Chapter 10
The day before the exhibition, I went to the hospital for my final check-up.
Kaylee examined my left eye carefully.
"It's healing well. No complications," she said.
"That's good," I replied.
"But Leila," Kaylee said, her gaze serious, "there's something you need to accept."
"What's it?" I asked.
"Your left eye will never see again," she said.
Never.
That word hit me like a sledgehammer.
I thought I was ready, but hearing Kaylee say it out loud still stung.
"Is there any way to fix it?" I asked.
"You could consider having a prosthetic eye fitted," Kaylee suggested.
A prosthetic eye.
A fake eye.
"It won't bring your sight back, but at least no one will be able to tell," Kaylee added.
I touched my eye mask. "I'll think about it."
After leaving the hospital, I stopped by the supermarket.
The exhibition was tomorrow, and I needed to prepare a decent outfit.
In the clothing section, I ran into someone.
It was Caitlin.
She was trying on a white dress.
When she saw me, her expression changed, and she immediately turned to leave.
"Hey," I said.
She froze but didn't turn around.
"Caitlin, don't you think you owe me the truth?" I asked.
Caitlin's shoulders trembled. "What truth?"
"What did you put on that tray?" I pressed.
There was a long silence.
Then she turned around, tears streaming down her face.
"I-It was lubricating oil," she choked out.
My heart sank.
Lubricating oil made the glass brittle, so it broke with a light touch.
"Why?" I askedr.
"Be-Because I was jealous of you," Caitlin shouted, her voice cracking. "Why does Rick care about you so much? Why did you get to be with him for all those years?"
"So you wanted to ruin my eye because of that?" I said.
"I never thought it would get this bad." Caitlin dropped to her knees. "I just wanted to make you look bad; I never thought..."
I looked at her kneeling on the ground, feeling surprisingly calm.
Turns out, the truth was that simple.
It was jealousy, plain and simple. That was why she hurt me.
"Get up," I said.
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with shock.
"Get up," I repeated. "Kneeling won't change anything."
Caitlin got to her feet, still trembling.
"A-Are you going to call the police?" she stammered.
"What do you think?" I shot back.
She bit her lip. "I can make it up to you."
"Make it up?" I scoffed. "Do you really think you can afford that?"
It wasn't about money.
It was about an eye. An artist's eye.
"Then what do you want?" Caitlin asked, her voice trembling with desperation.
I thought for a moment. "Two things."
"What are they?" she asked.
"First, leave this city and never show up in front of me or Roderick again," I said.
She nodded desperately.
"Second," I said, looking her straight in the eye, "I want you to turn yourself in to the police."
Caitlin's face went ghostly pale. "Turn myself in?"
"That's right. Go to the police station and tell them exactly what you did," I said.
"B-But if I do that, I'll be ruined," Caitlin whispered.
"Did you ever think about ruining my life when you destroyed my eye?" I shot back.
Caitlin was left speechless.
"Of course, you can choose not to go," I said calmly. "But if you don't, I'll send this recording straight to the cops."
Only then did she notice the phone in my hand.
"You recorded everything?" she asked.
"Ever since you confessed about the lubricating oil," I replied.
Caitlin's knees buckled, and she almost dropped to the floor again.
"Leila, please. I'm begging you," she pleaded.
"I'll give you three days to decide," I said.
Then I turned and left.
She started crying behind me.
I didn't look back.