Chapter2

I woke up as the anesthetic wore off, roused by a dragging pain in my lower abdomen. The hollow sockets, wrapped in bandages, throbbed with every breath, pulling at the nerves in my temples. But the deeper pain was lower, between my legs. It was clean there, not a trace left of the life that had once been growing. Kellan Vance sat on the sofa by the bed, a cigarette between his fingers. The scent of cedarwood mixed with nicotine wafted over, coiling around my neck like a cold snake. "Awake?" His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "The doctor said you need nourishment. I told the kitchen to prepare some soup." I didn't move. I just turned my face towards the sound, hoarse words grating from my throat. "My child..." He was silent for a few seconds, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked over, reaching for my face. I jerked my head away, the pillow shifting with the movement. "Kellan Vance, that was your child too!" "I did this for your own good." His tone was still gentle, but that gentleness was laced with poison. "You're blind. How will you raise a child? Do you want him to follow a blind mother and be laughed at for the rest of his life?" "Laughed at?" I suddenly started laughing, laughing until tears streamed out, soaking into the bandages. "You're the one who should be laughed at! Kellan Vance, for Tiana Sterling, you gouged out my eyes, killed my child! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?" His hand froze mid-air. His gaze finally turned cold. I couldn't see, but I could feel the pressure around him drop instantly, as if to crush me. "Sloane, stop making a scene," he said. "I've made arrangements. From now on, I'll take care of you, give you the best life. You can have anything you want." "I want my eyes back. I want my child back." I spoke each word clearly. "Can you give them back to me?" He didn't speak again. He turned and walked out. As the door closed, I heard him say to the bodyguards outside, "Watch her. Don't let her run around." In the days that followed, I was confined to this villa. I groped my way around, familiarizing myself with every corner of the room, measuring the table length with my fingers, listening to the wind outside the window. I knew I couldn't just collapse like this. Until half a month later, I heard Tiana Sterling's voice. That afternoon, when Kellan Vance brought her, I was sitting on the rattan chair in the yard. The sun felt warm on my face, but I couldn't see anything. Tiana Sterling's voice was sweet, like cotton candy, but it grated on my ears. "Kellan, look, Sloane seems thinner. Has she not been eating well?" "She's been throwing a tantrum, refusing to eat." Kellan Vance's voice was indulgent. "You try talking to her." Footsteps drew nearer. I smelled Tiana Sterling's perfume, the same brand I used to wear. She sat down beside me, reaching to take my hand. I snatched it back sharply. "Don't touch me." She paused, then said plaintively to Kellan Vance, "Kellan, Sloane seems to dislike me…" "Sloane, don't be so harsh with Tiana." Kellan Vance walked over and gripped my shoulders. "Tiana's eyes are unwell. Be nicer to her." "Her eyes are unwell?" I let out a cold laugh. "Because her eyes are unwell, she gets to take mine? Kellan Vance, she injured her own eyes when she was a careless child! What does that have to do with me!" Tiana Sterling suddenly started crying. "Sloane, I know you hate me… but I didn't want this either... Kellan said your eyes were a perfect match for me, I..." "Shut up!" I stood up abruptly but, unable to see, almost fell. Kellan Vance caught me, his grip so tight it almost crushed my arm. "Sloane! That's enough!" I could feel his anger, but I wasn't afraid. I leaned closer to him, my voice dropping low, like spitting fire into his ear. "Kellan Vance, do you think I'll just let this go? I won't. I will remember everything you did to me. I'll remember you gouging out my eyes, killing my child. I'll remember your 'happiness' with Tiana Sterling... I'll wait. I'll wait for you to pay the price." His body stiffened. Then he released me, his voice as cold as ice. "It seems you still haven't understood your situation." Kellan Vance didn't come that night. The next morning, two people in police uniforms entered the villa. They said I was "suspected of intentional injury" and were taking me away. I was stunned for a moment, then understood. It was Kellan Vance. He was afraid I would seek revenge, afraid I would harm Tiana Sterling, so he was sending me to prison. "I didn't hurt anyone!" I struggled, but the bodyguards held me down. "Where is Kellan Vance? Let him face me!" He stood at the door, impeccably dressed in his suit, watching calmly as the police led me away. I screamed in his direction, "Kellan Vance! If you dare send me to prison, I'll dare to wait for you in there! When I get out, I will destroy you and Tiana Sterling!" He didn't speak, just waved his hand lightly. The car door closed, shutting out his sight and my last shred of illusion about him.