Chapter 2

Father's carefully maintained mask of paternal affection instantly froze, his expression darkening. Silas instinctively took a half-step back, as if I had just laid bare his filthiest secret.

A flash of unmistakable panic flickered in my brother's eyes. "What... what did you hear?"

"I didn't hear a thing," I rasped, my voice hollow with exhaustion. "I'm tired. Get out."

Over the next two weeks, I was moved back to the Koschei estate.

Stripped of my sight, my hearing became sharper than ever.

Every single day, the laughter and cheerful chatter from the grand hall pierced my ears.

Carlos—a germaphobe who had never set foot in a kitchen—was gently stirring a bowl of soup. "Take your time. You just had your cornea transplant; you need to regain your strength."

Father laughed heartily. "It's all thanks to your brother that my sweet girl can see the light again. Once you're fully recovered, Daddy will sign the entire Southside Port over to you!"

Silas's tone dripped with pure dotage. "Want to see the ocean in Italy? Alright. I'll clear my schedule and go with you."

Slumped in my wheelchair, every inch of my body aching, a cold, acidic knot tightened in my stomach.

Once upon a time, this kind of favoritism belonged solely to me.

When I sprained my ankle at sixteen, Father had the entire estate carpeted with the softest Persian rugs overnight.

When I caught a bad flu at eighteen, my brother abandoned a crucial medical project to keep vigil by my bed for days.

Even the ruthless and decisive Silas would become red-eyed and trembling with guilt if I merely scraped my knee.

As a transmigrator—an isolated island in this world—I had been hopelessly greedy for this affection. I genuinely believed they considered me their one and only princess.

But the moment Seraphina appeared, everything changed.

My pasta was replaced by the seafood she loved, and my brother only frowned at me: "Your sister has suffered out there. Yield to her."

When I refused to give up my favorite necklace, Silas reprimanded me with sheer impatience: "Elara, since when did you become so selfish?"

And now, for the sake of Seraphina's eyes, they could conspire to orchestrate a car crash, crush my legs, and carve the eyes right out of my skull.

My chest ached with suffocation. I wanted to wheel myself out for some fresh air.

Just as I rolled out of the hallway, a delicate gasp echoed. Immediately after, boiling hot soup splashed violently across my wheelchair and arm, making me flinch in excruciating pain.

Chaotic footsteps rushed over from the grand hall.

"Are you hurt?! Did you get burned?!" I heard my brother's panic-stricken voice.

Seraphina began to sob, her voice choked with tears. "Don't blame Sister... It was me who bumped into her wheelchair... She just can't see, she definitely didn't mean to spill the hot soup on me..."

"Elara!" Father's cane slammed heavily against the floor as he roared in fury. "Is this how we raised you?! Have you really become this bitter and vindictive?!"

My mangled legs throbbed dully. "I didn't even touch her..." I rasped.

"Still lying?!" Carlos cut me off coldly, his tone dripping with disgust. "She finally gets her sight back, and you just have to use such despicable tricks to ruin her? You've disappointed us completely!"

Silas scooped Seraphina into his arms. As he brushed past my wheelchair, his voice was chilling to the bone. "You act like an absolute lunatic now."

The red, blistering burn on my arm stung intensely, but it wasn't even a fraction of the agony ripping through my chest.

My fingers dug into the armrests as I swallowed the rest of my explanation.

Soon, the footsteps faded away, leaving the grand hall dead silent.

That afternoon, the door to my room was pushed open.

A sickeningly sweet wave of perfume drifted in before high heels came to a halt in front of me.

"Sister, how does it feel to be blind?" Seraphina whispered, brimming with smugness.

"Get out," I said coldly.

There were no retreating footsteps. Instead, the pungent perfume leaned in closer. "Daddy gave all your assets to me. Oh, and Silas? He said he's always thought the potting bench in your greenhouse was quite spacious. He insists on taking me there to try it out. Sister, if you aren't afraid of dirtying your ears, why don't you wheel yourself over and join the fun?"

After the click-clack of her heels eventually drifted away, I gripped the rims of my wheels and slowly, painstakingly pushed myself toward the backyard greenhouse.

The moment I neared the half-open door, I heard wet, heavy panting.

"Silas... don't crush the flowers here... Sister will throw a fit if she finds out..."

"Don't mention that cripple." The man who used to be afraid that raising his voice might startle me now spoke with nothing but cruelty. "Just thinking about those ruined legs and hollow dead eyes of hers makes me sick to my stomach. Baby, you're the only one I want."

I didn't hide. I raised my hand and pushed the glass door wide open.

The panting inside stopped abruptly, followed by a sudden shriek from Seraphina.

Rushed, heavy footsteps approached. Silas stopped right in front of me, furious and humiliated.

"What the hell are you doing?! Have you learned to skulk around like a rat now? Rolling out here looking like a ghost—who are you trying to disgust?!"

I lifted my chin, pulled the pigeon-blood ruby engagement ring from my pocket, and tossed it toward them.

"The engagement is off. You two pieces of trash deserve each other."