“You’re Mr. Hart’s granddaughter?” Four years after our breakup, Ethan Pierce stood at the door asking me this, his tone so distant, as if we had never met. Before I could answer, a bright, cheerful voice came through his phone. “Let’s go set off fireworks together after dinner.” Four years ago, that same voice had forced him to choose. He dumped me on the spot and told me our seven years together were just a way to make Vivian jealous. I gripped the gift bag tighter, my knuckles turning white. Mr. Pierce Senior was Grandpa’s old war buddy and also my secret patient. They did not know that the “worthless woman” they mocked relentlessly, the one they abandoned without a second thought, was actually the only surgeon who could save his life. Then Vivian deliberately kicked over the fireworks. The launch tubes aimed straight at me. Ethan rushed past me and threw himself over Vivian, shielding her with his body. Searing pain exploded in my eyes. “Natalie, Vivian passed out. I’m taking her away first. Find somewhere safe and wait for me.” Fine then. I will hide somewhere he will never find me again.
Natalie’s POV With Thanksgiving approaching, Grandpa’s war buddy returned home due to illness. As the secretly hired specialist surgeon, I accompanied Grandpa on a visit. I never expected to see Ethan Pierce answering the door, my ex-boyfriend who had cut contact four years ago. The moment our eyes met, we both froze. Ethan broke the silence first. “You’re Mr. Hart’s granddaughter?” Before I could respond, his phone rang. Vivian Ross’s bright voice came through. “Let’s go set off fireworks in the suburbs after dinner. We’ll pray for Grandpa and wish him a successful surgery.” My hand clenched around the gift bag. Four years ago, that same voice had demanded hysterically: “Choose! Her or me, Ethan? Natalie Hart or Vivian Ross?” Vivian had pointed at me sitting nearby, her laugh cold. “Ethan, I know you got together with Natalie just to provoke me, to make me see my own heart clearly. Well, I see it now. So what about you? If you want me, break up with her. Right now.” My heart seized. I looked instinctively at Ethan in the booth, hoping he’d deny it. If he just explained, I’d believe him. Because I couldn’t believe that seven years together, three years dating, had only been manipulation. But Ethan just looked at me silently, his eyes showing the relief of truth finally exposed. Clearly dissatisfied with his silence, Vivian grabbed her purse from the table and smiled coldly. “You’re hesitating. Fine. Since this decision is so hard for you, I’ll back out. You and her can stay together.” She turned to leave, but Ethan pulled her into his arms, coaxing gently: “You’ve got to give me some time to process, don’t you? If I’d known that one kiss with another girl in front of you would make you see your feelings clearly, why would I have wasted all that time?” In that moment, I dug my nails into my palm, forcing down the burning sensation in my nose. So he thought being with me was wasting time. But I had truly loved Ethan Pierce for seven years. Seven years. I’d offered him my most precious love. At first he ignored it. Later, when he finally accepted it, it was only to use me as a tool to provoke the woman he actually loved, to make Vivian face her own feelings. So what did that make me? A catalyst for their love? I was about to speak when Ethan, still holding Vivian, cut me off. “Let’s break up, Natalie. We’re done.” Seeing his complete indifference, my heart still couldn’t help but ache. I forced down the tightness in my throat and asked: “Why me?” “Because you liked me.” He tilted his head slightly, his smile carrying a careless arrogance. “You chased me for four years straight. You threw yourself at me. I chose to do you a favor. Shouldn’t you be grateful?” He paused, then laughed softly. “At least be grateful I let you into a world you could never have entered on your own.” In that moment, I finally realized he truly had never liked me. And from the very beginning, he’d looked down on me. He chose me only because I was loyal enough and had no connections, so I’d be easy to dispose of. That day, I don’t remember how I fled the club in humiliation. I only remember the mocking, jeering looks from everyone in that private room, drowning me.
