Suddenly, Julian could feel his eyes starting to ache, as though the corneas' original owner wanted to punish him if it was the last thing he did.

As he covered his eyes, he came up with a random excuse to visit the washroom. There, he dug around his pockets for his eye drops.

It wasn't there.

Julian instinctively directed his next question to the person he was the most familiar with. "Stella, where did my eye drops go?"

No one responded to him. Only then did Julian remember that Stella had vanished from the venue.

Then again, she was probably too embarrassed to stay here after pulling off that stunt.

After recognizing Ariana in the video, Julian drew his conclusions straight away, thinking that Stella had spread the video just to get her hands on money. Even though he wasn't sure where Stella had obtained the video, he was very certain that she was the culprit. After all, both the evidence and the witness were there.

Oh, Stella… If she really needed money that badly, she could've just asked him for it! As long as she provided him with her services a few more times and let him toy around with her body, extracting money from him would be like taking candy from a baby!

Why must she still resort to such underhanded tactics?

Julian recalled the days when he kept getting rejected by Stella.

Seriously, why did she put up that stubborn and disgusted façade? He had already fucked her countless times, so what was with that pretentious act of protecting her chastity?

Did Stella think that Julian was all wrapped around her little finger by throwing a tantrum or two? Did she seriously think that she could do whatever she wanted in front of him?

No way!

"Stella Atkinson, I'll settle the score with you once and for all right after the engagement banquet is over!" Julian thought angrily.

In the end, Julian couldn't find the eye drops at all. He recalled that Ariana was the one who had helped him pack his bag before leaving the manor this evening. With his eyes narrowed, he stumbled through the crowd in search of her.

The crowd's clamor and loud discussions were starting to frustrate Julian greatly. He had to rely on his memory in order to find his way back to Ariana and his mother, Christine Cavanaugh.

He was about to ask Ariana for the eyedrops when he overheard the women's conversation.

Christine asked Ariana in a friendly manner, "Aria, since we've decided that Ms. Atkinson shall be the child's surrogate mother, you and Julian should arrange for the surgery to take place as soon as possible. We'd like to meet our grandchild soon."

Ariana smiled bashfully in return. "Don't worry, Mom. I've already arranged a meeting with the doctor. Once the time comes, they'll insert the zygote into her body. She's a money-minded person, after all. Once she gives birth to the child, we'll just send her packing with 20 thousand dollars or so."

What?

Didn't they agree that Julian would get Stella impregnated so that she'd give birth to the baby that Ariana would be raising?

How dare Christine and Ariana hide the fact that they wanted Stella to become the surrogate mother from him!

This was completely different! In this case, the child wouldn't belong to him and Stella!

Ariana soon noticed Julian, who was still covering his eyes. Startled, she quickly approached him in concern.

"Jules, what's wrong with your eyes? Did dust get into your eyes? Let me blow it out for you."

Unexpectedly, Julian subconsciously avoided Ariana. He asked hoarsely, "Where's my eye drops?"

Ariana was taken aback by the question. Feeling confused and nervous, she replied with another question, "What eye drops? I've never seen you use any eye drops before. If you need it that badly, you can tell Ms. Atkinson to buy a bottle for you…"

Before Ariana could finish speaking, Julian turned around to ask Christine another question, as though he didn't care about Ariana's answer at all.

"Mom, back when you told me to let Stella give birth to my baby, did you mean that she'd be undergoing IVF treatment?"

Christine was momentarily startled, but she quickly replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Of course! Genes belonging to an inferior commoner like her don't have the right to merge with yours! Don't tell me you thought you'd—"

Having received his answer, Julian began making his way toward the hotel's exit with what limited vision he had left in his eyes. He completely tuned out Christine and Ariana's shouts at that moment.

No! This was all wrong!

Stella must have thought that he wanted her to become his child's surrogate mother! That was why she decided to get revenge on Ariana out of anger!

Yes, that must be it!

That must be why Stella had repeatedly refused Julian's advances in the past! Ariana and Christine must have told her the truth behind his back, which led to her feeling disappointed!

What Julian actually wanted was an actual child produced by his and Stella's DNA. While he owed Ariana a permanent bond solidified by marriage, he owed Stella an official title that marked her his lover.

That was why he wanted to make it up to Ariana by giving her a wedding and a marriage certificate with their names on it. As for Stella, she'd receive a child made up of their genes and all the money in the world.

Julian had always been one who believed in equilibrium exchange, after all.

With trembling hands, he began dialing Stella's number. He dialed her number a dozen times, only to receive the same response—her phone was turned off.

Enraged, Julian hurled his phone at the ground before punching the pillar outside the hotel. Sharp pain jolted up his arm instantly, and his heart soon began trembling from the pain.

After that, Julian flagged down a cab. He instructed icily, "Go to Chapman Group's headquarters! Hurry!"

