger days, but it just didn’t seem to fit with the man he was now. Then again, those were tough times—maybe some people really did suffer terribly back then.

Since she’d brought it up, Baldrick seemed willing to talk.

“I used to be wealthy, you know. But back then, that made me a ‘capitalist’—one of the so-called bad guys.”

“Mr. Baldrick’s asleep. Acupuncture helps with the pain, and I don’t think he’s had a good night’s sleep in a long time,” Claire said.

For her, this was just part of the job.

Jack finally relaxed. “Thank you, Claire. It’s true, he hasn’t slept well since winter started.”

The cold always made Baldrick’s rheumatism worse. Most nights, he couldn’t sleep at all.

“If he sticks to my treatment plan, he’ll be in a lot less pain within a month,” Claire promised.

Jack grinned, relief all over his face. “Looks like you really did inherit Hale’s skills.”

Pandora glanced at Claire. If she really had inherited the Carter Family’s old medical secrets, it would be a blessing. The Carters, after all, came from a long line of royal doctors.

But then she thought about it—if the heiress of the James Family had to go through so much just to learn medicine, maybe her life with the James family wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.