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Chapter 3
Some people just laughed it off, saying I was wearing colored contacts, but others had a feeling something was up and said firmly, “She’s blind.”
As soon as they said that, the crowd thought it was a joke about me being “blind to reason” for ditching Nicholas and burst out laughing.
Only Nicholas jumped off the stage, all flustered, stopped me in my tracks, and insisted on taking a closer look.
“Oh my god, Carol, you’re really blind? How did this happen?” Ariana asked with pity dripping from her voice.
Nicholas wanted to check my eyes himself, but hesitated for a moment.
In the end, a doctor in the crowd took a quick peek at my eyes and said, “It’s just some eye disease. She’s not actually blind.”
After hearing that, Nicholas replied coldly, “What a letdown. Why aren’t you really blind?”
When my mom found out that I went blind because I tested medicines to save Nicholas, she was crushed–like half of her life had been sucked away.
Later on, she traveled with me all over the country, chasing hopeless cures until she burned herself out completely.
Meanwhile, I secretly helped Nicholas out financially, hoping it would lift his spirits.
Life was really tough, but I never threw in the towel.
Things took a turn when Nicholas got sick again and needed a heart transplant. I turned out to be the perfect match.
It felt like fate had something planned for us.
Hearing how relieved he sounded made all those rejection symptoms I’d been pushing down come rushing back.
I couldn’t survive on an artificial heart, so my time was running short.
No matter how much Nicholas embarrassed me, I couldn’t let him see what was really going on
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with me.
“What are you laughing at?” he said.
“I’m just amused at how childish you still are,” I said, holding back my pain.
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I lifted my chin and spoke calmly, “Nicholas, deep down, you think I’ve ditched you and made you look bad. You’re just trying to save your image.”
“What do you want from me? I’m ready to play along. Should I bow down and apologize?”
As I said this, I braced myself to kneel down.
Ariana stopped me, but really, she just shoved my shoulder hard, making me drop to my knees fast–my kneecaps felt like they were about to break.
“Hmph, I thought you were some clever beauty, but turns out you’re just a fake goody–two–shoes.”
“Do you honestly think playing the poor victim will make Nicholas treat you better again?”
“Keep dreaming!”
Her friends had always wanted to tear me apart.
Nicholas stayed silent for what felt like forever.
Finally, his voice came, low and icy. “If you love kneeling so much, then stay down there.‘
He stood by Ariana and kept going with the rehearsal while I knelt offstage like a statue in the
dark.
Some people treated me like a sideshow attraction. They snapped photos of me, dumped all sorts of drinks on me–anything to humiliate me.
I tried telling myself that since I only had a few days left to live, this shouldn’t bother me. But even so, I still found it hard to breathe.
After a bit, someone couldn’t take it anymore and helped me up, leading me into a room to change my clothes.
Since the person was a woman, I let my guard down.
But I never expected that just after we got in there, Ariana’s screams suddenly pierced through the
air.
Everyone rushed over at the sound, with Nicholas at the front. In his hurry, he knocked me down
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without even realizing it.
“Carol! What did you put in my cup?
“Nic, my stomach hurts so bad!”
As soon as Ariana finished speaking, I felt a hard slap across my face.
Nicholas was furious, yelling, “You actually dared to hurt her and our unborn child!”
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There wasn’t any investigation or chance for me to explain. Nicholas just jumped to conclusions and thought I was guilty.
Back then, he was really the only one who believed in kindness.
my
“Tell me! What did you do?” Nicholas had me by the neck.
I didn’t have the strength to fight back. All I could do was instinctively smile.
I’d promised Mom that I’d live my life well and keep smiling no matter what. Even if I only had a few days left.
But to Nicholas, that smile probably felt like a challenge.
