Chapter 3

I fell to the floor, my back slamming into the cold wall. The pain left me gasping for air. After years of being cooped up indoors, I had grown terribly frail, so I couldn't take a blow like that from Clara.

I picked up my cane and forced myself to my feet. "I may be blind, but I'm not stupid. Clara, you know exactly what you've done to me."

Clara sounded slightly panicked. "What do you mean? There's nothing going on between Desmond and me.

"If there's something you want to know, you can always ask me. You can't go around hitting people like that.

"Look at what you've done. What would my employees think of me? Or you?"

Before I could even defend myself, Desmond spoke up first, sounding aggrieved. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought Brandon to your office without asking you.

"Now he's gotten the wrong idea about us. From now on, I'll stay away from you two. I won't let something like this happen again. I'll just leave, okay?"

With that, Desmond ran off.

Clara ran after him without a second thought.

As her footsteps faded into the distance, I could no longer hold on and collapsed.

"Clara, it's over between us."

By the time I came to again, I was already lying in a hospital bed. Just then, Clara gave me a call.

"Brandon, I hope you won't take what happened today to heart. I didn't mean to scold you, but there were so many employees watching us.

"I only said all that to protect you. Otherwise, what would others think of you? Just get some rest in the hospital, and don't get yourself all worked up.

"I'm on my way there now. Once I get there, I'll make sure you get another checkup. Don't be upset, okay? I'll take you abroad for your birthday this year."

What a liar.

I could tell how angry Clara was when she lashed out at me earlier. She was genuinely upset with me, but she had only said all those things to me to appease me. She was afraid I would slip out of her grasp and uncover the truth.

Clara was afraid I would go after her beloved Desmond.

Unfortunately, I was done playing along.

Clara had taken my eyes away. In a way, that was enough to repay the Vances for raising me all these years.

From now on, we were even. Once Clara arrived at the hospital, I would bring up the divorce.

A few moments later, the door opened, but it wasn't Clara.

It was her assistant. There was a hint of sympathy in her voice. "Mr. Muhl, Ms. Vance had to fly abroad for a last-minute project meeting.

"She sent me here to take care of you. If there's anything you need, please let me know. Also, she asked me to get you this strawberry cake. She hopes this will cheer you up."

I remained expressionless. "Got it."

I felt a chill spread through me, my phone growing warm in my hand. Word had just gotten out that Desmond's wife had been caught at a hotel overseas with a male celebrity.

Clara had probably gone abroad just to deal with the scandal. She wanted to offer Desmond her support. She was so eager to help him that she couldn't even be bothered to call me and explain things herself. All she did was send her assistant to brush me off.

And Clara had forgotten that I hated strawberry cake more than anything else. Mom and Dad had died in a car accident while out buying me one.

Clara only had eyes for Desmond, and nothing else mattered to her.

The next morning, I called Clara. I decided it would be better to tell her about the divorce myself.

The call went through, but it was Desmond who answered. "Brandon, did you really think Clara married you because she loved you?"

Then I immediately heard Clara's sleepy voice in the background. "Desmond, who's on the line?"

"It's just a spam call from a telemarketer." He ended the call, and the line went dead.

I didn't call Clara again. I was running out of time. After changing my clothes, I returned to Clara's villa and started packing my things. I only took what I had brought with me when I first moved in.

When the butler asked what was going on, I lied that Clara and I were going on vacation. Then I left a signed copy of the divorce agreement and a USB drive containing the audio recording on her desk.

With my suitcase in hand, I got into a car and headed for the airport. The moment I got there, I received a message from Clara.

"Brandon, I'll be home tomorrow morning. I got you a little something from abroad."

I didn't respond. Instead, I removed my SIM card and tossed it into the trash can.

After the plane landed in Nanrope, I got into a car and headed for the eye hospital. As the nurses wheeled me into the operating room, I remained strangely calm.

Once the surgery was over, I would finally be able to see again.