Asher needed a corneal transplant after a terrible accident that damaged his eyes. I worked around the clock, doing makeup for the deceased, just to scrape enough money together for the surgery. But then, the donor resources were snatched away, just like that. Seeing Asher utterly broken and losing all hope, I suddenly made a decision. I gave him my cornea. Yet, the moment he regained his sight, he went straight to Celeste, his ex-girlfriend who’d dumped him years ago. It wasn’t long before I learned that his injury itself had been because of her. I pulled out my phone and called my dad, someone I hadn’t spoken to in years. “Dad, I lost! I want to come home.” I listened, disbelief creeping into my mind, to Asher’s voice from the hospital bed next to mine. He was on the phone. “Celeste, my surgery was a success! I can see again! I’m coming to you right now!” It was the fifth day after his operation, the day Asher was supposed to get his stitches out. I thought the first thing he’d do when he woke up was look for me. I didn’t want him to wait, so I specifically asked the nurse to put me in the same room as him. Only a thin curtain separated our beds. A long moment passed before I finally reacted, my hand fumbling helplessly on the bed. “Asher? Asher?~ Ah!” My hand missed, and I crashed hard onto the floor. The sharp pain brought tears to my eyes. “Ms. Sterling, how did you fall… and Mr. Asher, where is he?” The nurse on rounds rushed in and helped me up. I thanked her, offering a bitter smile and shaking my head. I knew exactly where Asher had gone. He’d gone to find his ex. Asher and I started dating just before we graduated college. It’s been five years now. A few months ago, he was in a car accident and injured his eyes. After I finally managed to raise the money for his surgery, the doctor told me that the cornea allocated for Asher had been taken by someone else. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Asher. I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, I decided to donate my own cornea to him. He still doesn’t know. Before we started dating, Asher was the campus heartthrob, naturally adored by many girls. When I first knew him, he had a girlfriend named Celeste. She was the campus queen of our department, and they were the most famous couple on campus. But a month before Asher and I got together, she went abroad for advanced studies, unilaterally breaking up with him. The day Asher was drowning his sorrows at a bar, I confessed my feelings to him. I never expected him to say yes. I just felt that if I didn’t say it before graduation, it would be a lifelong regret. He just stared at me, dazed, for a few minutes before leaning in and kissing me. Things just happened between us that night. The next day, he suggested we start dating. I was overjoyed, so much so that I didn’t notice the faint indifference in his eyes. I don’t know when they reconnected. Out of trust, I never checked Asher’s phone. The nurse helped me find my phone and placed it in my hand. I hesitated for a moment but decided to call Asher anyway. “Alexa, call Asher.” “Hello, Chloe?” “Asher, where are you?” His voice on the other end was hesitant, and then I caught the faint whisper of a woman’s voice. “Asher, it’s a left turn here.” “Chloe, I’ve had my stitches out, the surgery was successful. I’ll be home soon, don’t worry.” Before I could say anything, he hung up… I gripped the phone tightly, my vision dark, feeling large tears splattering onto the back of my hand. Moments later, I picked up my cane, and the nurse helped me out of the hospital. I could feel her pitying gaze, piercing me like needles.
During my days in the hospital, I’d learned how to use a cane, though I wasn’t very skilled yet. Finally, I made it home and let out a sigh of relief, sitting on the couch and carefully pulling up my pant leg. I’d fallen twice on the way back. The first fall was pretty hard; I touched the injured spot with my hand, and it felt sticky and warm. It must have been bleeding. This was actually a relatively few falls. On the first day after surgery, I fell a full ten times. Finally, the nurse couldn’t stand it anymore and helped me, slowly teaching me how to use the cane, which made things a bit better. Asher didn’t come home until evening. I had lied to him about having urgent cases at the crematorium as an excuse not to be at the hospital during his surgery days. “Chloe, your eyes?” When he saw me, he instantly understood how the cornea for his eyes had been sourced. His voice was filled with disbelief. “Are you crazy? The resource was taken, but I could have waited. You—” “It’s fine, I can wait for another cornea, too.” That’s what I said, but who knew how long that wait would be? I reached out, my hand finding his. “It’s just that you’ll have to work a bit harder these days. I probably can’t go to work for a while.” Asher pulled me into a tight hug. “Don’t be silly. It’s my job to take care of you.” I knew I was avoiding the issue. I didn’t ask him why he only got home in the evening when his stitches were removed in the morning, nor did I ask about the woman’s voice on the phone. Asher wasn’t from this city; he came from a small town. His family wasn’t well-off, and he studied computer science. After graduation, he struggled for a long time to find his current job. During that anxious period, I swore I’d take care of him, no matter what, thumping my chest like a defiant child. I didn’t pursue a job related to my major, because back then, we were so broke we could barely afford rent. I heard that working as a mortuary cosmetologist paid well and quickly, so I didn’t hesitate. I found a master at a crematorium and started learning. Since I was a girl and already knew how to do makeup, I picked it up fast. In the beginning, seeing the deceased kept me awake all night. But Asher was endlessly patient, holding me, gently soothing me from dusk till dawn. So, when I decided to give my cornea to Asher, I had no regrets. I believed he wouldn’t let me down. That night, Asher held me, comforting me to sleep as he always did. If my eyes hadn’t started aching in the middle of the night, waking me up, I wouldn’t have realized he’d left my side. I felt the bedding next to me; it was still warm, meaning he hadn’t been gone long. “Alexa, what time is it?” “Master, it’s 2:25 AM.” I slowly sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach. Where had Asher gone? And when did he leave?
