[4]

The next day, after Javier left, Nora asked Clara to accompany her in the study. But this time, it was not to discuss work.

“Clara.”

“Yes, Mrs. Nora?”

“Sit down.”

Clara obeyed.

“I want you to be honest with me.” Nora fell silent for a few moments before finally continuing her question. “How often does Kate come to this house?”

Clara immediately froze. Nora did not need to see her assistant’s face to know that the question made Clara uneasy. The woman’s fingers could be heard moving nervously in her lap.

“Why are you silent?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Nora.”

“I don’t want to hear an apology.” Nora’s voice remained calm. “I’m asking, how often does Kate come to this house?”

“I never meant to hide it from you, Mrs. Nora.” Clara’s voice began to tremble. “But every time Miss Kate comes, Mr. Javier always says it’s just a casual visit. Sometimes they talk about work, sometimes they eat together. I never dared to ask anything more.”

Nora clenched her hands. “How long has this been going on?”

Clara lowered her head. “For several months.”

Several months? That meant this was not something that had just happened. Nora took a deep breath, but the air entering her lungs felt heavy. “And you never told me?”

“I ... I was afraid, Mrs. Nora,” Clara replied nervously.

“Afraid of whom?”

Clara remained silent for quite a while before answering in a quiet voice, “Mr. Javier.”

Nora said nothing.

“I know Mrs. Nora is in this condition. I didn’t want to put you under even more pressure. But after yesterday ... I really felt guilty.” Clara’s voice trembled even more. “You have always treated me well, Mrs. Nora. I couldn’t bear to keep hiding this from you.”

Nora slowly rubbed her face.

For six months, she had lost her sight. And throughout that time, the people around her may have known something she had never realized.

Even her own home no longer felt like a safe place. “Has Kate ever stayed here overnight?”

Clara did not answer immediately. And for Nora, that was already enough of an answer.

For the first time, Nora could no longer regard Keith’s words as an accusation without basis.

“All right,” she finally said. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

Clara raised her face. “Mrs. Nora—”

“Don’t worry. I won’t blame you.”

After Clara left, Nora sat alone for quite some time. Her hand felt along the surface of the table until she found her phone. She remained silent for a while before finally searching for a name she had barely contacted in five years.

Keith Laurent.

The call connected after several rings.

“Hello?”

Keith’s voice made Nora fall silent for a moment. “Keith.”

“Yes?”

“I want to ask you about my eyes.”

Keith immediately sounded more serious. “What do you want to know?”

“Is it true that I can still see?”

There was a brief pause on the line between them.

“I won’t say anything without examining you myself,” Keith said.

Nora gripped her phone more tightly. “Then I want you to examine me.”

“As it happens, I’m at the hospital right now.”

“Where?”

“Saint Aurelia Hospital, on the outskirts of downtown South City.”

“Send me the address.”

Keith fell silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“All right. I’ll wait for you.”

After the call ended, Nora let out a long sigh. She did not know what she would discover. But for the first time since the accident, she felt that she had a chance to learn the truth in her own way.

Not long after, the doctor Javier had requested arrived at the house.

The examination was not much different from the examinations Nora had undergone countless times over the past six months. The doctor examined the condition of her eyes, asked several questions, and then looked over the results of her previous examinations again.

“How is it, Doctor?” Nora asked.

The doctor took a soft breath. “Your eye condition has not gotten worse. But the chances of fully regaining your vision are still very small.”

Nora fell silent. “Is there a possibility that I can see again?”

“Medically, that possibility still exists. However, I don’t want to give you too much hope.”

Nora nodded slowly. The answer she received every time the doctor examined her was always the same. Again and again. After the doctor left, Nora did not move immediately. She simply sat there in silence, her thoughts becoming increasingly chaotic.

Keith said she could still see.

The doctor Javier sent said the chances were very small.

Actually ... which statement could she believe?

That afternoon, Nora came to Saint Aurelia Hospital accompanied by Elena.

As soon as she entered the examination room, Keith was already waiting.

“I didn’t expect you to actually come,” he said. “And ... long time no see, Elena.”

Elena scoffed. “I never expected the annoying brat who was always following his older sister around to become such an accomplished doctor.”

Keith smiled faintly. “Sit down. Let’s see what’s really happening with your eyes.”

The examination lasted much longer than the examinations Nora usually underwent. Keith conducted several additional tests, examining her pupil response, the condition of her optic nerves, as well as several parts of her eyes that had never been explained to her in depth before.

Nora could only wait. Elena stood beside her with a tense expression. After nearly an hour, Keith finally placed the examination results on the table.

“I have good news.”

Nora immediately lifted her face. “What?”

Keith pointed to several examination results. “The main structures of your eyes are still in fairly good condition. There is damage from the trauma, but it’s not what you’ve been led to believe all this time.”

Nora held her breath.

“With the proper treatment, your chances of regaining your vision are much greater.”

Elena immediately looked at Keith. “How much greater?”

“Great enough to make me certain that you should undergo surgery.”

Nora fell silent. For a few seconds, she did not even know how to react. “So ... I can still see?”

“Yes.” Keith’s voice was firm. “You still have a chance to see again, Nora.”

Tears slowly streamed down Nora’s cheeks. Not because she was sad, but because for the first time in six months, there was truly a real hope.

Elena immediately took her hand. “Nora, this is incredible.”

Nora nodded, but her tears flowed even more heavily.

“Almost every hospital we went to always said the chances were very small,” Elena said. “How could the results be this different?”

Keith shrugged. “Maybe they simply couldn’t find what I found.” He looked at the examination results in his hand again, then glanced at Nora. “Or maybe ... your husband didn’t want you to know about his affair?”

Elena fell silent at once, stunned and unable to believe what Keith had just said. “What ... do you mean?” Elena asked.

Keith looked at Nora with pity. The woman before him was still the same as she had been five years ago. Beautiful, with long black hair that made it impossible to overlook his stepsister's elegance. Although her face had become slightly thinner, Nora's features had not changed much. Her light brown eyes seemed to stare intently at Keith, but he knew Nora could not see anything in front of her.

“So ... you haven't told your best friend anything?”

Keith's words made Elena impatient. “Nora, what happened?” She looked at her best friend anxiously.

Silence stretched for several seconds, creating a tense atmosphere. Finally, Nora took a deep breath and said, “Keith said ... there's a possibility that Javier is having an affair.”

Elena's face immediately changed. “With whom?”

Nora lowered her face. “Kate.”

Elena was stunned. “Kate? Catherine Beaumont?”

Nora nodded slowly. “Kate is Keith's fiancée.”

Elena was speechless. She even covered her mouth, utterly unable to believe what her best friend had just told her. “H-how is that possible?”