Chapter 2

I sat in my room for a long time, until I heard the front door close.

A moment later, Liam walked in.

He leaned in close from behind. The smell of his sweat mixed with her perfume made me feel utterly sick.

"What's wrong, Chloe? Are you upset?"

I did my best to suppress my disgust, pretending to know nothing. "Did we have a guest? I thought I heard Amber's voice."

Liam paused for a second, acting as if nothing happened. "Yeah, she brought over an important contract that needed my signature. She already left."

"Anyway, Chloe, working out is so exhausting. I'm going to take a shower first."

While he was showering, his phone on the nightstand kept lighting up.

I picked it up, typed in my birthday, and successfully unlocked it.

His mother had forced him to set my birthday as his passcode, lecturing him constantly about how he had to love and protect me.

Too bad Liam didn't have a single ounce of love for me in his heart.

I opened Snapchat. It was flooded with messages and videos from Amber, who had just left.

"Liam, make sure to mute your phone before watching! I'll be waiting for you at the Grand Plaza Hotel tonight."

The videos were incredibly explicit. What was even worse was that they had filmed themselves right in front of me just for the thrill of it.

They took advantage of my blindness to stomp all over my dignity.

Watching those two writhing vermin on screen, I swallowed my disgust, forwarded the videos to my own account, deleted the chat history, and put the phone back exactly as it was.

When Liam came out of the bathroom, he didn't check his phone. He went straight to the kitchen to make me breakfast.

Over the years, he really did take good care of me.

I used to hate breakfast because the maid's cooking wasn't to my liking, so he learned how to toast bread and make oatmeal himself, ensuring every morning meal was rich and nutritious.

But looking at the breakfast he had lovingly prepared, my stomach churned with nausea.

He blew on the oat milk to cool it down and held it to my lips. Seeing me hesitate, his bright face flashed with impatience.

His lips moved, silently mouthing, *So damn demanding.*

A second later, he forced a gentle smile and coaxed me. "Come on, drink up."

"I don't want it," I said quietly, turning my head away and fumbling on the table as if looking for a plate.

He glared at me, shoved the sandwich into my hands, and pulled out his phone.

Seeing Amber's message, his annoyed expression instantly lit up.

I took a bite of my sandwich, watching him rapidly type out his reply.

"Baby, how about tomorrow? I have to take the little blind girl for her checkup in a bit, and we have a family dinner at my parents' estate tonight."

"I'm sorry to make you wait, baby. I'll come stay with you the second I'm free, okay?"

Suddenly, his phone rang. He shot me a guilty look.

"Eat your sandwich, Chloe. I need to take this business call."

He jogged over to the far end of the balcony. I held my breath and listened closely.

Over the years, despite being blind, my memory and hearing had become exceptionally sharp.

It didn't take long before I heard his impatient voice.

"If I don't go back with her, my mom will skin me alive. Do you really want to see me get grounded?"

"I must have owed her in a past life. Now I'm slaving away like her servant."

"She has to get those useless eyes checked regularly. No matter how many specialists she sees, she's still just a little blind girl."

Those words struck my heart like a dagger.

I remembered high school. A cruel boy had deliberately tripped me on my way out of the restroom, dismissively saying "my bad" afterward.

But when I stepped outside, the hallway was in chaos. I heard Liam's roaring voice as he fought the boy.

He fought viciously, his voice trembling at the end as he screamed, "You piece of trash! How dare you bully a girl who can't see! I'll kill you!"

He was suspended that day, and his father made him kneel for two hours as punishment.

Liam used to be so good to me. He truly lived up to his mother's expectations, protecting and shielding me from the world.

For someone with a disability like mine, surviving in society is incredibly hard.

I was an outsider, and the world is cold to outsiders.

But Liam hadn't cared. He pitied me for not being able to see the light, vowing that he would be my eyes forever.

Now, my sight was back. I thought I was finally going to see the beautiful light of this world, but instead, I was forced to look at his pitch-black heart.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

Even now, I couldn't believe the boy I loved so deeply didn't love me back.

I returned to my room, threw the rest of the sandwich into the trash, and forced myself to calm down.

After his call, Liam walked into the room, hesitating.

After a few seconds, he spoke up. "Hey, Chloe... something urgent came up at work. I don't think I can take you to the clinic today. Can we reschedule for another day?"

As soon as he finished, his phone buzzed again. Another demanding message from Amber.

Amber was his newly hired secretary. She was beautiful, sweet-talking, and had Liam wrapped around her finger.

I offered a bleak smile. "It's fine. Work comes first. As for the checkup, it doesn't really matter anyway."

His eyes lit up instantly, filled with excitement.

"Chloe, you're the best. I'll come home right after I'm done."

He turned to leave, but then remembered something, a hint of shame in his voice. "Uh, about the family dinner tonight... could you..."

"It's fine. I'll call Aunt Catherine and tell her I'm not feeling well. I'll skip the dinner."

*You must be thrilled, Liam. With me as your shield, you can run off to your precious Amber.*

Perhaps sensing something off in my expression, his brow furrowed.

But before he could ask, another ping from Amber summoned him away.

The front door slammed shut. I walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling window, watching his car speed away.

I slid down the glass, burying my head in my knees, my shoulders shaking violently.

I didn't understand how someone's heart could change so fast.

Just because I was blind, did I deserve to be treated like garbage?

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