Natalie’s POV I stood by the street and pulled out my phone to call a car. My fingers were shaking, but I accidentally opened Instagram instead. Ethan, who almost never posted on Instagram, had posted something two minutes ago. A photo of him and Vivian kissing, surrounded by their friends, filled my screen. The caption read: “I always thought I couldn’t love someone properly. Being with you taught me I was just saving all that love for you. Hello, girlfriend.” The comments were full of congratulations. Even friends who’d recently praised how well Ethan and I matched had changed their tune. “A real princess looks best standing next to you. Congrats on finally being with the woman you love.” The emotions I’d held in all night finally broke. I cried uncontrollably, mourning the waste of my genuine feelings. I thought Ethan’s devoted attention to me over our three years together came from love. I never imagined he was deliberately performing for Vivian to see. I was just a tool in their emotional tug-of-war. Seven whole years of liking him. Even just thinking about him had made my face flush and my heart race. In that moment, all of it turned to ashes. “Ethan, why are you standing in the doorway like that? Let the guests in!” Mrs. Pierce’s voice pulled me back to the present. I looked away and greeted her politely, then walked past Ethan into the house. Over the years, I’d heard many stories about Mr. Pierce Senior from Grandpa, but I never imagined he was Ethan’s grandfather. And Mr. Pierce Senior was also the patient I’d secretly taken on. The atmosphere at dinner was warm. My phone kept buzzing. I glanced down to see a screenful of messages from my daughter. A smile tugged at my lips as I typed a reply. “Baby, Mommy misses you too. I’ll come home as soon as I finish work.” She replied instantly: “Only miss your daughter? Not me?” My smile deepened. I typed “miss you too” and put down my phone. When I looked up, my gaze collided unexpectedly with Ethan’s dark eyes. Just one glance, and I looked away, returning to my meal. The next second, Mrs. Pierce warmly placed a steamed crab on my plate. I looked up to speak, but Ethan across from me suddenly said casually: “She can’t eat that.” The atmosphere went quiet for a moment. Everyone looked at him questioningly. Ethan cleared his throat and explained: “I’ve heard many people are allergic to seafood. Just mentioning it.” Mrs. Pierce turned to me. “Natalie, can you eat it?” I paused for a second, then shook my head calmly. “Actually, I am allergic.” Ethan’s lips curved almost imperceptibly. Mrs. Pierce kindly replaced it with other food. I thanked her politely, ignoring Ethan’s occasional glances. After dinner, the adults started chatting. Seeing me sitting idly, they asked Ethan, who’d just finished a phone call, to take me to set off fireworks. I started to decline, but Ethan had already grabbed his jacket and walked over. “Come along. It’ll be fun. I’ll drive you back after.” His familiar tone made Mrs. Pierce look over. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, I followed him to the car. “You can drop me at the nearest subway station.” I said politely. Ethan acted like he hadn’t heard, driving on his own. I repeated myself. This time Ethan finally glanced at me. “Why so nervous? You don’t actually think I want to get back together with you, do you?”
Natalie’s POV I looked at him calmly and said quietly: “That’s not what I thought. I just need to video call my daughter later. I can’t get back too late.” At that, Ethan laughed carelessly. “You’re lying to remind me you’ve moved on, aren’t you?” He turned to look at me, his smile deepening. “But don’t you think that tactic is a bit childish?” “Don’t worry. Even if you wanted to get back together, I wouldn’t choose you. So you don’t need to go through all this trouble making up excuses to avoid me. I’m only bringing you because Grandpa said the Pierce family doesn’t neglect guests.” With things at this point, I didn’t want to argue further. That would only make me seem petty and unable to let go. I could only text my daughter to tell her to sleep early tonight. After some time, the car stopped in front of a suburban villa. The moment I pushed open the villa door, everyone inside looked up at me, their faces showing surprise. “Natalie Hart.” Someone spoke first, their voice mocking. “Four years ago when your PhD application failed, Ethan wanted to help you out of past sentiment, but you ran off abroad without a word. We all thought you had such backbone. Guess things didn’t work out overseas, so you came crawling back to him?” Laughter erupted throughout the villa. “Sucking up to Ethan beats working odd jobs abroad. After all, his pocket change could feed her for a lifetime.” “Too bad there is no chance now. Ever since Ethan left medicine to take over the family business, Pierce Group’s market value has multiplied who knows how many times. And our Vivian is now the hospital’s star surgeon. They’re a power couple. Stop your wishful thinking. You weren’t good enough before, and you are even less so now.” “Don’t say that.” Vivian spoke up at the right moment. “If it weren’t for Ethan and me, Natalie wouldn’t have left the country in anger. She is struggling so much now. Ethan and I are responsible.” She walked over to me, her tone condescending. “Tell you what, our hospital is hiring janitors. The job market’s tough right now. If you can’t find work, I’ll mention it to the director and get you in. The pay isn’t high, but it’s still six thousand dollars a month. Should help with expenses.” I looked at her calmly and declined. Someone immediately shouted at me: “Natalie, you came back to the country and showed up in front of Ethan again. Aren’t you just trying to get something out of him? Stop pretending! Vivian’s kind enough to offer you a job and you’re being picky? What, too embarrassing and the money’s too slow?” A man holding a wine glass walked over and grabbed my wrist. “Seeing how pathetic you are now, drink one glass and I’ll transfer you a thousand bucks.” “If you want fast money, come to me. I’ll introduce you around…” The group burst into mocking laughter. Vivian stood to the side as always, watching me with haughty disdain. But this time, I didn’t run. I took the glass, about to throw it in the man’s face, when Ethan, standing nearby, suddenly crushed out his cigarette and grabbed the man’s arm hard. “Behave yourself.” His expression was angry, his eyes cold. The man yelped as Ethan’s grip hurt him. Vivian tugged on Ethan’s sleeve, her tone displeased. “What are you doing?” His face stayed cold. “Today, Natalie Hart is a guest of the Pierce family. Anyone who disrespects her is slapping my face. Understand?” He released the man, who didn’t dare challenge Ethan but glared viciously at me.
