The Disabled CEO is my husband

"Mom, Dad... please. The admissions are open, and I passed. Please help me with $20,000 so I can pay my school fees and secure my admission spot," Elise said, her voice trembling as she knelt on the cold, tiled floor of the living room. Her clasped hands and pleading eyes showed how much she needed their help.

Margaret, her mother, barely looked up from her magazine, as she continued flipping a page with a bored expression. Her father's gaze shifted briefly to her, but the indifference in his eyes felt worse than outrightly saying no.

"We'll give you the money," her father, Charles, said at last, setting down his coffee cup. Relief washed over Elise, but it was fleeting and only for a moment.

"On one condition," he added, his voice sharp. "You'll marry Alejandro Mendoza."

The words hit Elise like a slap. She froze, her heart sinking as she processed what he'd said.

"What are you saying, Father?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Marry? But I don't even know him! Father, do you want me to marry a stranger just to get money for medical school?"

Margaret finally looked up, her lips curling into a disdainful frown. "Watch your tone, Elise." She yelled.

"Alejandro is the son of the Mendoza family. Do you know how much this union could benefit us? You should be grateful for an opportunity like this."

Elise's fists clenched at her sides. "Mom, this isn't an opportunity and you know it. I'm just being tied down to a union that I don't want against my choice."

She continued, "Mom, Dad, please you know how important this is to me. I've worked all my life just to get this admission and now that I've been accepted, please don't let me miss it."

Before her parents could reply, the sound of clicking heels came through the hallway. Clara, her younger sister, strolled into the room with a wide smile on her face, and her designer handbag swinging from her arm. Her hair was perfectly styled, her makeup delicate, and her presence dominated in a way that always made Elise feel invisible in front of her parents.

"Mom, Dad," Clara began, her voice sweet and melodic. "My friends and I are planning a boat cruise next weekend. It'll cost $50,000 each. Can you transfer the money today?"

Margaret's face lit up with pride. "Of course, darling. Anything that makes you happy, I'll do it with all my heart."

Clara beamed, leaning down to kiss her mother's cheek. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best."

She adjusted herself, then raised her face to Elise, a mocking smile tugging at her lips. "Why are you on the floor? Is it about the school thing again?"

Elise's voice disappeared for a moment, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "You'll give her $50,000 for a boat cruise, but for my medical school fees, I have to marry someone before I get support?"

Charles' expression hardened as he turned to Elise with fury. "Don't be dramatic, Elise. Clara deserves the best life, is it too much to give her? She's been through so much because of you. How are you not remorseful? The least you can do is make sacrifices for her happiness." He spat.

Elise's heart twisted. She had heard this argument too many times to count, that it barely held grounds anymore. "Sacrifices?" she repeated, her voice cracking this time.

"I've been sacrificing my whole life while you hand her everything on a silver platter. I've sacrificed vacations just to please you people, I've sacrificed my right as the first child and a child of this home. I've barely had access to what Clara enjoys. How much more should I sacrifice?"

"I've made so many sacrifices already that even if my crime was too big, it should have cleared it by now." Elise shook her head with tears, "It's too sad that I'm still treated this way because of what happened when we were kids. Something that I can barely remember."

"Enough!" Margaret snapped, anger evident in her voice "Don't you dare bring that up. Do you have any idea how much pain Clara endured because of you? Do you know the sleepless nights and agony you have caused your father and me? All because of your carelessness!"

"If you hadn't been so careless and had done as you were instructed, your sister wouldn't have spent two days lost and come back to us sick. Did you see how your sister looked? Lifeless! Yet you dare underplay the situation? Everything we've done for her is because she deserves it and even more." Margaret yelled.

Tears rolled out from Elise's eyes, so much that she couldn't control them. "She deserves it?" Her voice trembled as she asked. "And what about me? Do I deserve to be treated like a second-class citizen in my own family?"

Her father's glare was ice-cold. "Stop acting like a victim. You'll marry Alejandro and that's final. Now get out of here."

Clara's smirk widened as she watched the exchange. She had been quiet all along, watching the drama with a smile. How was Elise ever comparing herself to her? She wondered.

"Maybe if you weren't so difficult and asked me, then I can try to talk to Mom and Dad for you and they would help you with the fees," Clara shrugged.

Elise looked up at her sister and did not have any words. If she understood perfectly, then Clara was saying that she should pass through her to get considered for her school fees.