I sat there, waiting, for what felt like an eternity. Then I heard the door open, followed by his familiar footsteps. “Chloe, why are you up?” “Asher, where did you go?” “Oh, I was afraid you might be hungry, so I went out and bought you your favorite wontons. Here, let me feed you.” I numbly chewed the wontons in my mouth, the acidity at the back of my nose slowly building. The wontons had seaweed in them. But Asher knew I hated seaweed in my wontons; he never added it before… This meant these wontons weren’t bought for me at all… And that faint, unfamiliar perfume scent clinging to him… Everything pointed to him having left me alone in the middle of the night to meet someone else. Tears fell without my permission, and I choked, coughing violently. “What’s wrong?” I wiped the wetness from my eyes, forcing a laugh. “Nothing, these wontons are just too delicious.” “Silly, if you like them so much, I’ll buy them for you every day from now on.” That night, even with Asher holding me, I didn’t sleep again. The darkness before my eyes didn’t scare me, but that lingering scent on him that wasn’t mine kept me awake… The next morning, before Asher left for work, he was still fussing, worried about leaving me alone at home. “Chloe, remember to call me immediately if anything happens, and I’ll rush right back.” “Alright, I know!” As the door closed, the entire space became eerily quiet. I wondered if I should get a dog. It could keep me company and be a guide dog. After making up my mind, I contacted a local professional agency. They said they could bring a dog over tomorrow. The silence was unsettling. I turned on the TV, just for some background noise. I lay on the sofa and drifted off to sleep, waking up to find traces of dried tears on my face. When Asher and I first started dating, I told my parents. In my memory, they had always been very open-minded, but that time, Mom and Dad were surprisingly against it. We had the biggest fight of our lives. My dad, for the first time, said harsh words to me. “If you insist on being with him, then don’t ever call us your parents again.” “Fine, then I won’t.” From then on, my parents cut off my bank card and stopped contacting me. I couldn’t understand why they were so opposed. In my eyes, Asher was so wonderful. The years that followed proved my judgment wasn’t wrong. He was very good to me. When Asher came home that night, I told him about the dog. He paused for a moment but didn’t say anything. The next morning, the agency delivered a Golden Retriever. Its name was Buddy. After I gave it a few simple commands, Buddy performed them perfectly, so I kept him. Buddy was very well-behaved. With him, things became much easier for me, and I could go to many places by myself. That day, I heard the rain outside was heavy. I suddenly remembered Asher hadn’t taken an umbrella when he left that morning. After a moment’s hesitation, I took Buddy and an umbrella and left the house.
I finally made it to Asher’s company building just before he got off work. I pulled out my phone from my pocket, ready to call him, when I suddenly heard two people standing next to me speak up. “Did you see? Asher, the one with the eye injury, is back at work again.” “I know, right? Didn’t he come back a few days ago? Lucky guy, and quite the ladies’ man too…” “How so?” “That gorgeous woman sitting over there, see her? This is her third visit. They always look so close…” My hand tightened on Buddy’s leash. I spoke softly, “Excuse me, how many Ashers work at your company?” “Just one.” I bit hard on my lip. I couldn’t see if the woman waiting for Asher was his former campus queen ex-girlfriend. Just as I dialed Asher’s number, I heard the voice from that phone call a few days ago, not far away. Maybe it was because I couldn’t see, but I was especially sensitive to sounds now. “Asher, over here!” The call connected. I heard Asher’s low, familiar voice. “Chloe, I’m working late. I might be home a bit late. Order some takeout for yourself, okay? Bye.” “But…” My words were cut off as he hung up. I stood there for a long time, until my legs felt stiff. Buddy sensed my distress and whined, circling my feet, nudging my leg. I knelt down and stroked his head. “Buddy, let’s go home.” Back home, I changed my wet clothes, then fumbled around to dry Buddy’s fur. By ten o’clock that night, Asher still hadn’t returned. Instead, I received a call from an unfamiliar number. “Ms. Sterling, I’m Celeste. You probably know who I am. Thank you for taking care of Asher all these years.” “I know you gave your cornea to Asher, but you can’t use that to tie him down, can you? That’s just emotional blackmail. All you’re doing is making him miserable.” “I advise you to have some self-awareness. Asher has always loved me. Even his eye injury this time was to protect me. And he’s with me right now…” The phone slipped from my grasp, hitting my foot. I couldn’t hear anything else, collapsing weakly to the floor… Was this the real reason Asher had never told me about his injury? In that instant, it felt like someone had choked me, I couldn’t make a sound, my mind completely blank… Buddy anxiously circled my feet, licking my face, trying to comfort me. I hugged Buddy and burst into uncontrollable sobs. When Asher came home, I heard the rustle of him taking off his clothes. A moment later, he slowly put his arms around me from behind. “Asher, will you marry me?” I felt his body stiffen for a second, and his hands slowly loosen from my waist. “Chloe, why aren’t you asleep yet?” “Will you marry me?” I gripped his hand, my empty eyes looking at him. “Why are you asking this all of a sudden…?” A moment later, I let go of his hand, closing my unfocused eyes. The moment he hesitated, I already knew his answer. I forced a smile. “It’s nothing. Go to sleep.” That night, Asher and I slept back-to-back for the first time… I thought perhaps it was time for me to leave… to save myself some dignity, instead of waiting to be forced out. But I never imagined that the day I truly left, I would lose Buddy forever. A few days later, the door opened. Asher was home from work, but he wasn’t alone. “Chloe, I have to go out of town for a few days. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone, so I asked a friend to help take care of you.” “Hi, Chloe, I’m Celeste. You can call me Cel. Asher talks about you so much…”
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