Chapter 1

I was a total neat freak, and even after being married for a year, our relationship was never really physical.

But despite that, my husband treated me like I was his whole world. Even after the accident that left me blind, he stayed by my side and took care of me as if nothing had changed.

Because of that, I trusted him completely. I even handed over the company and all my assets for him to manage.

Then one day, my doctor called to tell me there was a chance my eyesight could be restored.

So I kept it from my husband and went through the surgery on my own.

When I finally came home, excited and ready to tell him the good news, I walked into a house that used to be mine—but now carried the scent and presence of another woman in every corner.

And that was the moment I realized: this marriage had been a setup from the very beginning.

*****

I never imagined that Patrick Pearce would betray me.

After all, ever since I lost my sight, he had been even gentler than before, more attentive, more patient.

I truly believed I had married the perfect man. Turns out, I didn't strike gold at all. I picked up trash and mistook it for treasure.

Before I married Patrick, he was handsome, wealthy, and constantly surrounded by women who wanted him.

Yet somehow, he was completely devoted to me.

To marry me, he put my name on a luxury mansion in the city center without hesitation.

He even spent millions remodeling the entire house in a vintage style, just because it matched my taste.

He never once looked down on me for being an orphan. He treated me like something precious, protecting me as if I were made of glass.

And now, all that love felt like a joke.

The house he had once spent millions restoring had been transformed into a flashy pink, princess-style nightmare. Everything looked loud, tacky, and overdone.

In the living room, the spot where our wedding photo used to hang now displayed a framed picture of Patrick standing close to another woman, smiling as if they were the perfect couple.

Even my piano on the balcony was gone. In its place sat a wooden table cluttered with strange ornaments, along with vases of lilies, the one flower I hated most.

And my husband, Patrick, was holding the woman from the photo in his arms. Their bodies were pressed together, intimate and natural, like two people deeply in love.

He must have heard me come in, because Patrick turned around and looked at me.

"Didn't you go for your eye checkup today?" he asked. "Why are you back so early? How did it go? Is there any chance your eyesight might come back?"

His voice was eager, almost too eager, as if he truly cared.

But the worry in his eyes gave him away.

In the end, he was just afraid my sight would return, and I would see things I was never meant to see.

I forced myself to stay calm and said coolly, "The doctor said my eyes are the same as before. There's no change at all."

"Really?" he said. "That's such a shame. But don't worry, sweetheart. Even if you never see again, I'll always be by your side. I'll be your eyes."

His words sounded impossibly tender.

In the past, those words would have moved me to tears.

Now, they only made my stomach turn.

"I'm a little tired," I said. "I'm going to rest in the bedroom."

Not wanting to witness the intimacy on the couch any longer, I hurriedly felt my way back to the room.

Luckily, after a year of living in darkness, I had long adapted to moving around without my sight. Even now that my vision had returned, pretending to still be blind was effortless.

Patrick didn't suspect a thing.

Once inside the bedroom, I closed the door behind me and collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.

As I replayed the past year in my mind, every sweet and tender memory turned into a blade, slicing through the lies I had believed in.

Hot tears spilled out uncontrollably.

The truth was, I should have noticed earlier. Lately, he had been leaving early and coming home late every day.

I told myself he was busy with work and simply didn't have time for me.

But seeing him bring another woman straight into our home made everything painfully clear. It wasn't that he had no time for me. He had found someone new.

I was still reeling when voices drifted in from the living room.

"Paddy, how much longer do you expect me to put up with this? That blind woman has had you to herself for over a year. Why won't you just divorce her already?"

"Keep your voice down. What if she hears you? Vicky, just give me a little more time," Patrick said softly. "Once I get what I need, I'll divorce her right away. Okay?"

Just a few simple lines, and yet they told me everything.

First, I recognized the woman's voice. It was Victoria Bates. She was my boss, and also Patrick's junior from school. I had heard she had chased after him back in their school days.

Second, this was not some recent affair. They had likely been together far longer than I realized.

Third, Patrick wanted something from me. I still didn't know what it was, but his intentions were clear.

In an instant, the marriage I had once been so proud of fell apart, leaving nothing but a mess.

From time to time, I could hear them eating and chatting in the living room, their laughter light and carefree.

Meanwhile, I felt like the punchline to a cruel joke.

All this time, they had been lowering their voices and putting on a show in front of me. How exhausting that must have been for them.

Now that I knew Patrick had married me with an agenda, there was no way I would let him get what he wanted.

I was going to divorce him.

And if we were getting divorced, then the company and the assets he had been managing for me all had to come back to me as well.

After steadying myself, I called Patrick from the bedroom and told him I had a fever. I said I didn't want to risk infecting him, so he should sleep in the guest room tonight.

He agreed readily, without a hint of concern for how I was feeling.

I let out a silent laugh.

With the chance to keep his mistress in the house overnight, of course he was happy.

At that moment, I felt nothing but relief. Relief that my severe cleanliness issues had kept me from ever being intimate with Patrick, and relief that this unexpected turn of events had finally shown me who he really was.