Elise's shoulders sagged as her gaze shuffled between her parents and her sister. She felt like she was suffocating, and the walls were closing in around her. Elise had expected this reaction considering that her parents never supported her dream, but she wanted to try anyway. Hearing everything they said, only served as a reminder to her to know her place.

Later that night, Elise sat at her small desk in her cramped bedroom, staring at her laptop screen. The admissions portal was open, the clock in the corner of the screen counting down 36 hours until closure. Her acceptance letter sat beside her, the words "Congratulations" causing an ache in every part of her.

She opened the portal again, entering her login details for what felt like the hundredth time that week. The fees section mocked her: $20,000 due in 35 hours. Elise's chest tightened as the deadline pulled closer.

Her parents' condition replayed in her mind, alongside the memories of her childhood.

She had been ten years old, and Clara was six. Their family had gone on an outing to the park, and as their parents set up a picnic, she played nearby with Clara. Being the elder, it was automatically her duty to watch her sister. But she had gotten a little distracted, chasing butterflies, and at that moment, Clara wandered off. By the time Elise noticed, Clara was long gone.

In a panic, her parents began to search for her and it lasted for two days. By the time they found Clara, she was shivering and barely conscious, huddled in the woods. She had developed a severe respiratory illness that plagued her for years.

Their parents blamed Elise for it, and from that moment, Clara became their focus, their fragile angel. While Elise became their scapegoat.

Elise closed her laptop with a shaky sigh. She had no idea what more to give to free her from the bondage of that day but she had run out of options.

The morning of the deadline arrived, and Elise found herself standing in the living room again, her parents watching her with expectant eyes.

"Mom, Dad," her voice was firm this time, masking her emotions. "I'll marry Alejandro. Just... please give me the $20,000 to pay my school fees."

Her mother's lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Good. It's settled, then."

"Payment Successful."

Elise's fingers hovered over the keyboard, her eyes glued on her laptop screen that displayed the confirmation page.

This was what she wanted, and she was supposed to be excited. Yet, as she stared at the screen, an unfamiliar feeling of emptiness washed over her.

She had just committed herself to a contract that would hand over her future to a man she didn't know, all to get her admission secured. The thought made her stomach churn. Was this even the right choice?

Elise let out a long, shaky breath, and as sad as she was, she couldn't ignore the part of her that knew the sacrifice was worth it. The opportunity to become a doctor was something she'd worked for her entire life. She couldn't afford to back down now. Still, the odds seemed like it was against her.

A thought came to her mind and she ran to her socials, typing Alejandro Mendoza into the search engine. Curiosity gnawed at her. What kind of man was he? Why would he marry someone that he didn't know? Her eyes moved through profiles, but nothing useful came up. She tried different variations of his name and checked any links, but there was still nothing.

Elise sighed, clicking on what seemed like a promising profile. But before the details could finish loading, she heard a voice from outside her room.

"Elise, come down to the living room," her mother called.

A knot tightened in Elise's chest. She clicked off the screen and then turned away from her laptop. What could it be now?

Elise sighed, then dragged herself to the living room surprised at the 'visitors' she saw there.

There, in the center of the room, was the man her mother introduced as her husband-to-be, Alejandro Mendoza. He was in a wheelchair, his face settling in a frown. A few other people who Margaret introduced as his family, the Mendoza were there also.

Elise's eyes widened as she looked at Alejandro. Was her parents aware that they were marrying her off to a disabled man?

Instantly she turned to them, only to meet that same patronizing smile they always gave her when they thought they were doing something for her 'benefit' when in fact, they only saw her as a commodity to trade.

She glanced at Alejandro again. Undoubtedly he was a fine man. But his state and the arrogance in his face? It now made sense to her that he would want to get involved with a woman he knew little of.

Margaret turned to Elise with a smile, "We'd finalize the marriage plans, and you'd be taking care of him as your husband."

Elise nodded. She had accepted it herself, so even as she wasn't comfortable with the arrangement, there was no point showing it.

The tension in the room grew thick when her mother ushered them to go outside. "You two should step outside and get to know each other a bit more."

They did not argue and as soon as they were out on the porch, Elise breathed in relief.

Alejandro rolled his chair over to the railing, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. "Let me guess," he muttered, his voice cool. "Your parents didn't tell you what this was about?"

Elise blinked, taken aback by the sudden directness of his statement. "I'm sorry?"

He turned his gaze toward her, his eyes sharp and challenging. "You're here because they're paying you to be my caretaker, because I can't see you as my wife. How much are they paying you ?"

