By accident, I stumbled upon my husband's secret.

There were cameras covering every corner of our house, but I stayed silent and pretended not to know about them.

One day, I faked leaving home and hid in the closet, only to hear my husband fooling around with his mistress.

Jared's breath was short from exertion. "Faster. We have less than 20 minutes before Vanessa gets back."

His mistress giggled. "Relax. Her eyesight is terrible."

Jared growled. "Shut up! Vanessa is my wife. Say another thing about her, and I'll throw you out!"

What he didn't know was that my eyesight had been cured. My vision was as sharp as anyone else's.

I stepped out of the closet with a choked sob and called my brother. "I'll go to Murica."

It took them exactly 20 minutes from start to finish. They must have practiced extensively to achieve such precise timing.

As Regina got dressed, Jared reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Flirtatiously, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Miss me already, Mr. Hampton?"

Unfazed, he picked up a lacy piece of underwear and tossed it at her face. "Stop leaving things around. You're taking too long—Vanessa will be back soon."

Regina's smile froze. She harrumphed. "Yeah, yeah. How could I possibly compare to Ms. Geis, hmm?

"Isn't it sad? How my unborn child will always be someone lesser…"

Jared smiled at the mention of her child. "You're pregnant?!"

He kissed her cheek, lifted her into the air, and twirled her in delight.

Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he cautiously set her down on a chair and caressed her stomach.

Regina smiled and leaned into the nervous man. "It's been two years. Don't you think something would've taken by now?"

'Two years, huh…'

Two years ago, there was the car accident that damaged my eyes. When I opened them again, my vision was never the same.

All I could see were blurry shapes.

Jared wrapped his arms around her with a smile, his gaze fixed on her stomach.

"Vanessa is my wife. She's blind, so I still have to be tactful. But you are my beloved. Why would you be someone lesser?"

Regina pouted and punched him softly. "Hmph. You're just saying that to make me happy.

"If I'm not anyone lesser, then my son will still be your illegitimate child!"

Unable to refute her, Jared hesitated before replying, "I won't let that happen. He will be respected.

"Once he's born, I'll have Vanessa adopt him. Then, the three of us can live happily ever after. He'll inherit my business. He'll be my son."

Regina smiled, but I shuddered with disgust.

I trusted this man with my life, yet he had done nothing but scheme against me and betray me.

'Very well, Jared. Very well.'

I waited until the door closed before walking out of the closet, lips pursed.

When Jared turned back after seeing Regina off, he immediately saw me in the living room.

A frantic expression flashed across his face. "V-Vanessa! When did you get back?"

"I didn't go out today."

He looked visibly nervous. "I see… Did you, by any chance, hear anything?"

He waved a hand in front of me. I feigned ignorance, shaking my head calmly. "No. Did something happen?"

His tense features relaxed as he realized my eyes were still unfocused.

He sat beside me and held my hand lovingly. "It's nothing. I had workers come by to fix something earlier, and I was worried they might have disturbed you.

"I love you, Vanessa."

Then, as if nothing had happened, he prepared my medicine and fed me dinner. He blew on every bite to make sure it had cooled before offering it to me.

I watched how meticulous he was and wondered for a moment if I had imagined everything that had happened earlier.

Reality hit me in the face the very next second.

"Vanessa, what do you think about adoption?"

I paled. He quickly tried to comfort me. "It's alright. We don't have to do anything you don't want to!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up out of the blue… I'm sorry."

But that didn't mean he had changed his mind. After all, Regina's child couldn't stay in her womb forever.

An adoption was non-negotiable.

The next day, Jared left around dawn. I paid it no mind and focused on preparing my documents for leaving the country.

“When are you coming over, Vanessa?” My brother’s voice was a balm to my nerves.

“One more week,” I replied calmly.

After catching up with him for a bit, I ended the call.

Just as I turned around, I found Jared standing at the door. My heart stuttered, but I pretended not to notice him.

“Vanessa?” he called out solemnly.

I reached out to him. “Jared? Are you back?”

He hummed in acknowledgment and took my phone, frowning when he saw the name in my recent contacts.

“You were on a call with your brother?”

When my brother first left for Murica, he wanted to take me with him so I could be treated overseas.

Jared didn’t like that, and I stayed upon my husband’s insistence.

He had never approved of my contact with my brother.

I took a deep breath to gather my wits. “Mhmm. He called to ask how I was doing, and I told him not to worry about me.”

Jared accepted my response and then turned toward the door. “Come in.”

Regina walked in with a contemptuous look.

“Vanessa, I found you a caretaker. She’ll be taking care of you while I’m out, okay?”

We had another caretaker before, Jenny, but Jared fired her two days ago because he didn’t like her cooking.

She had been with us for two years, and he’d eaten her cooking for just as long. Yet, I didn’t voice my confusion.

Now, I understood—he had fired her for Regina’s sake.

Regina glanced at me and smiled smugly. “Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’m best at taking care of b… the visually impaired.”

Jared glared at her before she could finish her sentence.

I nodded. “I’ll be in your care, then.

“I’m a little tired, so…” Before I could finish, Jared quickly acquiesced and left with Regina in tow.

