Ten years ago, in a terrible car accident, I donated my corneas to save my brother, leaving me completely blind. Ethan knelt by my hospital bed, vowing to be my eyes forever, to protect me my entire life. But when he achieved success and married the heiress of a prominent family, he stood by and watched as his fiancée snapped my cane — my lifeline — and then threw me, dressed in only a thin shirt, into a blizzard with temperatures dropping to twenty below zero. “A blind girl like you is just bad luck. Die out there, and good riddance!” Later, I truly “died” in that blizzard. Yet, my brother went insane. He gouged out his own eyes and knelt before my tombstone, banging his head until it bled. But he never knew that I had long since changed my name, walking hand-in-hand with Lucas Thorne, the scion of the city’s most powerful family, watching Ethan coldly as he begged like a dog. The shattering sound of a champagne tower toppling was jarringly loud in the luxurious ballroom. A powerful force shoved me to the ground. My knees slammed hard against the marble floor, and shards of glass instantly pierced my dress, digging into my flesh. The excruciating pain made me gasp. Before I could even grope my way up, a sharp, aggrieved female voice exploded above me: “Elara! Are you insane? No matter how much you resent me, you can’t deliberately push me at my engagement party with Ethan!” It was Briar Stone, my brother Ethan’s fiancée, the heiress of the powerful Stone family. The previously noisy chatter in the room instantly died down. Countless contemptuous gazes seemed to solidify, pinning me, the blind girl, to the spot. “I didn’t…” I shook my head frantically, my hands fumbling on the glass-strewn floor. “Briar, I was just standing in the corner. You’re the one who suddenly walked into me…” “Are you implying I’d fake an accident in a multi-million dollar designer gown just to frame a blind person like you?” Briar sneered, her high heel grinding down hard on the back of my fumbling hand, pressing with all her weight. I cried out in pain, cold sweat instantly soaking my back. “Briar, what’s wrong?” A familiar, deep male voice cut through the crowd. Hearing that voice, I felt like I’d found a lifeline. Enduring the searing pain in my hand, I looked up towards the sound and called out, “Ethan! Ethan, I didn’t push Briar, I really didn’t…” Ethan’s footsteps stopped in front of me. The air was eerily silent. After a long while, I didn’t receive the embrace of the brother who used to shield me from all harm and malice. Instead, I only heard Ethan tenderly pulling Briar into his arms, his voice dripping with affection: “Briar, are you hurt anywhere?” “Ethan, my wrist hurts so much, and my dress is ruined,” Briar whimpered, feigning tears. “I know Elara doesn’t like me, that she feels I stole you away. But today is our engagement, how could she humiliate me in front of so many guests…” “Elara.” Ethan’s voice turned cold, carrying an unfamiliar disgust and distance. “Apologize to Briar.” My body stiffened, and I stared wide-eyed with my unfocused gaze, unable to believe it. “Ethan, you’d rather believe her than me?” My voice trembled. “I can’t see. I can’t even tell directions. How could I have pushed her?” “Enough!” Ethan cut me off sharply. “Haven’t you made enough of a scene? Briar comes from a distinguished family; if you hadn’t deliberately caused trouble, why would she fall? You’ve always been willful since childhood, have you forgotten even your basic manners now?” The word “manners” struck my heart like two sharp knives. Ten years ago, to drag him out of the mangled car, I missed the critical rescue time and lost my sight. Later, to save his eyes from festering, I secretly donated my corneas to him. The day he regained his sight, he held me, crying hysterically, swearing that even if he had to beg on the streets for food, he would treat me like a princess for the rest of his life. But now, this man, who was seeing the world through *my* eyes, was trampling my dignity underfoot, in front of everyone, all for another woman. “Ethan, let it go. After all, she’s disabled. People who don’t know might think I, a normal person, am bullying her.” Briar feigned generosity with a sigh, but her tone was full of condescension. “No, mistakes must be punished.” Ethan looked at me coldly. “Elara, kneel down and apologize to Briar. Otherwise, you won’t leave this door today.” Whispers of mockery spread among the guests. “That blind girl is so ungrateful. Mr. Hayes has supported her for so many years, and she still dares to cause trouble at the engagement party.” “Exactly, she’s just a dead weight, does she really think she’s the Hayes family heiress?” I knelt on the floor covered in glass shards. Blood flowed from my knees and the back of my hand, staining my cheap white dress. My eyes burned with a raw ache, but I bit my lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall. Because Ethan once told me he hated it when I cried, saying it was like I was using my disability to manipulate him. I fumbled, slowly bending down, pressing my forehead against the cold, biting marble floor. “I’m sorry, Briar. It was my fault.” Every word, laced with blood and tears, shattered my decade of sacrifice and illusion into a million pieces. I heard Briar’s triumphant chuckle. And Ethan, he just coldly dismissed me with a single line: “Someone, take her back to her room and lock her up. Don’t let her embarrass us again.” Two security guards roughly grabbed my arms, dragging me out of the ballroom like a sack of potatoes. The moment the doors closed, I heard the cheerful music resume inside, along with Ethan’s gentle toasting voice. The brother who used to hold me all night, singing to me when I had nightmares, was truly dead on this glamorous, perfumed night. The Ethan now was the high and mighty CEO of Hayes Industries, a rising star who needed the Stone family’s investment to solidify his position. And I was merely the ugliest blemish on his perfect life.