Elise's chest tightened and she looked at him with a frown. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Alejandro scoffed, pushing his chair slightly forward. "Come on, no one would marry a crippled man unless there's something to gain. You think I'm stupid?"

Her eyes flashed in irritation. "My parents did not pay me anything to marry you. I mean, I did it for money but it has nothing to do with you. I only agreed to this because I needed twenty thousand to pay my school fees."

Alejandro's face twisted in disbelief. "So, you're willing to sell yourself for twenty thousand dollars? How noble of you."

Elise's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. "Call it what you want. If I had a choice, I won't ever agree."

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. No woman in her right mind would ever want to be with someone like me. Not when they can show off some perfect, healthy guy, with the world at his feet. But hey, you're probably just looking for a way out of your crappy life, and I'm the perfect ticket, aren't I?"

Her patience was wearing thin, but she stood her ground. "You don't know anything about me. So stop accusing me of things that aren't true. I didn't ask for this. You and your family made this deal with mine. I agreed because my parents gave me a condition. That's all. No more, no less."

He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw clenched in frustration, but he didn't say anything further. The tension between them was suffocating and Elise didn't want to stay back anymore.

She turned on her heel, making her way back inside. "You're right about one thing. I needed a way out of my crappy life, so I agreed to this. But don't accuse me of anything else."

Back inside, her parents were deep in conversation with Alejandro's family, discussing the terms of their 'marriage.'

"We don't need a big wedding," her father said, leaning back in his chair, and looking at Alejandro's family with a smug satisfaction. "It's wiser to keep things simple, just sign the papers. We'll arrange the rest later."

Elise felt a rush of disgust. Her father was already treating her like property, and it made her want to yell at him. But she didn't. She remained silent.

Alejandro's family seemed agreeable to the plan, but Elise noticed the subtle discomfort in Alejandro's eyes. Her mind wandered through many things, the reality of her situation settling on her.

She stood up abruptly, heading for her room as she needed a moment to breathe. Her laptop was waiting for her on the desk, and surprisingly the profile she had been looking for was on display.

"Alejandro Mendoza."

She sighed. Earlier, she wanted to know who he was, but now, it seemed irrelevant. The curiosity she'd had about Alejandro had disappeared.

She closed her social media tabs, preparing to focus on her studies. But then, a thought hit her like a bolt of lightning.

"Nerve compression and paralysis."

Without thinking, she opened her browser and began typing. Whatever this man's story was, she needed to know more. This wasn't just about money anymore. It was about understanding what she was truly walking into.

With a smile on her lips, Elise stared at the screen as the information popped up. What if her future could change from just this?

Elise leaned forward, her face illuminated by the glow of her laptop screen. The clock on the wall ticked past midnight, but she didn't notice. Her browser was cluttered with tabs, each one opened to medical research papers, forums, and videos on nerve damage and paralysis. She tapped her pen absently against her notebook, which was now covered with frantic scribbles and underlined phrases.

"Come on, there has to be something," Elise muttered to herself, scrolling past another dense medical article. Her eyes moved back to her notes, where she had scrawled the words nerve compression. She tapped her pen faster. "It's not impossible. It can't be."

Her mind raced as she replayed the moment she saw Alejandro's leg twitch. It had been faint, almost not there, but it was. She'd thought little of it at the time, but now it seemed very important. "If the nerve was completely severed," she whispered, "there'd be no movement at all. Right?"

She opened a new tab and began typing furiously. "Nerve regeneration after paralysis," she murmured as she hit enter. The search results loaded, and Elise skimmed through them, her eyes darting from title to title. Some articles seemed promising, others not exactly, but she clicked on anything that might give her an answer adding more scribbles to her notebook.

"This has to mean something," she muttered, as she flipped through a medical journal PDF. "Twitches indicate residual activity. Compression... that's reversible. But how?" She chewed the end of her pen, staring at the screen as if willing to give her the breakthrough she needed.

A notification pinged from her email, pulling her briefly from her research. She ignored it, refocusing on the data in front of her. Hours passed but she stayed behind her laptop searching for answers. Case studies, rare diagnoses, and unconventional treatments began to form a jumble of possibilities in her mind. She needed this to work, it was her only way to free herself.

After what seemed like an eternity, Elise sat back, her eyes burning from the screen as she smiled. She'd found enough to be certain of one thing: Alejandro's condition wasn't untreatable though how his body responded to the treatment was entirely what she had no control of.

She closed her laptop with a satisfied sigh and grabbed her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she found the number Alejandro's family had provided. Her thumb hovered over the call button, but she hesitated. What if he didn't believe her? What if she was wrong? Regardless, She pushed the doubts aside and hit the dial icon.

