Chapter 1

After waking up from a coma, I accidentally overheard my husband, Dylan Rivers, talking to the doctor.

Dylan said, "Make sure to keep it from my wife that her mother's corneas were transplanted to Sophia. If she asks, just tell her the corneas were damaged when they were removed."

Arrange the best ward for Sophie and check on her every day. There can't be any accidents."

The doctor asked, "What about a corneal donor for your wife?"

Dylan replied off-handedly, "Just try your best to find one. Anyway, she's been blind for years. It's not like it's urgent."

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and it felt as if my heart had plummeted into an icy abyss.

Here were the two people I'd once trusted blindly: my husband and my best friend.

They'd become the very weapons aimed at my heart.

With a heart full of despair, I decided to walk away, giving them the space to be together.

But Dylan wasn't going to let me go that easily. He chased me far and wide, following my every trail. Finally, he found me, pleading for me to return.

*****

When I woke up again, the hospital room was so quiet I could hear a pin drop.

Dylan's words haunted me, swirling in my mind like a spell I couldn't break.

I tried to move, wanting to ring for a nurse to help me sit up and get some water, but my body was so weak that my hand kept missing the call button. Before I knew it, I slipped and tumbled to the floor.

The noise in the room brought the nurse running.

Seeing me on the floor, the nurse rushed over, helped me up, and asked, "Mrs. Rivers, did you hurt yourself? Do you need a doctor to take a look at you?"

I rubbed my arm and was just about to tell the nurse I was okay when I heard footsteps approaching from outside the door.

Then Dylan's angry voice rang out. "Is this how you take care of my wife? If anything happens to her, you're all out of a job!"

Dylan had always been the picture of calm and grace, hardly ever losing his temper. As far as I could remember, the only times he ever got angry were because of me.

The last time he lost his cool was when I accidentally knocked over some hot water and burned myself—he scolded the maid and fired her right then and there.

He'd even replaced the driver without a second thought, just because the guy drove a little too fast and I ended up feeling carsick.

Dylan even swapped out the chef for someone more attentive after I cracked my tooth biting down on a bone.

Stuff like that happened all the time, but honestly, it was always on me. Yet he never blamed me, not even once.

"Honey, are you okay?" Dylan's worried voice pulled me back to reality.

I didn't want to drag anyone else into this, so I rasped out, "I'm fine. It's not her fault, I was just careless."

In retrospect, every time I stood up for someone else, Dylan would always cup my face, plant a gentle kiss, and say, "Whatever you say, honey."

Back then, it used to move me, but now, all I felt was disgust.

The nurse breathed a sigh of relief when she realized I wasn't going to blame her. She checked my arms and legs, made sure I was fine, and then quietly slipped out of the room.

Dylan helped me drink some water, his voice carrying a trace of grievance. "Honey, you're finally awake. You scared me half to death."

I fumbled for the glass he held to my lips and drank by myself, not acting cute or asking for hugs and sweet words like I used to.

Worried, he asked, "Honey, what's wrong? Are you still not feeling well? I'll call the doctor for you."

I heard him getting up and heading for the door.

Was he really in love with me, or was it all just an act?

Just as Dylan was about to leave, I called out, "No need, I'm fine. Where were you just now?"

He stopped in his tracks, pausing for a moment before turning around. "My assistant brought some documents for me to sign. I didn't want to disturb you, so I went to the next room."

I was blind, but because I couldn't see, my hearing and sense of smell had become razor sharp.

The lingering perfume in the air exposed his lie instantly.

To be covered in that strong a scent, he must've been right up next to her.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed a thousand times.

I steadied my breath and asked, "After I passed out from hearing about my mom's death, now that I'm awake, is my cornea transplant still possible?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the room fell completely silent.

I couldn't see, but I could almost feel the panic and tension radiating from Dylan.

After half a minute, he finally answered, his voice soft, but I could hear the strain in it. "Honey, when the doctors tried to take your mom's corneas, they found they were already damaged."

Just like what I'd heard earlier when I woke up.

I trembled all over, tears streaming down my face before I could stop them.

Dylan pulled me into his arms as he gently wiped away my tears. "Honey, don't be sad. I'll make sure you get better."

I bit down hard on my lip, pushing him away blindly, struggling to break free from his embrace.

It was all an act. Every single bit of it.

Didn't he ever get tired of pretending for so many years?

I heard him let out a low groan as he effortlessly seized my wildly flailing hands, his voice turning cold, all the warmth gone. "Will you just calm down already? I've already got people searching for a matching cornea donor."