Chapter 2

Colin’s gaze shifted past my shoulder, landing on the Ladurée bag in my hand.

"Is that for Leah?"

Before I could answer, he made a sudden, sharp gesture.

The box flew from my hand, crashing heavily to the floor. The cake instantly became a mushy mess.

"Oops, my hand slipped." Colin pursed his lips, showing not a hint of apology, and exaggeratedly covered his nose. "But then, that thing shouldn’t have been here in the first place. It reeks of the lower-class slums."

I clenched my fists, nails digging deep into my palms, my gaze fixed solely on Leah, who avoided my eyes.

"Trying to buy favor with money?" Colin continued, "You'll be a janitor for life, never earning three hundred grand. Though, your face and figure aren’t bad. Instead of mopping floors here, why not try your luck at 'certain' clubs? If you're willing to lower yourself, that kind of 'work' pays fast. Maybe you could even scrape together enough to beg me."

A surge of heat rushed to my head.

"Colin," I stared at him, "is there anything in your head besides dirty deals?"

"Still got a sharp tongue." Colin snorted in contempt.

He held the manuscript over the leaping flames.

The edges of the paper instantly curled and blackened in the intense heat.

Colin’s hand relaxed.

The manuscript slipped from his fingers, falling straight into the heart of the fire.

"No!"

My body reacted faster than my mind.

Like a madman, I lunged at the fireplace, ready to plunge my hands into the scorching flames without a second thought to retrieve it!

With a desperate lunge, my foot slipped. I lost control, hurtling towards the burning metal fireplace grate.

Crashing into it would certainly disfigure me.

"Evan!"

Leah lunged forward, grabbed me, and yanked me back with all her strength!

"Let me go! Give me the manuscript!"

I struggled wildly, watching in despair as the fire consumed the pages.

"Are you insane?! You’d risk your life for a mere pile of scrap paper?!" Leah roared.

Scrap paper?

It was the only thing my mother left me!

And it was burned like trash by her beloved Colin!

At that moment, all the fear, grief, and humiliation turned into a cold, dead silence.

I stopped struggling. I let her hold me, my body stiff as ice, looking up into her clear, sharp eyes.

Leah’s pupils, previously "unfocused," now contracted. Her gaze was sharp and precise, focused on me like a scalpel.

"When did your eyes heal?"

My voice was terrifyingly calm.

Leah’s body froze.

"I... I just heard the movement, it was a reflex... I..."

"A reflex?"

I stared straight at the face that now filled me with nausea and disgust.

"Leah, after acting for three years, aren’t you tired? With my mother’s manuscripts destroyed, the last shred of feeling I had for you is gone. How much longer are you planning to fool me like an idiot?"

Her eyes flickered. That familiar innocent victim expression instantly flashed across her face.

"Evan, what are you saying? My eyes are really blind, I can only occasionally sense light... Are you really blaming me?

You've just been looking for an excuse to abandon me all along!"

She was playing the same old trick, trying to use her "blindness" and fear of abandonment to manipulate me, to garner sympathy.

For the past three years.

Late at night, she would hug me and cry, smash cups, scream that she couldn’t see the piano keys, that living was like being in a dried-up well.

To save up for her astronomical corneal transplant surgery, I walked five kilometers in a blizzard, just to save two dollars on bus fare.

I endured endless disdain at the cleaning company, only to come home and kneel by the toilet to wipe for her.

So, while I served her like a dog, she watched me run around like a fool with her clear eyes.

I flung her hand away with all my strength.

"Leah, your acting is just too bad to make me look bad. We’re through."

I turned and walked towards the door.

I didn’t want to stay another second.

Colin’s voice floated from behind me, laced with mocking sarcasm:

"Oh my god, Leah, you really put in the effort for this role... Were you actually afraid that toilet scrubber would be heartbroken?"

"Really? You, a piano prodigy, actually fell in love with a janitor?"