He thought, "Stella, I know now that this is all a misunderstanding. I can forgive you for getting revenge on Ariana, but you're not allowed to escape from me! We have a binding contract! You're mine!"

On the fifth New Year since Alice and Camden's marriage, he suddenly disappeared.

Alice went to file a report with the police. After reading her statement, the officer's expression grew strange. But she was blind, so she didn't see it.

"Ma'am, it says here your husband is Mr. Camden Bennett. May I ask what your name is?"

"I'm Alice Wilson. Do you have news about Camden already?" Alice replied, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

The officer furrowed his brows and slammed the desk. "Ma'am, I need you to cooperate with us by telling us your real name."

Alice was stunned. "But that is my real name."

Behind her, a delinquent scoffed. "Yo, blindy, just because you look like someone doesn't give you the right to impersonate them. Besides, everyone in the whole city knows Mr. Bennett gifted his wife a ten-billion-dollar yacht to celebrate her pregnancy. In fact, Mrs. Bennett's been posting nine-pic dumps every day—it's been trending for a while."

At that moment, the LED screen across from them was playing an interview with Camden.

"Mr. Bennett, it was New Year's Eve yesterday. What wish did you make for the new year?" the reporter asked.

"That my precious wife will have a safe delivery and a joyful, peaceful life, of course," Camden answered.

"Oh, thank you, darling."

The moment Elena's sweet, familiar voice rang out, Alice felt her scalp prickle and her face go pale.

…

Five years ago, Alice was blinded in a car accident, and Camden was devastated.

Everyone in Gearwin said the heir to the Bennett family would never marry a blind woman.

Someone had even found a college student who bore an 80% resemblance to Alice and secretly sent her to his bed. But when Camden found out, he nearly strangled her.

That college student was none other than Elena Lovell.

His eyes had been bloodshot, every nerve in him straining to keep from erupting, as he yelled, "Get out! Alice is the only one I love. Anyone who just looks like her makes me sick."

That night, he had driven to the hospital in anguish and wrapped Alice tightly in his arms.

"Darling, let's get married tomorrow. I want you to take your place as the true mistress of the Bennett family," he said, his scorching tears dripping onto her shoulder.

Everyone knew Camden loved Alice madly and hated Elena to the core.

Yet now, why was it that the one rightfully standing at his side was Elena, masquerading as Alice?

Alice felt a sharp pain in her chest, and an overwhelming chill spread through her.

Just what on earth was going on?

She had to find Camden and demand the truth.

She stumbled out of the police station in a daze, only to be knocked unconscious by a falling billboard.

Before losing consciousness, she thought she heard someone anxiously saying, "Darling, what happened to you?"

When she opened her eyes again, a piercing white glare stabbed her vision, making her flinch.

The next instant, her eyes widened in shock. She had miraculously regained her sight.

But before she could take in this unfamiliar world, voices belonging to Camden and his friend drifted in from outside the door.

"Camden, how long are you going to let Elena pretend to be Alice? It's already been five years!"

Camden exhaled heavily and replied in a voice thick with pain, "I don't know either. Back then, the board members in my company flatly refused to let me marry a blind woman.

"But I loved Alice too much. I had no choice but to lie to them, claiming her eyesight had been restored—and had Elena pose as her."

"But they're all dead now. So, why are you still—"

"Elena's pregnant," Camden cut him off, his tone edged with irritation. "And besides… I don't even know why, but after all this time pretending, it feels like I really can't live without her anymore."

His friend stared at him in shock. "Are you out of your mind? You've actually developed feelings for Elena? Have you forgotten it was Elena's drunkard brother who caused the accident years ago?

"If not for him, Alice wouldn't have lost her sight. And if she ever finds out about all this—"

"Enough!" Camden snapped with a frown. "Elena's innocent. What her brother did has nothing to do with her. I already had that drunk thrown in prison, and he's never getting out.

"As for Alice—ever since she lost her sight, she hasn't liked going out anymore. There's no signal here either, so with her staying in this castle I carefully built for her, she'll never discover the truth for as long as she lives."

Inside the room, Alice bit down hard on her lip as tears streamed down her face. Even though the castle was warm year-round, she still felt a bone-deep chill spread through every part of her body.

She pulled out a stack of exquisitely drawn paintings from her bedside table. Each one was sketched by Camden himself to capture pieces of her past.

The first painting captured the moment she met Camden during a desert expedition. He had broken his leg, and she took care of him for three days and nights.

The third painting depicted Camden climbing a snow peak more than 13 thousand feet high alone to bring her a single edelweiss flower.

The eighth painting portrayed the time she mentioned liking ballet, and he spent billions of dollars to invite every famous ballerina in Velldar to perform for her birthday.

The 15th painting presented the castle he had built specially for her. It was designed for a blind woman—magnificent and ornate, yet safe and comfortable.