The next morning, I was woken by a furious argument. Even through the soundproof walls of the master bedroom, Briar’s sharp voice pierced through the door, stinging my eardrums. “Ethan! What do you mean by this? Yesterday at the engagement party, even though you made her kneel, look what the media is writing? They’re saying I, Briar Stone, am cruel and abusive, tormenting my disabled sister-in-law!” “Briar, don’t be angry, the media just loves to sensationalize…” Ethan’s voice was tired and placating. “I don’t care! Ethan, I’m telling you right now: this house isn’t big enough for both of us! It’s either her or me!” Briar’s voice suddenly rose, followed by the sound of something being violently smashed. “If you want to marry me, you have to get rid of that blind girl! Do you know, every time I see her vacant eyes, I feel sick, disgusted! My friends are all laughing behind my back, saying that if I marry into the Hayes family, I’ll also be signing up for a lifelong caretaker position!” “Briar, Elara is my sister…” “So what if she’s your sister? She’s blind! She’s a useless burden who might even make a mess when she goes to the bathroom! Are you seriously going to support her for life? Are you going to make me live with a disabled person forever?” “If you don’t get rid of her today, then tomorrow, I’ll tell my father to withdraw all investments from Hayes Industries! Then, with the company’s funding cut off, you can look forward to bankruptcy and going back to the slums!” The air fell into a deathly silence. I huddled in the cold covers, my hands clamped over my ears, trembling uncontrollably. So, my existence had become so unbearable for him? After an unknown amount of time, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door. With a click, my bedroom door opened. Ethan walked in, bringing with him a heavy scent of cigarette smoke. He never used to smoke, saying it bothered me. He sat on the edge of my bed, the mattress sinking slightly. I kept my eyes closed, pretending to sleep, but I felt his gaze, like a cold snake, crawling across my face. “Elara, are you awake?” I slowly opened my lifeless eyes, forcing a smile that was uglier than a cry. “Good morning, Ethan.” Ethan was silent for a long time, so long that the muscles in my face started to ache. “Elara, the company has encountered some serious difficulties recently, and we need the Stone family’s help.” His voice was dry, with a hint of undetectable guilt. “I’m too busy, and I really don’t have the energy to take care of you. There’s a new specialized care facility on the outskirts of the city. The environment there is good, and there are many people like you. You can make friends.” “I’ll help you pack a few things. This afternoon… you can move there for a while. Once I’m done with this busy period, I’ll come pick you up, okay?” My hands, hidden beneath the covers, clenched tightly, my nails digging deep into my flesh, yet I felt no pain. A specialized care facility. That was just a nicer way of putting it. I knew that place. It was an institution specifically for abandoned severely disabled individuals. I’d heard the caretakers there were abusive, and they didn’t even bother to turn on the heat in winter. He wasn’t sending me for care; he was abandoning me completely. “Okay.” I heard my voice, frighteningly calm. “As long as you’re well, Ethan, I’ll go anywhere.” Ethan seemed to sigh in relief. He reached out as if to pat my head, but his hand froze in mid-air, finally settling for a stiff pat on my shoulder. “Elara is the most understanding. Don’t worry, I’ll pay your fees on time.” He stood up and fled the room as if escaping. I sat in the darkness, tears finally silently overflowing. Ethan, you forgot. Ten years ago, when you lay in that hospital bed, despairing and attempting self-harm because of the possibility of blindness, it was I who held your hand and said, “Ethan, don’t be afraid. I’ll give you my eyes.” Then, you cried and said that if you ever scorned me, may lightning strike you down, and may you never find peace. Turns out, vows really do have an expiration date. When the stakes of profit are high enough, family bonds become thinner than paper.
