The night before my crucial athletic scholarship tryout, a gang broke into the stadium. They beat me and humiliated me. The next day, my ex-girlfriend, Amber, spread rumors all over social media, claiming I cheated and was only after my family’s money. Back in our quiet town, my parents were suffocated by the whispers and rumors. Overwhelmed by the crushing despair, they tragically took their own lives. I promptly broke up with Amber and reported everything to the police, armed with evidence. The hospital report came back: my spine was damaged, making it impossible for me to stand for long periods, let alone run long distances. My appeals were rejected, one after another. That’s when Eleanor Vance, a powerhouse attorney, found me. She fought my case day and night. The day we won, she proposed to me. We were together for three years. My legs were useless, and I relied on a wheelchair, but she never left my side. Until today. I wheeled myself to her office to pick her up, only to overhear her tenderly coaxing her foster brother: “You said you envied his running skills? Well, he can’t run anymore.” “You admired his tall, strong build? I tampered with his medical records, making it seem like his leg nerves were damaged, so he’d be forever dependent on a wheelchair.” “Now you’re saying you envy his amber eyes? I can’t exactly gouge them out and make amber cufflinks for you, can I?”
“Why not, sis? Ever since Mom and Dad died, I only have you. You promised them you’d give me everything I wanted. Are you going back on your word?” Damian, her foster brother, wrapped his arms around Eleanor’s arm, his voice laced with a hint of grievance. Eleanor looked down, her fingertips gently tapping his nose. It was a comforting gesture. “Tonight is our three-year anniversary. All I have to do is sweet-talk him, and he’d give me anything, not just his eyes, but his very life.” Eleanor’s legal assistant, standing nearby, couldn’t stand it anymore. “Mr. Alex has suffered enough these past years, Ms. Eleanor. Mr. Damian, you already got what you wanted: first place in the tryouts, a strong physique, and Amber’s attention. Why keep tormenting Mr. Alex?” Amber! Those two words pierced my heart like ice. Wasn’t that my ex-girlfriend’s name? Damian laughed, a bit too loudly. He reached out and pushed the assistant’s shoulder. “I’m getting together with Amber next month, but the damn thing is, she still has that cripple’s photos on her phone.” “Even in her sleep, she’d gaze at his eyes, claiming she’d always admired how focused and profound Alex’s eyes were.” He changed the subject, turning his head to Eleanor. “Sis, tell me, are that cripple’s eyes really that beautiful?” Eleanor raised an eyebrow, looking nonchalant. “His eyes?” “How would I know? My gaze never lingered on trash like that. All I care about is my precious little brother being happy.” The early spring evening wind was still chilly. My hands, gripping the wheels of my chair, were stiff with cold. So love really can be faked. Was the salvation I once believed in just another abyss? I scoffed at my own foolishness, furiously pushing the wheels, desperate to escape. But my wheelchair got stuck in a pothole. I pushed frantically, my hands already raw and bloody. With a violent shove, the chair made a loud noise, a part seemed to come loose. I tumbled out of my wheelchair. The commotion caught Eleanor’s attention at the company entrance. She rushed towards me, kneeling down and shielding me with her body.
Seeing the scrapes on her arm, my heart lurched. “Alex, what are you doing here? It’s windy out, and you’re always so frail. What if something happened to you? How would I live alone?” The love in her eyes seemed to overflow. She looked at my bloody hands, her face filled with anguish. For a moment, I was disoriented, unable to tell which version of her was acting. It wasn’t until her tears fell onto my wounds, stinging, that my mind cleared. “Alex, why aren’t you speaking? Are you scared? It’s okay, I’ll take you home. Don’t be afraid.” She had said those same words three years ago, the day she confessed her feelings to me. She told me we were both people with no one to rely on, and she wanted to be my rock. I believed her. But at that moment, I realized it was all a joke. It was she who had turned me into someone with no one to rely on. Damian, unable to hold back, strode towards me. “Brother-in-law, I’m here for you too. Don’t worry, even if you’re not as mobile now, we won’t ever look down on you.” “From now on, just tell me if you need to go out. I’ll go with you. It’ll be safer that way.” On most days, Damian was cheerful and handsome. Living under the same roof, we’d never even had a single argument. When I fell down the stairs that year, he was the first to find me and rush me to the hospital. The conversation between the siblings at the company entrance echoed in my ears. As I thought about it, my chest tightened, and my whole body went numb. So that oily spill that caused my fall down the stairs that year was all his doing. And my legs, which could have recovered, were made worse by Eleanor’s fake medical records, making me miss the optimal treatment time, forever losing the ability to walk normally. I shoved Eleanor away from me, my eyes wide with horror. She froze for a second, a flicker of displeasure crossing her face. As if she had no more patience to console me. She shot a look at her assistant. “Get him