Chapter 4

The doctor's words cut straight through Olivia.

She bolted upright. Pain tore through her entire body, but she barely noticed as she almost fell out of bed.

The door burst open, and footsteps drew closer.

Following the sound, Olivia reached out, grabbed one of them by the sleeve, and held on tight.

"Doctor, I can't go blind." Her voice shook with sheer terror.

No one understood better than she did how much a surgeon depended on clear vision.

Her eyesight was her livelihood, the foundation of the future she had spent more than a decade and countless sleepless nights working toward.

Her voice turned hoarse as she pleaded, "Please. Whatever surgery or treatment it takes, I'll do anything you need me to. Just save my sight. I'm a doctor too. I can't lose my sight..."

The arm she was clutching belonged to Damon.

Something unfamiliar stirred inside him as he watched her plead.

He parted his lips to speak, but a soft voice edged with mockery came from the doorway.

"Olivia, I know you're upset about your eyes, but at a time like this, can you stop making things up just to save face?"

Fiona walked slowly into the room in a hospital gown. Her gaze swept over Olivia's battered, vulnerable state, a mocking smile on her lips.

"You didn't even get your degree back then. You left Calverton before you could graduate. How could you possibly be a doctor? Don't you think this is getting ridiculous?"

The words struck Olivia like a slap.

Memories that had faded with time suddenly came into sharp focus again.

Years ago, she and Fiona had competed for the school's only available PhD spot.

Fiona had taken the key research paper Olivia had spent an entire year preparing, replaced the byline with her own name, and submitted it for consideration, costing Olivia the spot.

Afterward, she reported Fiona for plagiarism, only for Damon to give false testimony in Fiona's defense.

Their faculty advisor knew that Olivia and Damon had dated. Yet Damon not only refused to side with his ex-girlfriend but actually testified for Fiona. Given Damon's status as a Holloway, the advisor naturally began to lean toward Fiona.

She had no choice but to keep appealing to the university.

But while her appeal was still pending, they leaked intimate photos of her in bed and spread sexual rumors about her. They also reported her to the university, accusing her of academic misconduct and scandalous behavior in her personal life.

Under mounting public pressure, the university ultimately invalidated her paper and added the incident to her academic record.

Furious, she confronted Fiona.

But Damon stepped in front of her, his tone condescending and judgmental.

"Olivia, I've already explained this. Fiona accidentally deleted her own paper, so she asked me for yours to use as a reference. Stop hounding her over it. Enough is enough."

His voice hardened.

"As for the person who spread those rumors about you, I tracked down his IP address. Fiona had nothing to do with any of it."

He paused, then added casually, "With your grades, not getting in this time isn't the end of the world. You'll have other chances. But this opportunity means a lot to Fiona. I can't let this go on her record, and I can't let her face any risk because of it."

So to protect Fiona, he'd taken Olivia's work and sacrificed Olivia's reputation, all to clear Fiona's path.

If her grades and credentials hadn't been so exceptional, the university might have done far more than invalidate her paper.

Forget applying to another PhD program. Even graduating could have been at risk.

But Damon had never once considered what any of that might cost her.

Fortunately, she had stopped expecting anything from him long ago.

And even during the years she had spent chasing after him, she had never let her studies slip.

That was why one of the world's top medical schools had been willing to make an exception and admit her.

Everyone thought she had quietly left Calverton because she was too ashamed to stay. None of them knew she'd left to continue her medical training.

Later, through her exceptional performance and surgical skill, she gradually established herself in the medical field.

But now, she was blind.

All her hard work and every ambition she had held had been wiped away in an instant.

A faint smile touched Olivia's lips, but tears soaked through the gauze covering her eyes, leaving faint reddish stains.

Damon saw the bitter, almost mocking smile on her face and felt an unexpected sting in his chest.

Before he could speak, Olivia suddenly lifted her head toward Fiona, her voice cold and cutting.

"Do you even know I'm the cardiac surgeon your hospital brought in specifically for this case? I came back because..."