In the afternoon, Ethan didn’t return. He sent a text message, saying he had an emergency company meeting and asked Briar to arrange a driver for me. Briar didn’t even call a driver. She walked into my room wearing a luxurious fur coat, pinching her nose in disgust. “Stop dawdling, grab your junk and get out! This air is already polluted by you!” I fumbled for the old canvas bag I had already packed, which contained only a few changes of clothes and a family photo of us. I picked up the cane leaning against the wall and walked out step by step. “Wait.” Briar suddenly stuck out her foot and tripped me hard. I stumbled and fell, my cane flying from my hand and sliding away. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you.” She smiled insincerely, then walked over and stepped on my cane. With a sharp crack, the cane that had accompanied me for years was forcibly snapped into two pieces by her. “A useless person like you, what do you need a cane for anyway? You’re just going to lie in a bed waiting to die in that kind of place.” Briar kicked the broken cane away, looking down at me from her superior height. “Elara, don’t blame me for being heartless. Blame yourself for being blind, for being a burden. Your brother was tired of you a long time ago; he just couldn’t bring himself to kick you out. I’m just doing him a favor.” I lay on the ground, fumbling to pick up the two broken pieces of my cane, hugging them tightly. “Briar, I’m leaving. I wish you both… a long and happy life together.” I gritted my teeth, struggling to stand. Without the guidance of my cane, I was like a headless chicken, my hands groping wildly in the air, stumbling out the villa’s front door. Outside, a historic blizzard raged. Gale-force winds whipped stinging ice shards, cutting at my face and body like blades. I was only wearing a thin, old sweater, one Ethan had bought me three years ago, its cuffs already frayed. Cold. Bone-chilling cold. The cold seeped up from my feet directly into my heart, as if my blood itself was about to freeze. I didn’t know where to go. The care facility was miles away, on the outskirts of the city. I had no money, no phone, no cane. I had been abandoned by the entire world. I walked aimlessly through the snow, falling, getting up, falling again. The wounds on my knees reopened, blood staining the snow, only to be quickly covered by ice. I don’t know how long I walked until the distant car horns faded, replaced by the howling wind and the sound of river water crashing against the banks. I had reached the edge of the bridge that spanned the river. My stomach was cramping in spasms, my energy completely depleted. I leaned against the icy bridge railing, slowly sliding down to sit in the snow. From a pocket close to my body, I pulled out a voice recorder. This was the gift I had planned to give Ethan on his wedding day, containing my thoughts from the past month. My frozen fingers fumbled to press the record button, and facing the howling wind and snow, I left my last message. “Ethan, it’s so cold out here.” “I can’t find the way to the specialized care facility. Briar broke my cane.” “You used to say that if I ever got lost, if I just stayed put, you would always come find me. But this time, I know you won’t.” “Ethan, getting the cornea transplant back then, it really hurt. But I didn’t cry, because I wanted you to see this beautiful world.” “Now, I’m tired. Your world is too crowded, there’s no room for me anymore.” “Keep these eyes. Use them to look at your new bride. I don’t want them anymore. I don’t want anything anymore.” I turned off the recorder, tucked it into my canvas bag, and then took off my worn sweater, covering the bag with it. Wearing only my thin shirt, I leaned on the railing and slowly stood up. The river wind was like a giant hand, pushing my swaying body. “Ethan, if there’s a next life, I never want to be your sister again.” I closed my eyes and jumped. The moment the sensation of falling hit me, I thought I would plunge into the icy river, finally ending this miserable life. However, just as my body dropped, a strong hand firmly gripped my wrist. “If you’re going to kill yourself, find somewhere that’s not in my way!” A cold, deep voice, tinged with a hint of violence, sounded above me. Immediately after, I was violently pulled back by a powerful force, landing hard against a broad, warm chest. The familiar scent of cedar and a faint hint of tobacco wafted towards me, but it wasn’t Ethan’s scent. I was shivering from the cold, and my consciousness began to blur. Before I completely fell into darkness, I only heard the man coldly ordering his bodyguard: “Get her in the car. And throw her stuff into the river. Make it look like a suicide jump.” “Yes, Mr. Thorne.”
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