Two months into the pregnancy, I accidentally fell and suffered a miscarriage. Knowing this, Austin Sanders dropped his tens of millions of dollars in business dealings and rushed in frantic to see me at the hospital.
When he arrived, he coaxed me with gentleness, "It's okay, Baby. We can have another child. What matters most is that you’re safe. You’re my whole world. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t want to live.”
However, when he said that, he was pressing down his young and dainty secretary while venting his primal canal with wild abandon right in front of me.
When he saw I looked a bit pale, Austin raised his and swept his hand on my slightly reddened eyes. He cooed at me, "Please don't be sad, Baby. Seeing you cry will break my heart."
I glanced at his secretary. She was lying beneath him with reddened eyes and trembling body. Seeing how hard she was trying to stop her voice escaped her mouth, I could only smile bitterly.
I had not told my husband that the surgery that I had three days ago was a success and that I was not blind anymore.
——
"Madam, I'll go back first." Ruby Green, Austin's secretary winked at Austin and then with a slow and methodical movement, she pulled up her underwear. She said again, "Your miscarriage really had the boss worried. He rushed over here so fast, I thought he’d wear me out ...."
“Keep an eye on the company while I’m gone. If anything goes wrong …." Austin paused and gave her butt a playful pinch. "You'll pay for it."
Ruby stood on her tiptoes and gave Austin a passionate kiss before leaving reluctantly.
“Baby, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Tell me, your husband,” Austin said in a concerned tone. He adjusted my pillows with care, tucked me in snugly and handed me a glass of warm water, then coaxed me to drink it sip by sip.
The nurse who walked in to take my temperature looked at me with envy. After all, everyone knew how much Austin adored his fiancée. Although I was blind, he showered me with endless love.
He was still a young man when he built his own business empire from the scratch and became famous but he remained devoted to one woman. His love for me was something he displayed proudly for the world to see.
I had once been consumed with self-doubt, so in desperation, because of my blindness, I bolted from him.
When I ran away, he went mad and searched for me across the entire city. When he finally found me, he clung to me as if he’d regained his entire world. His heart pounded wildly and his voice even trembled when he said, "Sally, I can’t even imagine a life without you.”
We had been together for three years and in those years, he had been a perfect lover. He wholly devoted his body and soul to me.
At the height of his affection, he would even kneel at my feet, kiss the back of my hand and confess he couldn’t live without me. Even now, his eyes sparkled and brimmed with affection for me.
Yet, in the end, the same man had betrayed me. He had the audacity to engage in such a sordid act with his secretary right before my eyes.
I turned away and gently pulled my hand from his grasp then said, "I want to go home."
He immediately wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Of course, baby. If you want to go home, we’ll go home. I’ll arrange for a private doctor to care for you there.”
When we returned, the first thing I saw was Ruby lounging on the couch in my bathrobe.
Her eyebrows arched slightly when our eyes met.
Austin's hand that was holding my hand, stiffed a little. He guided me to into the living room, turned on the stereo to play some music.
“Baby, sit here for a bit. I’ll make you some brown sugar tea,” he said.
I sat on the couch and watched her followed him into the kitchen. There, the two of them exchanged tender kisses and whispered intimately.
Chapter 2Moments later, Austin pushed Ruby away. His face darkened as he muttered something to her.
Ruby was reluctant. She protested in soft voice and her eyes reddened but Austin still forcefully dragged her outside. That was until she took off the bathrobe.
As soon as the bathroom that draped over her shoulder slipped off, a set of provocative lingerie was revealed. Seeing this Austin froze. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly and his gaze was clouded with desire.
With a fierce urgency, he kissed Ruby hard, hauled her by grabbing her waist and carried her toward me.
“Baby,” he said. "The company just called. I have an urgent meeting to attend. You rest for a while, okay? Once I’m done, I’ll come back and spend time with you.”
Before I could respond, he turned and hurriedly headed upstairs with Ruby in his arms.
Ruby clung to Austin's waist and her eyes brimming with smug triumph as she cast a defiant glance at me.
It wasn’t until their figures disappeared at the top of the stairs that I slowly withdrew my gaze.
He had promised to take care of me. Yet, here he was, he was the one who left me alone on the couch while whispering sweet nothings to another woman.
I took out my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart. The call immediately picked up by someone at the other side of the line. He asked, "Sally Miller?"
“It’s me,” I replied softly. I pursed my lips and asked, "Didn't you call me three days ago? And, do you remember that you mentioned a planetary research project that needed my involvement? Well, I’ve thought it over and I’ve decided to join you.”
There was a long pause on the other end before my professor’s excited voice could be heard. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "This project was your brainchild back in the day. No one is more suited to lead it than you. However, … I heard you’re getting married soon. This project will require at least three or four years of isolation. Are you really ready for that?”