In that painting, Camden was down on one knee. "Darling, from now on, I will be your eyes. You are the only one in my heart."

The woman in the painting wore a radiant smile, her eyes soft with lingering affection as she threw herself into his arms.

Alice smiled bitterly. She set all the paintings alight and hurled them onto the bed.

She no longer wanted Camden's tainted love.

Blazing flames roared as the fire alarm wailed madly.

Amid the chaos, Alice slipped out through another exit and found a phone booth on the roadside.

She dialed the mysterious number and said, "Nick, you once said I could return to the orchestra anytime within five years, right? Does that offer still stand?"

"Of course, my dear Alice," Nick replied in his deep and resonant voice. "The fans in Velldar miss you very much."

"But there's some complication regarding my identity. It'll take three days to process the paperwork for leaving the country."

"How do you plan to get out of Gearwin? From what I know, there's no way Camden would let you go that easily."

Alice's gaze flickered. "I'm going to send him my corpse."

Hadn't Camden replaced her with someone else? Well then, she would vanish from his life once and for all.

Suddenly, a pair of warm hands circled her waist. Camden buried his face in her shoulder and said in a trembling voice, "Darling, thank goodness you're safe. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't want to live either."

"Alice, Cam thought you were still inside. He insisted on going back to find you, saying you couldn't see. The fire was raging, and a chandelier almost crushed him in there."

Camden's best friend patted his chest, his face still pale with fright.

Only then did Alice notice Camden's arms were covered in burns and that there was a gaping hole in his clothes. His eyes, too, were bloodshot from the smoke.

Her breath hitched as a sharp pain prickled her heart.

He was willing to risk his life for her, yet how could he love two women at the same time?

"Mr. Bennett." A timid female voice sounded from behind.

Elena, dressed in a white dress, looked frail as she dragged her suitcase along.

Alice felt the hand around her waist stiffen, then slip away.

Camden ruffled her hair and lied without so much as a blink, "Darling, a business partner has come to discuss work with me. Wait here for a moment."

He then strode forward and pulled Elena into his arms.

In sign language, he said, "Elena, why did you come without me asking? Didn't I say I'd go tonight to be with you and the baby?"

"I just miss you too much. And I wanted to take care of Alice to make amends. It's me who wronged her," Elena replied in sign language as well.

"You've done nothing wrong to her! I'm the one at fault for making you bear another woman's name. I've wronged you and the baby."

He kissed Elena, his eyes brimming with so much tenderness that it almost spilled over.

"I've already picked names for the baby. If it's a boy, we'll call him Elijah, and if it's a girl, she'll be Eloise," he signed.

Alice stared dazedly at the scene before her, as if her heart were being slashed apart, each cut searing with pain.

Around this time last year, she had discovered she was pregnant. Camden had been so overjoyed that he rented out an entire hot spring mountain resort and gave her a CD filled with 9,999 words of love he had recorded just for her.

She was just about to play it when he took a call. On the other end came the faint sound of a woman crying.

Camden had kissed Alice's belly and said, "Darling, there's an emergency at the company. Wait for me—I'll be back."

Alice had suspected nothing. She waited obediently for a day and a night, but the man she loved never returned. What came instead was an avalanche, and their child died that winter.

She watched Camden tenderly caress Elena's belly with that all-too-familiar gesture, and a bitter smile tugged at her lips.

So, it turned out the only one who couldn't move on from that avalanche was her.

"Darling, I'll be a little busy these days, so I've hired a nutritionist to look after you," Camden said to Alice.

He was holding Elena's hand and looking at her with eyes full of affection.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson," Elena greeted delicately.

She had called Alice "Ms. Wilson" and not "Mrs. Bennett".

Camden frowned slightly at the form of address but said nothing to correct it.

Alice's gaze lingered for a few seconds on Elena's lips, which were swollen from his kisses, and her fingertips dug into her palm.

Suddenly, she felt a warmth settling over her. Camden had placed a wool coat around her.

"It's too cold out. Let's go home, darling."

Before Alice could react, she saw Elena make a hand sign for "gotcha", and in return, the man pressed a doting kiss to her lips.

She watched the two of them walking ahead with their fingers entwined, their intimacy impossible to ignore.

Then, she witnessed Camden—who had always hated the smell of cooking oil—put on an apron to help Elena in the kitchen and laugh heartily beneath the roar of the exhaust fan.

Lastly, she looked on as Camden, ever the considerate one, ladled soup into her bowl as he always had, only to turn the next moment and gently wipe some sauce from the corner of Elena's mouth.

"Silly woman. You're simply too adorable," he signed fondly.

Alice kept her head down as she sipped the hot soup. Her eyes stung with heat, but no tears would come.

Having once been loved by Camden, she knew his every look and his every gesture. And in that moment, Alice understood at least that he had truly fallen for Elena.