Natalie’s POV I looked up at Ethan instinctively, surprised he would actually help me. Vivian was grinding her teeth, but she smiled and changed the subject. “You know Chris always jokes around. Why turn on your friend over an outsider? We came to set off fireworks. I’ll go light them.” Ethan nodded, his tone softening. “I’ll help.” “No need.” Vivian deliberately held his arm tighter. “I told you this fireworks show is my gift to you and Grandpa. You just need to enjoy it.” Ethan smiled and reached up to tap her nose. He glanced unconsciously in my direction, but I wasn’t even looking at them. I was looking down at my phone. I looked up at the same moment and saw the row of fireworks in the yard tip over due to Vivian’s “mistake,” the launch tubes aimed directly at where I stood. “Watch out!” Ethan’s face changed. He rushed forward, but as he passed me, he accidentally knocked me to the ground. Before I could react, I saw Ethan shield Vivian tightly under his body. The next second, exploding fireworks splashed into my eyes. Instantly, searing pain exploded deep in my eyeballs. It hurt so much I couldn’t even scream. I tried instinctively to move away, but waves of flames burned my hair and back, searing through my clothes, scorching my skin. Endless darkness and terror overwhelmed me. All I could do was crawl desperately sideways, my fingers searching blindly for an escape route. Just as I reached my breaking point, my fingers suddenly touched someone’s shoe. Like a drowning person grabbing driftwood, I clutched desperately at their pant leg. Even using all my strength to steady myself, my voice shook terribly. “Please, help me…” But before I finished, the person in front of me pulled away without hesitation. A familiar deep voice hit like a hammer, shattering my last shred of hope. “Natalie, Vivian passed out. I’m taking her out of here first. Find somewhere safe and wait for me. I’ll be right back.” I let go, all hope gone. Then, with my burning, bloodshot eyes, I struggled inch by inch toward the edge. The next second, a pair of hands suddenly helped me up. I was trembling all over, about to thank them, when someone shoved me hard. I fell heavily into the pool. Mocking laughter erupted by the poolside. “Natalie, a drowned rat should look like a drowned rat. How dare you compete with Vivian for a man? Did you go abroad, find out no man wanted you, and decide to come back crawling to Ethan? Give up that idea. Once Mr. Pierce Senior recovers, they’re getting married. So behave yourself, or we’ll make your life hell.” I struggled in the water despite the pain throughout my body. I tried to speak, but my throat made no sound. Finally, exhausted, my body sank uncontrollably toward the deep end. The suffocating feeling made me lose consciousness completely. When I woke up again, the heavy smell of disinfectant filled my nose. The hospital room was empty and quiet. So quiet I could hear doctors talking in the hallway. “The patient’s cornea is severely ruptured and detached. There’s an extremely high probability of blindness…” The doctor’s words stabbed into my heart like blades. I bolted upright. Pain shot through my entire body. In my agitation, I practically rolled out of bed.