I went to turn off the music. Without it, the sound of a man and a woman having intercourse could be heard vaguely from upstairs.
I smiled bitterly as tears streamed silently down my face. Then I said, "I've made up my mind, Professor. There is no marriage."
After I ended the call, I turned the music on.
My favorite piano composition sounded and gradually I drifted to sleep. I did not know how much time had passed before I was startled awake by the sound of muffled gasps.
When I opened my eyes, I was met with Austin's lust-filled gaze. At that moment., I felt as though a taut string in my mind snapped completely.
I had never imagined Austin could stoop so low like this. While I was sleeping, he actually took this moment to make love with Ruby right in front of me.
Ruby's trembling hand covered her mouth tightly and her whole body was trembling violently with pleasure.
Then Austin's eyes met mine. His face turned tense suddenly. However, in the next instant, he seemed to regain his composure and resumed his shameless acts with renewed fervor.
How thrilling it must be for him to cheat in front of your fiancée. It was so thrilling this way.
“What are you doing?” I asked curiously as I lowered my gaze
“Waiting for my precious baby to wake up, of course,” he replied smoothly. “After all these years, I can never get enough of you.”
"Really?" I asked.
I let out a faint, mocking laugh. Beneath the covers, my hands clenched into fists so tight my nails dug into my palms. It was the only way to suppress the overwhelming urge to confront him.
However, it was not the right. It was not enough. If I exposed him now I would be too easy for him. I wanted Austin to suffer, to fall into despair. I wanted him to spend every single day of his remaining life consumed by regret and haunted by these memories.
“Of course, baby. We’ve been together for so long. You know how much I love you, don’t you?” he said.
It was so hilarious. The man could profess his love for me while there was another woman lying underneath him. Was this his idea of love?
Chapter 3I didn’t respond. I simply leaned back against the couch and quietly observed the two of them. Apparently, my presence added to their thrill. That was because just minutes later, they were done.
Ruby rested in Austin's arm. Her eyes filled with love and her fair neck was adorned with a trail of crimson marks. Among the hickeys, a striking blue agate necklace caught my eye.
It was the same necklace that was specially custom-made for me by Austin. He told me that it was one of the kind. It was a unique necklace that could match the unique Sally.
However, now, that one of a kind” piece dangled on someone else’s neck, just like his feelings for me. The faithfulness that he once had for me had gone.
Under Austin’s firm warning, Ruby reluctantly retreated upstairs. He then sat beside me and pulled me into his arms from behind.
"Why are you so quiet, Baby?" Austin asked. "Are you feeling unwell? Or just upset? Tell me, your husband, won’t you?"
I lifted my gaze and locked eyes with him.
Noticing how sharp my gaze was, for a fleeting moment, I caught panic flashing in his eyes. He then waved a hand in front of me, testing my reaction. When I remained motionless, he sighed in relief.
"If one day I left you, what would you do?" I asked softly.
Panic gripped him again. He seized my hand tightly, his palm damp with sweat.
"Why are you asking this? Did I do something wrong? Are you upset with me?" he asked. “Don’t think like that, okay? I can’t live without you ...."
The panic in his voice, the unease in his expression and the worry in his eyes seemed genuine. However, I had seen with my own eyes that he and Ruby had sex in front of me. Was it really that hard to stay loyal to someone you love?
A sudden chime broke the tension. Austin’s phone vibrated on the table.
Instinctively, my eyes shifted to the screen. A message notification popped up, the sender was saved as “Ruby Baby.”
[Haven't you succeeded coaxing that blind woman yet? I'm dying to see you.]
My chest tightened as my gaze lingered on the next two images. It was a photo of Ruby sprawled provocatively on our bed. She was clad in scanty lingerie, her poses both suggestive and shameless.
Austin’s expression darkened, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he swiftly tapped out a reply.
[Impatient, aren’t you? Don’t worry, babe. Your husband will be there to satisfy you soon.]
Her response came almost instantly, accompanied by a playful emoji.
[What we did earlier was so exciting! When she opened her eyes, I almost couldn’t hold back!]
[You’re so bad ... What if she finds out?]
Austin glanced at me and he murmured with affection, “My precious baby,” before resuming his typing with an indifferent expression. [What’s there to fear? She’s been blind for six months. Every potential retina match that’s come up? I’ve made sure it never reached her. Let her stay blind forever and we’ll keep this going. Isn’t it exciting?]
The next message came quickly. [What if she finds out about this someday?]
He paused for a brief second before kissing my forehead. His lips lingered there as he typed his reply. [As long as she stays blind, she’ll never leave me. Ever.]
I froze. A chill surged through my veins and my body became cold and I trembled.
Is this truly the man I’d loved for five years? The one who used to look at me like I was his entire world? The man who would get panicked over a mere scrape on my hand?