The phone rang twice before a gruff voice answered. "Hello."

"It's Elise," she replied, her voice steady despite her nerves. "The girl that you are getting married to." She knew that introduction was not important but she continued, "I need to talk to you. It's important."

There was a pause on the other end. "What could be so urgent?" Alejandro's voice came.

"It's about your condition," Elise replied. "I think there's a chance it can be treated."

Another pause followed, longer this time. When Alejandro finally spoke, his voice was cold. "Are you serious? Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm not joking," she said firmly. "Just hear me out. Can we meet? Tomorrow? At the park near the library?"

"Why should I waste my time?" he snapped.

"Because I don't have so much time to play around also, and I wouldn't be calling you if I wasn't sure," Elise snapped.

Alejandro let out a sharp breath. "Fine. Let's meet tomorrow at noon. If you're wasting my time, you'll regret it." He hung up before she could respond.

Elise hissed as she stared at the blank screen. For someone who was in the same situation as her, he was such a rude man.

The next day, Elise arrived at the park early, clutching her notebook tightly. She sat on a bench near the fountain, her eyes scanning the path for Alejandro. Her heart pounded as she rehearsed what she would say.

At exactly noon, he appeared, wheeling himself along the cobblestone path. His expression was blank, but his eyes were sharp as they locked onto hers. "Well?" he said, stopping a few feet away. "I'm here. What's so important?"

Elise stood, meeting his gaze. "I'm glad you came. I've been doing a lot of research, and judging from my findings, I think your condition might have been misdiagnosed."

Alejandro's eyes narrowed. "Misdiagnosed?"

She nodded, flipping open her notebook to show him her notes. "When we met, I noticed something. Your leg twitched. If the damage to your nerves was irreversible, that wouldn't happen. It's a sign that there's still some activity. I think your paralysis is due to nerve compression, not severance."

Alejandro laughed bitterly. "A twitch? That's your groundbreaking discovery? Do you have any idea how many specialists I've seen? The best in the world, by the way.

You think you know more than the specialists? They've already ruled that out."

"They were wrong," Elise shot back, her voice rising.

"And ohh, you are right and I'm supposed to believe you." He mocked. "Do you even know the stress it takes to wheel from the parking area to this place? I shouldn't have listened to you in the first place." He flared.

"You are not a doctor, neither have you gone through my files and you are blabbing that you have a solution." Alejandro gritted his fists, sweat beads already forming on his face. He was angry at himself and he blamed his desperation. If not, why would a girl who wasn't up to his social level embarrass him this way?

Elise was stunned as she looked at him. She could not exactly say that she understood what he was going through, but she wished that he'd listen to her at least.

"I am sorry," Elise voiced out, "But I am so sure, please believe me. The doctors probably missed something," Elise said, her voice calm and convincing.

"They are humans and they're not perfect. I just feel they might have dismissed you because they're too focused on the usual treatments. But there are alternative approaches that they might not have considered."

Alejandro stared at her, she had managed to calm him down a bit. "And what makes you so sure?"

"Let me prove it," Elise said, pulling a small needle from her bag. "May I?"

He stared at her, then at the needle. "You're kidding."

"Just trust me," she said. "If you don't feel anything, I'll drop it. But if you do..."

With a resigned sigh, Alejandro nodded. Elise knelt beside his wheelchair and gently pricked his calf. "Do you feel that?" she asked.

There was a long pause before he spoke. "It's faint. But it's there."

Elise's heart leapt. "Exactly. That proves there's still some connection. Your nerves aren't completely dead. It's compression. I'm sure of it."

Alejandro frowned, his defenses starting to waver. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"Nothing," Elise said. "I just want to help. If I can prove this, there's no need for this marriage. You can walk again, and we can both move on."

He studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Hmm. But if you're wrong..."

"I won't be," she said confidently, meeting his gaze.

For a long moment, Alejandro said nothing. Then, with a sharp motion, he wheeled closer to her. "Fine," he announced. "But I have conditions."

Elise frowned. "What kind of conditions?"

"We'd stay together in this marriage and you'd be my caretaker. If you heal me, then I'll let you go."

Alejandro didn't want his parents to force him on any other person as a way of 'helping' him and considering that Elise did not seem bad, he thought it best to keep her around.

Elise nodded in response. His demand did not seem unreasonable and it was probably better than being a second-class citizen in her home.

"We have a deal then."