Natalie’s POV The room door burst open. Footsteps approached. Following the sound, I grabbed desperately at someone’s sleeve. “Doctor, my eyes can’t go blind!” My voice shook with utter terror. No one understood better than me what a working pair of eyes meant to a surgeon. They were my foundation. The future I’d earned through more than a decade of youth, countless sleepless nights. I was almost begging, my voice hoarse and broken. “Please, whatever surgery, whatever treatment, as long as it can save my eyes, I will cooperate with anything. I’m a doctor too. I can’t lose my eyes.” A soft voice tinged with mockery suddenly came from the doorway. “Natalie, I know you’re upset about your injury, but even now, can you stop lying to save face?” Vivian, wearing a hospital gown, walked slowly into the room. “You didn’t even get your degree before you ran off abroad in disgrace. Where do you get off calling yourself a doctor? Saying this now just makes you look ridiculous.” Her words hit like a slap across my face. Memories I’d buried with time suddenly became sharp again. Years ago, when Vivian and I competed for the school’s only PhD slot, Vivian took my year-long core thesis, changed the author name, and submitted it for evaluation. I lost the position. Afterward, I reported Vivian for plagiarism. But Ethan provided false testimony for her. The professor knew Ethan and I had been in a relationship. Seeing him not only refuse to favor his girlfriend but actually testify for Vivian, plus given the Pierce family’s influence, the scales naturally tipped. I could only continue appealing to the school. But during my appeal, they leaked compromising photos of me and spread rumors. They reported me to the school for academic misconduct and promiscuous behavior. Under public pressure, the school finally voided my thesis and added a mark to my record. I confronted Vivian angrily, but Ethan stood in front of her, his tone carrying condescending judgment. “Natalie, I already explained this. Vivian accidentally deleted her thesis, so she asked for yours to reference. Stop being so relentless.” “As for whoever spread those rumors about you, I already tracked down their IP address. This whole thing has nothing to do with Vivian from start to finish.” He paused, his tone dismissive. “Your grades are good anyway. If you don’t get it this time, there’ll be other chances. But this opportunity is crucial for Vivian. I can’t let her get written up. I can’t let her face any risk.” He couldn’t let Vivian face any risk. So he used my thesis and trampled my reputation to pave her path. If not for my excellent academic record and résumé, the school would have voided my thesis and I would have faced far worse consequences. At that point, forget continuing my PhD. I might not even have graduated. But Ethan never considered any of this for me. Fortunately, I’d long since stopped expecting anything from him. Fortunately, during those years orbiting around him, I never stopped studying. That’s why I had the chance to be recruited by a top global medical university. Everyone thought I went abroad because I was too ashamed to show my face. They didn’t know I went to study advanced medicine. Later, I earned my place in the medical field through solid credentials and skills. But now, my eyes had gone blind. All my efforts and ambitions vanished in an instant.
Natalie’s POV I smiled silently. Before anyone could speak, I raised my head, my gaze locked on Vivian’s direction. “Do you know I’m the visiting specialist surgeon your hospital hired? I came back to the country to…” Before I finished, Vivian suddenly clutched her chest and laughed. “I don’t know where you heard that our hospital secretly hired a specialist surgeon for a large sum, but do you know who they are?” She looked me up and down, contempt practically spilling from her expression. “The internationally renowned doctor we invited is a legend in global cardiac surgery. She earned a lifetime achievement nomination in international medicine at a young age. Top hospitals around the world line up for her to operate. Even the country’s best medical teams rely on her expertise.” She looked down at me with my bandaged eyes and disheveled appearance, her tone dripping with mockery. “Natalie, you think you can impersonate someone like that? Your eyes are blind, fine, but has your brain gone blind too? Are you making up these ridiculous lies?” The medical staff nearby couldn’t help but laugh quietly. Vivian smiled and raised her voice deliberately. “Dr. Wilson, could fireworks possibly damage someone’s brain? Maybe you should examine her head carefully. We were classmates once. Since she’s a patient at our hospital, we should take care of her. Early detection, early treatment, right?” This time the young nurse laughed out loud, clearly thinking I’d lost my mind. I ignored their mockery and turned my head slightly, my voice cold. “Vivian, whether I’m her or not doesn’t matter.” “What matters is that you injured my eyes. As the victim, I have the right to hold you legally responsible.” Vivian’s expression changed, but she quickly laughed, unfazed. “It was just an accident. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Just because your eyes are damaged, you’re going to pin this on me?” “There are security cameras at the scene.” I wasn’t affected by her arrogant attitude at all. “Whether your actions will be judged as intentional isn’t up to you or me.” “Also, all medical risks, economic losses, and damage to the hospital’s reputation caused by the patient not being able to have surgery on schedule due to my blindness, you should bear full responsibility for all of it.” My words were clear and logical, hitting every weak point. But the next second, she laughed. “Natalie, you’re really committed to this act, aren’t you?” Before she finished, I’d already fumbled for my phone on the bedside table and dialed the police. The mocking smile vanished from Vivian’s face, replaced by a flash of panic. She turned to look at Ethan, her expression turning pitiful. “Ethan, does she know I’m at a critical point in my promotion? Is she using this to get revenge on me?” Ethan stepped forward and snatched the phone from my hand roughly. “Natalie, that’s enough. This was just an accident. What exactly do you want?” He looked down at me. His tone was cold and impatient. “Vivian is about to get promoted. Whether or not the police determine this was intentional, the publicity would damage her reputation. Your eyes are already damaged. Calling the police won’t fix them. Why do you have to be so aggressive?” My hand froze mid-air for a moment, then reached for the phone. “Ethan, give me back my phone. You have no right to make that decision for me.”
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