He must have forgotten about the fire six months ago. That day, I’d used every ounce of strength to shove him to safety, only to be trapped inside myself and burn my eyes.
That same day, he knelt by my hospital bed, his tears falling freely as he gripped my hand. He’d sworn, with a fervor that shook me, that he’d do everything possible to find me a compatible retina donor.
Chapter 4However today I found out that he had stopped all opportunities for me to regain my sight back. He did that just for him to have a more exciting affair. He even wanted me to stay blind forever. It was truly socruel.
After dinner, Austin took me back to my bedroom. Actually, it was a guest room. He had lied to me saying that it was our bedroom He even had rearranged the guest room to resemble our bedroom.
It seemed I had been living in this room for almost six years I had been blind. As for the true bedroom? It was very likely it had a beautiful woman waiting for him now.
After I got on the bed, as usual, Austin wrapped his hand around me and patted my back gently. His voice was low, warm and filled with affection as he murmured my name over and over.
I opened my eyes and stared at the soft glow of his phone screen. One dirty and lewd word after another on it had turned my perception of this man upside down. The sight was so disgusting and dirty that I had to push down the bile in my throat.
Refusing to look at it anymore, I just closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. After a few moments, he called my name twice. When I didn’t respond, he crept off the bed and left the room quietly.
Once the door clicked shut, I opened my eyes. I looked at the closed door and pondered for a while, then like a masochist, I silently followed him.
I saw Austin enter a bedroom and through the closed door, I could hear muffled voices.
"Mr. Sanders, you left your blind wife to come here again. Won’t she get mad if she finds out?" Ruby's sweet voice sounded.
“Slut! Didn’t you beg me, your husband, to come?” Austin’s voice was low and mocking.
Then came the rustling of clothes and heavy breathing from inside. Then I heard Ruby gasping and said, "Hubby, let go of the blind woman's room again, okay? I want to feel some trill tonight."
“Not tonight," answered Austin.
Ruby purred, “Why not? Don’t you like it? You get so worked up when you see her face while we’re doing it.”
“She just had a miscarriage,” Austin replied, his tone growing impatient. “I didn’t give her the sleeping pills tonight. She’ll hear us if we go in there.”
“Hmph. Then you owe me some extra tonight to make up for it .…”
The ambiguous sounds inside continued, but I was already frozen in place like a puppet that had lost its soul.
I remembered that Austin always coaxed me to drink the glass of milk that he brought every night. Though he told me it was for my health, in reality, it was for him to be able to make his affair more exciting.
I stumbled back to the guest room in a daze. The phone on the nightstand buzzed incessantly as messages kept pouring in.
The phone was set to blind mode so when I unlocked the screen, the blind-assistance mode read them aloud automatically.
It was a series of audio messages. In the first message was Ruby's high-pitched moaning in ecstasy and the man who had always been calm and introverted in front of me sounded like a wild beast that had gone mad. He spites out those harsh and hideous words that I had never heard before.
"Sally, did you hear that?" said Ruby. "Your husband is incredible. He’s driving me crazy!”
"Hubby, who do you love more? Do you love me more or her?"
Austin's voice was tinged with laughter as he answered, "Of course I love you more. Say … what's the point of always comparing yourself to a blind woman? She's like a dead fish in bed …."
Big drops of tears smashed on the screen, I fumbled furiously, trying to turn off the sound, but their voices became clearer and clearer in my head—every single one of them.
My stomach churned violently. Barefoot and shaking, I staggered to the bathroom, clutching my chest as I dry-heaved over the sink.
That night stretched on endlessly.
The murmur from the bedroom next door did not stop until dawn and I lay wide awake as I stared into the void. My tears kept flowing silently.
In the morning, Austin went to work with Ruby at his side.
Chapter 5Before she left the house, Ruby dug into the trash can and fished out the used condom that she and Austin used last night. She waved it teasingly in front of me, then dropped it into my bowl of chicken soup.
Though Austin saw what she had done, he did not say anything nor rebuke her. He just pinched her nose playfully and then said to me, "Sweetheart, let your husband feed you your breakfast."
I cast down my eyes and stared at the condom floating in the chicken soup. My lips twisted into a bitter smile as I said, "I don't want to. I'm not hungry."
"You must eat, Baby. Your body is weak after the miscarriage. Be a good girl and eat something." He kept coaxing me to eat and insistently brought the spoon filled with chicken soup to my lips. "Be a good girl and take a bite, okay?"
His tone reminded me of the mornings when he had patiently urged me to eat breakfast. For days, he coaxed me to eat. At that time, I thought he cared about my health and wanted to nourish my body but I had never imagined he would ....
My eyes burned with unshed tears as I pressed my lips together and refused again, "I said, I'm not eating!"
He grabbed my chin with a forcefulness I had not seen before from him and said firmly, "Baby, are you disobeying your husband now?”
