Kontrak Sang Pengantin

I carefully made my way forward, scared I'd miss the live wire.

Wendy Peck suddenly exclaimed, "James!"

Her voice was choked with emotion, yet she stopped herself before she could say anything else.

I played dumb, keeping my tone light as I said, "Does your head hurt again? Here, let me give you a massage."

A comment flew by that read, "Hey, stop! The wire's right in front of you!"

Great. If it was right in front of me, then I wouldn't miss it. But just as I was about to lower my foot, the doorbell rang all of a sudden, followed by the awful screech of a chair being violently pushed back.

"Watch out!"

A sudden force tackled me to the ground. My head was ringing from the impact, and the pain was so bad I couldn't even process what had happened.

Wendy helped me up, her hands shaking. "James, I'm sorry… There's a wire right there…"

Comments filled with curses appeared. "Wendy, you idiot! Weren't you the one trying to get him killed? Why are you tearing up and getting all shaky now?"

My heart ached for her. Silly, why did she have to be so soft-hearted? I gritted my teeth through the pain and gave Wendy a reassuring smile.

"It's my fault for not being able to see it. It's alright. I'm not in any pain."

Someone commented, "Did the fall scramble his brains? Why is he apologizing?"

But I knew Wendy was taking this way harder than I was. I could hear her broken sobs. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang.

A man's voice sounded. "I know you're home. I'm not leaving until I see you. Wendy, just think of this as… the last time I come to see you."

I recognized the voice. It was that genius painter from TV, Abel Petersen. He and Wendy had originally hit it off over art when they were volunteering together. Wendy used to say she'd found her kindred spirit.

And Abel had once told me Wendy's paintings were the most soulful he'd ever seen. But now, one had become a world-renowned painter, while the other had become a doctor stuck looking after a blind guy.

Wendy never liked being a doctor. After every surgery, she'd throw up until she was completely wiped out.

She abruptly squeezed my hand, but then let go just as fast. Then, she stumbled toward the front door.

I staggered from being pushed, completely lost my bearings, and slammed the back of my head against the sharp corner of a table. Blood started pouring out.

I let out a weak groan. "Wendy, it hurts…"

However, the door just happened to slam shut right then.

I couldn't see, but my hearing was a lot better than most people's. So even with the door shut, I could still make out what they were saying from the living room despite their voices sounding muffled.

Abel sounded emotional as he said, "His eyes can't be fixed! There's nothing you can do! You know very well that you're way more talented than me!

"Come with me to see my mentor. There's still time. As long as you just—"

"Abel, I owe him my life. He's all alone, and he's blind. How could I possibly go?" Wendy interrupted him, her voice trembling with emotion.

Abel sounded devastated. "What about your dreams? And… what about me?"