I noticed how she took his hand with a challenging look in her eyes. After a brief glance at me, he wrapped his arm around her and left.

I lay in bed, feeling my heart twist with pain. After a while, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up again, I quietly made my way through the corridor.

Regina was kneeling on the ground in a maid outfit, wiping the floor near Jared’s feet with her back arched.

Jared was seated on the couch, but the document on his laptop was filled with lines and lines of random keys. His gaze never left Regina’s chest, and he swallowed thickly from time to time.

This became a common scene in the house.

Regina only revealed her true colors when Jared left for the office.

She would place tables and chairs in my path, causing me to stumble. Only after I yelped would she approach slowly with a mocking apology. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you were blind.”

I clenched my fists at the mockery in her tone. ‘It’s not time for revenge yet.’

When Jared returned, she would transform into the perfect caretaker, bringing me water and feeding me food with exaggerated attentiveness.

Perhaps triggered by the difference in treatment, her cruelty worsened with time.

One evening, as Jared led me back to the bedroom, we found her lying on the bed in a silk nightgown.

Her dress left almost nothing to the imagination, and I could hear Jared gulp from where I stood.

He coughed awkwardly and guided me to the bathroom. “The bed’s a little messy. Hold on, I’ll clean it up. Go brush your teeth first.”

He quickly closed the door behind me, his nervousness making him forget that I was supposedly blind.

A low reprimand came from the other side. “Are you crazy? This is Vanessa’s and my room!”

Regina shoved him gently and climbed onto him. “But the baby misses you.”

I scoffed and pushed open the bathroom door, startling them. “Jared? Is everything alright? I think I heard the caretaker.”

Jared scrambled to his feet, causing Regina to fall to the side. “Everything… Everything’s alright. She’s just cleaning…”

Then, he grabbed her and pushed her out of the room.

My heart squeezed at the franticness of his actions.

I thought this would be the perfect cinematic moment to expose their affair. But all I gave was a quiet nod of acknowledgment.

The last time Jared looked this nervous was during their wedding, back when his love was passionate, and his vows were thundering.

He had stayed loyally by her side, even after her accident and the loss of her eyesight.

She once thought their love would last forever, but dreams were never permanent.

After a while and some hesitation, Jared said, “Vanessa, we should have a big celebration for our anniversary this year.”

I agreed. This celebration would mark the end of our marriage.

Jared gave me a genuine smile.

Over the next few days, a sense of normalcy returned. Jared was seldom home, busy with preparations for the celebration.

Not only had he booked the rooftop banquet hall, but he even arranged for the ingredients for the banquet to be transported from abroad on the day of the event.

It was a day of happiness for some, and frustration for others. Regina hadn’t smiled once since Jared began preparing for the celebration.

Soon, the day arrived.

The majority of River City’s upper class gathered at the banquet hall. On the screen was a projected slideshow of pictures, captioned: “I love you, Darling. Until death do we part.”

While Jared made his rounds chatting with the guests, I stood alone to the side.

A few wives of powerful businessmen approached me to catch up.

“You’re so lucky, Mrs. Hampton!”

“Mhmm! Your husband has no room for anyone else in his eyes! He even prepared this whole day just for you.”

I smiled politely but did not comment.

Perhaps they found my lack of reaction boring because, after a while, they stopped with the pleasantries and began to gossip among themselves.

“Pfft. What a bunch of lies. True love, my foot!”

“She’s blind. What can she even do?”

“What a fool. Does she actually think Mr. Hampton hosted this event for her?”

I heard every word they said. I thought it would break me, but I was surprisingly calm.

“Mr. Hampton even prepared a fireworks show!” someone announced.

The guests began crowding toward the balcony for a better view.

I had been standing near the corner of the hall, but as the crowd moved, I found myself pushed toward the stage.

Guests shoved each other for space, and I lost my balance, falling to the ground.

My body knocked against the machinery, and I gasped in pain. Then, the slideshow and caption on the screen began to change.

Now, they were selfies of Regina, with the caption: “Welcome to the world, Baby.”

Everything made sense. None of this was for me.

After all, who would prepare a fireworks show for someone half-blind?

Even though my vision had partially returned, the sheer number of guests around me blurred everything.

I struggled to push myself up, but it was futile. The guests continued stepping on me as if I didn’t exist.

By the time I managed to lift my head, all I could see was Regina laying her head on Jared’s shoulder.

Fireworks erupted in the air, streaking gold across the night sky.

“I love you, Baby,” Jared said softly.

My chest constricted.

I couldn’t tell if it was my heart or my body that hurt, but I couldn’t take it anymore. My vision darkened, and my eyes rolled back.

When I woke, the sterile smell of disinfectant filled the air.

My vision was hazy, and my body ached. I sucked in a cold breath, trying to gather my bearings.

But what terrified me most was the conversation I overheard outside the corridor.

“Mr. Hampton, we’re seeing signs of the blood clot dispersing in your wife’s brain. Her vision could return soon.”

Instead of elation, I heard him growl, “Are you f*cking kidding me?!

“You promised me that if I fed her blood-clotting herbs, it would increase the size of the blood clot in her brain! You said it would damage her nerves so she’d go blind…”