Fireworks For Others

Everyone in the Chicago underworld envied me. Sophia Rossi.

Just the daughter of a minor family, I had somehow landed the Kane family's Underboss, Xavier Kane.

On my birthday, he booked an entire private estate and illuminated the sky with millions of dollars in fireworks, spelling out the birthday girl’s name.

It was beautiful.

Too bad my name wasn't Serena Vance.

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1

On an encrypted channel, one of Xavier’s men messaged him:

[Boss, Miss Serena is about to come back. Why are you still throwing a birthday party for this woman from a less prominent branch of the organization?]

Xavier's expression was a mask of playful affection, but his cool eyes held nothing but contempt for me.

"I have high needs," his reply read, "and Serena’s body can’t handle it. This little blind girl, though? She's a spitfire. Whisper a few sweet nothings, and she's willing to try anything in bed. Serena is a proper lady. She doesn't know half these tricks. This one is dumb and obedient, so I'll just keep her around for fun. It's not like she can see anything anyway."

His Soldato messaged back hesitantly:

[What if she finds out?]

A mocking smile played on Xavier’s lips as his long fingers danced across the screen.

[So what if she finds out? She’s an orphan and she's blind. She can’t leave me.]

[Besides, her surgery couldn't be performed with anesthesia. She’s terrified of pain, she'd never dare go through with it.]

But Xavier didn’t know. To be worthy of him, to stop the whispers and mockery about him marrying a blind woman…

I had endured the excruciating agony of that surgery, so weak I needed a ventilator for a full week, just to restore my sight for him.

Seven years ago, I’d been injured saving him in a gang war, and I lost my sight. After that, I feared the dark and the cold more than anything. Xavier Kane was the only light in my world, my sun.

He once held me tightly, promising he would always be by my side.

“Sophia, don’t be afraid. You still have me. From now on, I’ll be your eyes.”

Yet this was the same man who now treated me like a disposable toy, a mere plaything for his amusement.

My breath hitched. I bit my lower lip until I tasted blood, just to keep myself from breaking down.

“What’s wrong? Not happy?”

Noticing my stiffness, Xavier set down his wine glass, his well-defined hand gently pinching my cheek. "Who's the fool that upset you? We're about to be married. Who dares to make the future Mrs. Kane unhappy?"

As he spoke, he reached out to wipe away a tear I didn't know had fallen. On his left ring finger, he wore a wedding band.