in the car. I rented a yacht. Tonight’s anniversary has to be perfect.” I lifted my gaze in terror, meeting Damian’s eyes. He was staring at my eyes with a knowing, significant smile. My eyes inexplicably stung, and I remembered Eleanor saying she’d gouge my eyes out for Damian’s cufflinks. My stomach churned with nausea. The usually impartial, sharp, and capable legal elite was secretly involved in so many unspeakable deeds. I was forcibly helped into the car, sitting in the back seat with Eleanor, trembling uncontrollably. The assistant stepped on the gas, and the car headed towards the coast. I clung to a sliver of hope, looking at Eleanor. Her expression remained unchanged as she scrolled through her phone. The screen showed her chat with Damian. “Damian, don’t worry. I’ll give you whatever you want. Don’t be mad, it’s not good for your health if you get angry.” “Sis, you don’t worry either. I’ll be fine for you. You’re always the one I love most. If it weren’t for society’s views, I’d definitely choose to be with you.” Eleanor’s lips curved into an unstoppable smile as she read Damian’s messages. Sensing my gaze, she blacked out her phone screen and placed it face down on her lap. Her face remained calm, and she even reached out to caress my hair. “Alex, you once said you loved watching the sea.” “Tonight, you can watch as much as you want before we head back.” She shifted her gaze to my eyes, her hand slowly moving to my cheek. Her thumb caressed my eyelids: “I never noticed before, but Alex, your eyes are so beautiful.” I was trembling like a leaf, yet I dared not provoke her. “Watch as much as I want?” “Are we never going to the beach again?” “Or is it that my eyes are having problems too?”
Eleanor’s hand froze. A moment later, her gaze darted away, and she withdrew her hand. “Nonsense. If you want, we could buy a house by the sea. Then, you could every single day…” Watch the sea? She left those two words unsaid, and a dead silence filled the car. The assistant driving jolted their hand, swerving the steering wheel. I slammed into Eleanor’s shoulder. Eleanor immediately pulled me into her embrace, gently stroking my hair. “It’s okay. Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.” Looking at the face I had loved for three years, I couldn’t bear it and closed my eyes. After a long while, Eleanor seemed to think I was asleep. She let out a cold laugh and called her assistant’s name. “I’m warning you, if you dare to spill anything to Alex, your family will share the consequences with you.” The assistant stammered, their voice trembling. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” Eleanor finally relaxed, sighing. “Blame him for getting in Damian’s way. Tonight, bring those thugs from before. I’ll get him drunk tonight, and you make sure they’re ready. Have them destroy his eyes. Even if it gets investigated, it’ll have nothing to do with us.” “If it goes to court, we’ll just say… it was those men retaliating against Alex after they got out of prison.” The assistant hesitated. “But Ms. Eleanor, Mr. Alex has a deep trauma from those men. He trembles just seeing strangers, let alone anyone besides you.” “If Mr. Alex is too traumatized, the consequences could be dire!” Eleanor reached back and gripped her assistant’s shoulder, her voice filled with cruelty. “So what? The worst that could happen is he goes insane. We’ll just keep him in the basement. I have plenty of money to support him anyway. He can live comfortably without ever working. He should be grateful.” “Unless you have feelings for my husband? Is that why you keep spouting such nonsense!” The assistant, cowed by Eleanor’s aura, could only squeeze out a few words of pleading. The car came to a smooth stop on the beach. I opened my eyes, clenching my fists as I looked at the turbulent sea. In this life, I had endured too much. I couldn’t bear this inhuman torment for another moment. Tonight, to be buried in the sea I loved most. Perhaps it was my best option. But before I die, Eleanor. I will make you pay for your actions! Eleanor thoughtfully prepared a new wheelchair for me, and she was now pushing me towards the yacht. The aroma of the early prepared dinner was inviting, but I had no mind to savor it. As she positioned my wheelchair, I slipped a sleeping pill into her drink. As we clinked glasses, Eleanor’s face flushed pink. Her movements became increasingly sluggish. My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket; it was a message from a reporter. “We heard about your experience and hope to speak out for you. Although you declined our invitation last time, I’d like to try again.” “As a rising star in the sports world back then, you were highly anticipated. But due to an assault by thugs and betrayal by your ex-girlfriend spreading rumors, your career and life plummeted.” “Although you won the lawsuit back then, the arrested individuals were hired. The real mastermind is still at large. Do you truly not want to uncover the truth of what happened that year?” My grip on the phone tightened. The hatred in my heart grew deeper. Eleanor, who was now slurring her words, looked up at me. “Alex, who are you texting? Didn’t I tell you?” “There are too many bad people in this world. It’s my fault for protecting you too well, making you so unguarded.” “You shouldn’t talk to outsiders. Be a good boy, give me your phone.”
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