“You know, I was never truly blind,” she confessed lightly. “I paid the doctor to fake the diagnosis. I wanted to see just how far Julian would go for me.” She brushed two fingers along my cheek, mockingly gentle. “Turns out he’d go anywhere. Your corneas weren’t taken because I needed them… they were taken because I wanted proof. And he handed them over without hesitation.”
Everything went quiet except the blood rushing through my ears.
“So now I understand,” she added softly. “You were just a promise he once made. I’m the one he chose to keep.”
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
She stiffened. “What are you laughing at? Have you finally lost it?”
I let the smile die slowly and angled my head toward her. “Seraphine, do you really believe you’ve won?”
Her breath faltered. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
I stepped closer until my fingertips brushed her cheek, lingering there, my expression razor-edged.
“Enjoy your borrowed sight,” I murmured. “Because one day, these same eyes will watch your world collapse.”
I had been a Carter long before I was ever Mrs. Whitmore. And Carters don’t crumble just because someone tries to erase them.
Her hand jerked. Glass shattered against the floor, followed by her shrill cry.
Julian stormed upstairs. “What just happened here?”
Seraphine collapsed into him like she might faint. “It’s nothing,” she sobbed. “I brought her some tea, but she threw it in anger. Please don’t be upset with her, Mr. Whitmore. She isn’t well.”
She didn’t repeat a single word I’d said. She didn’t need to. She painted herself the victim perfectly.
Julian turned to her immediately. “Your eyes are still healing, Seraphine. Don’t cry.”
Then his voice cut toward me, sharp as a blade.
“Elara, she came all this way just to help you. She didn’t cause your blindness, so stop venting your anger on her. This behavior is absurd.”
I laughed bitterly. “Julian, you really don’t know who destroyed me?”
His expression flickered, uncertainty bleeding through his mask.
When I took a step forward, he struck me without warning. The impact snapped my head to the side.
For a heartbeat, the room was dead silent.
“I—I didn’t mean to,” he stammered, his voice shaking. He cupped my face, leaned down—
“Don’t touch me,” I whispered hoarsely, pushing him away.
Seraphine’s voice oozed sweetness. “Julian, come on. Let’s give her space.”