“I said no! Can’t you hear me?!” I shouted and pushed him away with all my strength. The force stunned him and made him staggered backward.
The bowl crashed with a sharp sound as it fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. The transparent condom that lay amidst the spilled chicken soup looked so peculiar. It was a cruel reminder of my humiliation.
Panic flashed across Austin’s face as he reached out to grab my hand. "Honey, if you don't want to eat, that's okay. It’s my fault, okay? Don’t be mad, please.”
I answered lethargically, "I’m tired. Just go to work." Then I smoothly stepped back two steps to avoid his touch and turned around to walk upstairs.
Austin stood rooted in place as he stared at my back. He watched me as I fumbled my way up the stairs like I usually did. Then I heard him sigh a sigh of relief quietly.
Once in the bedroom, I picked up my phone and sent a message to my mentor. [Professor, I’m ready. I’ll report to the lab next Wednesday.]
The lunar experimental research project was a classified mission. Once I arrived inside the lab, all my information would be sealed. Even if Austin searched the entire planet and turned it upside down to look for me, that man could never find any trace of me again. Sally Miller would vanish from his life forever.
Next Wednesday was also his birthday. On that day, he would receive the ultimate gift from me, which was he would lose the person who once loved him the most.
From that day on, I continued pretending to be the clueless blind woman. Austin still brought Ruby home every day and he would make love in the room next to mine every single night. They shamelessly indulged themselves in front of a blind woman.
Their filthy degrading words pierced through me every single night.
I was broken and in desperation. I even wanted to scream and question hysterically why he tormented me like this. However, all I could do was bite my lips until they bled, dig my nails into my palms until blood seeped out and collapse against the wall as I cried helplessly.
In the end, I had no other choice but to accept the truth that the man I loved was so rotten.
Today, as the sun rose and the first rays of sunlight streamed through my window that morning, I wiped away my tears and began preparing for my departure. I collected the successful report from my cornea transplant and all of Ruby’s taunting messages, then placed them on the bedside table as evidence of my suffering.
In the afternoon, I contacted the head of a local charity foundation and donated every gift Austin had ever given me.
“Ma’am, this is far too valuable ….” the foundation head stammered.
My gaze darkened as I looked at the ring. This was the same diamond ring Austin had purchased at an auction for forty-five hundred thousand dollars, the only one of its kind in the world and six months ago, he had knelt before me with that ring in his hand and proposed.
Chapter 6Austin once said this diamond ring symbolized eternal love, an unwavering love just like the feelings that he had for me.
The happiness I felt when I first wore that ring was now changed into despair when I took it off. The love that once ran so deep had faded and only left a shallow ring mark on my ring finger.
That night, when Austin returned home, he saw me sitting in the garden while staring blankly at the dim starry sky. He immediately noticed the half-burned wedding photo at my feet so he asked, "Baby, why are you burning our wedding photo?”
Without looking up even for a second, I replied calmly, “I’m tired of it. I want to make new ones. Can’t I?”
He stared at me for a long time, as if searching my vacant eyes for something. When my eyes remained lifeless as usual, he finally let out a relief breath, walked over and gently pulled me into his arms, then said, "Of course, Baby. You can have anything you want. We can take as many as you like if it makes you happy.
He held my hand tightly and talked with so much sweetness. He said that he would pluck all the stars from the sky for me. Of course, this did not stop him with Ruby.
Leaning against the wall, I listened to their muffled sounds of passion from the next room. Slowly, I poured the milk laced with sleeping pills into a potted plant and continued curling into a corner as I waited for the dawn to come.
Just one more day, Austin. After today, I’ll disappear from your life forever.
The next day, Austin sent someone to pick me up for a banquet.
I did not think too much about it when the makeup artist dressed me in a pale evening gown, but when I saw Austin escort Ruby hand in hand walking up the red carpet and she was wearing a striking red gown, I understood.
The crowd erupted in applause when they saw them. Beneath the spotlight, Ruby and Austin looked like a perfect match, as if they were made for each other.
Austin approached me through the crowd, kissed my hand and apologized, "I'm sorry, Baby. There are a lot of guests today and I might not be able to take care of you. Just stay here for a while, okay? I’ll come back to you soon.”
He was quickly called away and Ruby sauntered over to sit beside me, her smile both mocking and triumphant.
“Stop pretending. I know you’ve been able to see for a while now," she said. "However, I really admire your patience, though. To keep your position as Mrs. Sanders, you are really so tolerant. Even when I threw that condom into your bowl, you didn’t bat an eye. How really, Sally, what’s the point of you doing this?”
As she spoke, she extended her hand toward me. The brilliant diamond on her slender finger sparkled under the light.
“This …” My face turned pale as I recognized the ring I’d donated to the charity foundation yesterday.
"Surprised?"