Chapter 2

As I turned the corner in the hallway, someone suddenly reached out and stopped me.

It was Michael Cole, the chief ophthalmologist and Lucas's toughest rival in the department.

He held a report and lowered his voice. "Charlotte, are you out of your mind? How could you sign the consent form in such condition?

"I heard that patient only has a tiny scratch. If she uses some eye drops, it will heal. Why would you give up the precious cornea you've waited three years for?

"And your sympathetic ophthalmia is already acting up. Your left eye's vision is getting worse fast.

"If you don't get the cornea transplant immediately to restore blood flow, you'll be totally blind in less than two weeks."

I stopped in my tracks.

Sympathetic ophthalmia was one of the scariest things that could happen to one's eyes.

Once one eye got hurt, the other would start to rebel. In the end, the patient would lose sight in both.

And sure enough, the edges of my left eye's vision were already blurring with dark shadows. It was like an ink stain, slowly eating away what little light I had left.

I hadn't told Lucas about it.

Or maybe it was that he was so caught up with Eva's little eye injury from her fall, he didn't have time to check my follow-up report.

I pulled a folding cane from my bag, flicked my wrist, and the cane snapped open, tapping against the ice-cold hospital floor.

"It's fine, Dr. Cole," I said, looking up at the incandescent light at the end of the hallway. The glow in my vision was already starting to blur. "I'm done with treatment."

*****

The next day, Lucas dragged himself home, worn out after pulling an all-nighter in surgery.

When he opened the door, not only was he holding my favorite white roses, but he also had three electricians in uniform trailing behind him.

Within two hours, the entire lighting system in the house had been swapped out.

Lucas had spent a fortune installing a full set of top-of-the-line smart voice-controlled lights.

As soon as the workers left, he gently wrapped his arms around me from behind.

He rested his chin softly on my shoulder, his voice weary but full of affection. "Babe, I know you're scared of the dark.

"From now on, whenever you make a sound, even just a cough or a quiet operational command, the house will light up immediately.

"By the way, Eva's surgery went really well. The special meds are working great for her recovery.

"Once Eva's competition is over, I'll take my annual leave and take you abroad to see the snow."

He was always like this. When he was good to me, he was so attentive that it was almost perfect.

But all that caring only came after he took away my last hope of seeing again. He was trying to patch things up with romance and fancy gifts.

I let him hold me, but my body was stiff as a board.

When we were about to sit down for dinner, the doorbell rang.

John and Amy Lane, Eva's parents, used Eva's successful surgery as an excuse to drop by, showing up with a basket of fruit in hand.

At the dinner table, Lucas had made my favorite soup. He cooked it exactly to my taste, completely non-greasy, and ladled it into my bowl.

Amy sat across from me, her eyes lingering on my right eye, which was clouded with shadow. Then she spoke up, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Charlotte, don't blame Lucas for playing favorites.

"Eva is a swan on stage. Her eyes are everything.

"As for your interpretation job? You can do it with headphones on. Even if you close your eyes, you can still make money.

"You should put Eva first and make sacrifices. That's what family means."

She paused, put a piece of meat into her mouth, and went on, "We're all family, so don't be so petty about it."

I ignored her, keeping my head down and sipping my soup.

John took a sip of his drink, let out a sigh, and gave me that serious, fatherly look. "Charlotte, Amy might be blunt, but she's right about this.

"Eva lost her parents when she was a kid. We raised her ourselves, and it wasn't easy. We're pinning all our hopes on her making it as a dancer.

"You've already lost sight in one eye, and you've learned to live with it. So why compete with Eva for this medical treatment?"

John set down his glass and looked at Lucas, his eyes full of approval. "Lucas, as Eva's brother-in-law, you really know what's important. That's what it means to think about the big picture.

"Charlotte, we can't keep spoiling you just because you've got a disability and we're your relatives. You need to be sensible about this."

I gripped my spoon so hard that the soup in it started to shake.

Because I'd already lost sight in one eye, I was supposed to live with it.

Because I was "damaged," I was expected to give up my last hope of seeing the light again, just so people could call me sensible.

Lucas stopped sipping his soup, set his bowl down with a heavy thud, and his brows knitted together.

"Uncle John, Aunt Amy," Lucas said, his voice low. "Charlotte is one of the best interpreters in the country. Every major conference she works at demands absolute precision. There's no room for mistakes.

"She's fought for everything she has with her own talent, so please give her the respect she deserves."

He stood up for me, unwavering.

He defended my reputation as a top interpreter, but he completely ignored John's comment about me being blind in one eye.

Deep down, he thought John and Amy were right.

In his mind, my eyesight didn't matter as much as Eva's future.