Chapter 1

At my twentieth birthday party, my childhood sweetheart, Archie Wilcox, smiled and said he had a surprise for me.

Then, a massive cake was smashed directly into my face.

Shards of glass mixed in the cream stabbed into my left eye.

The doctor said I would suffer permanent blindness, and there was no way to recover.

The perpetrator, Caitlin Evans, that schoolmate who was always clinging to Archie, pitifully explained, "I'm sorry, Leila. I just wanted to play a joke on you. I didn't know the cake tray would break."

Archie stepped in front of her to shield her. "Leila, Caitlin didn't mean it. Don't blame her."

Touching the bandages wrapped around my left eye, I suddenly laughed.

It turned out that my eye, my life, could all be treated as a joke.

"Archie," I said calmly, "we're over."

He froze. "What did you say? Just because of an accident?"

I didn't answer; I just packed my things and moved out of the apartment we shared.

Archie ran after me, his voice filled with disbelief. "Leila, are you serious?"

"Yes," I said.

From then on, I lost one eye, and one person disappeared from my world.

*****

I was lying in the emergency room bed. The sharp pain in my left eye felt like someone was stabbing it with a needle, one prick at a time.

Roderick stood by my bedside, his face a little pale but more impatient than anything.

"The doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for observation," he said quietly. "I've already taken care of the paperwork."

I tried to nod, but it pulled at my wound, making me gasp in pain.

Just then, the hospital room door swung open, and Caitlin rushed in, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Leila, I'm so sorry, really." She was bawling her eyes out. "I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. Who could've guessed the cake tray would just break like that?"

I closed my right eye, not wanting to look at her.

But Roderick walked over and patted her shoulder gently. "It's okay, stop crying. It's not your fault."

"B-But Leila's eye..." Caitlin stammered.

"She'll be fine," Roderick tried to reassure her. "Medicine's so advanced now, it will definitely get better."

Listening to their conversation, an indescribable feeling welled up in my heart.

I was the one who got hurt, so why was she the one who needed comfort?

The attending doctor pushed the door in, his expression serious.

"Family member, come with me for a moment," he said.

Roderick followed the doctor out.

Only Caitlin and I were left in the room.

She was still sobbing, wiping her tears while saying, "Please, Leila, don't hate me. Honestly, I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

I opened my right eye to look at her.

Caitlin was wearing a white dress, the one Roderick helped her pick out last week.

I remembered how Roderick had bailed on our movie night last week, all because Caitlin was in a bad mood and needed him to cheer her up.

"Caitlin." My voice was soft. "Did you prepare the cake?"

Caitlin froze for a second, then nodded, stammering, "Y-Yeah, I did. I just wanted to give you a surprise."

I asked, "And the tray? You picked that out too?"

"I..." Caitlin bit her lip. "The clerk said it was a new design, really pretty."

I didn't say anything else.

When Roderick came back, his face looked even worse than before.

He glanced at Caitlin. "Caitlin, you should go back first."

"But—" Caitlin started.

"Just do as I say," Roderick said.

Caitlin reluctantly shuffled out of the room.

The room went quiet, with only the machines beeping every now and then.

"What did the doctor say?" I asked.

Roderick was silent for a long time, so long that I thought he wouldn't answer.

"The glass shards cut through your cornea and hit your lens," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It might affect your vision."

"Might?" I repeated.

"The doctor said it depends on how things go, but..." Roderick paused. "The worst-case scenario is permanent blindness."

Permanent blindness.

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut.

My left eye might never see again.