“Don’t worry,” Liam’s voice was confident, overflowing with affection, “I’ve already coaxed her into signing the patent transfer agreement. All those designs she did for the company are now yours. What an idiot! I told her they were company documents, and she signed them without even looking at them. My dear Vanessa, I’m willing to do anything for you. Once you become K’s apprentice, we can be together openly. Then, that good-for-nothing from Clara’s family can just be thrown away.”
“Liam is really something,” Vanessa chuckled. “By the way, Noah did a great job this time, ruining her eyes without anyone having to take responsibility.”
boom--
The last sentence was like a thunderclap, exploding in my mind.
It's them!
They instigated a seven-year-old child to commit this heinous act against me!
I trembled violently, biting my lip hard, and only managed to keep myself from crying out when I tasted the blood in my mouth.
Seven years.
I lived in anonymity for him, developed stomach problems from staying up all night for him, designed countless best-selling products for him, and grew his company from a small workshop to a scale where its market value doubled. I thought what I was holding in the palm of my hand was love, but I never expected it to be nothing more than a complete exploitation and manipulation.
I was so angry that I couldn't support myself and staggered, making a slight noise.
The sounds in the master bedroom suddenly stopped.
I pretended to have just returned, groping my way out with my hand, my voice hoarse and fragile, carrying just the right amount of fear and helplessness:
“Liam… are you home? I can’t see anymore, I’m blind, I’m so scared… I searched for so long before I finally found my way home…”
The master bedroom door was suddenly pulled open, and warm yellow light, carrying an ambiguous atmosphere, poured out, making my eyes sting and ache.
Liam strode towards me, his shirt collar loosely open, his hair disheveled, and the slight smile on his lips that he couldn't quite suppress instantly transformed into perfectly measured anxiety when he met my "blank" eyes. He caught my swaying body, and the warmth of his hand on my arm felt like a branding iron chilled to the bone, making me shiver.