My Eyes Were Stolen, My Husband Was Taken

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sinclair, but the cornea originally arranged for you has been reserved by another patient with a more urgent need. You'll have to wait for the next batch for now."

Aurora Sinclair spoke up anxiously and frantically: "But I've been waiting for this batch of corneas for a year already."

This was her last hope.

If it kept getting delayed, she would go completely blind, and by then, even if corneas became available, it would be too late.

The doctor just slowly shook his head and pushed some eye drops for relieving soreness toward her.

Aurora understood the subtext—the person who took her cornea had connections, so they'd cut in line ahead of her.

She forced herself to walk out of the examination room.

Aurora glanced at Oliver Knight's number on her phone, hesitating whether to call him again to mention the cornea situation.

After a moment's hesitation, she gave up with a soft sigh. After all, she'd just called Oliver twelve times, and he hadn't answered.

He must be with Claire again, right?

Claire Bennett and Oliver were childhood sweethearts.

Years ago, the Bennett family had moved abroad due to a shift in their business focus.

At that time, the Sinclair family hadn't yet fallen from grace, and the two families arranged a business marriage—Aurora married Oliver.

But when their wedding date actually approached, her father was brought down for embezzlement, and her life took a nosedive.

Normally, the Knight family could have backed out at any time, dropping this marriage that no longer matched their social class.

But Oliver still married her.

It was precisely this that made Aurora harbor a glimmer of hope.

What if Oliver had feelings for her too? What if this marriage that started as a business arrangement could have a happy ending where they grew old together?

Until Claire returned to the country and shattered everything.

And on the day she returned, Oliver didn't come home for the first time.

Aurora waited all night, only to smell an unfamiliar Chanel No. 5 perfume on Oliver and learn from him that Claire had also returned for eye treatment.

Just like her, needing surgery.

Aurora suppressed the bitterness in her heart and continued walking forward, but suddenly stopped in her tracks, looking in disbelief at Oliver and Claire walking toward her from around the corner of the hallway.

Oliver, abandoning his usual cold indifference, looked at Claire with concern all over his face, making her laugh while she couldn't help but throw herself into his arms.

Intimate and affectionate.

Aurora's heart felt like it had been thrown into an icy lake at that moment.

Seeing the two getting closer, Aurora almost instinctively hid herself around the corner behind her. Using what little vision she had left, she secretly watched their intimate interaction, their conversation reaching her ears.

Claire said coquettishly:

"Oliver, it's just a little cut from a knife on my hand, it's nothing. Such a small wound doesn't need a hospital visit."

Oliver disagreed, his eyes and brows full of tenderness, though his tone was serious: "Better to get it treated. Such beautiful hands shouldn't have scars."

"Oliver, it's so good to have you."

Claire said emotionally: "By the way, Oliver, I haven't thanked you yet for helping me find the retina."

The moment those words fell, Aurora felt like someone had hit her over the head with a club. Her mind went completely blank, and her ears were buzzing.

She seemed unable to hear anything, her mind filled only with thoughts of the cornea.

So the cornea that was taken from her—Oliver had given it to Claire.

This realization was like a rusty, dull knife repeatedly cutting into her heart.

Not fatal, but the pain almost suffocated her.

So Oliver could have such a gentle side.

So even just a small cut on the hand could get his attention, and he'd personally accompany her to the hospital, afraid it might scar.

So a small wound was more important than her impending blindness.

Aurora looked down bitterly, her phone screen still on the dial page.

Suddenly, she didn't want to say anything anymore.

Aurora turned to leave, but suddenly Claire's soft voice sounded behind her.

"Oliver, I think I left my bag in the examination room just now. Could you go get it for me?"

"Okay."

Footsteps sounded—Oliver must have left.

Aurora had just started walking when her path was suddenly blocked by a white dress—it was Claire.

Unlike the sweet and obedient demeanor she'd just shown, Claire now tilted her head slightly, her eyes looking down with the mockery of a victor toward the defeated.

"You heard everything just now, didn't you? The one who isn't loved is the third wheel. If you know what's good for you, leave quickly. Don't make a fool of yourself."

Aurora stopped and looked at Claire seriously.

"You should be having this conversation with Oliver. What era is this? How dare a mistress be so arrogant?"

If Oliver really wanted to marry her, he should come talk to Aurora about divorce himself.

It wasn't Claire's place to claim her territory here.

Claire's lips slowly curved into a smile, her hand resting on her still-flat belly.

"Because I'm pregnant. My child needs a father."

Just one short sentence, but each word was like an invisible knife.

Aurora's eyes almost instantly lost focus.

Claire was actually pregnant!

Claire's lips held a triumphant smile as she took another step forward: "I forgot to tell you—when Oliver chose to marry you, it wasn't just because the old man was pressuring him about marriage. More importantly, with the Sinclair family's downfall, someone with your background is easier to control."

Aurora forgot what else Claire said after that. She practically fled in panic, stumbling away.

So this was the real reason she and Oliver got married.

Marrying her wasn't because Oliver had feelings for her, as she'd thought—it was because she could only depend on him!

Aurora returned home in a daze. After washing up and getting into bed, she couldn't fall asleep no matter what, her mind full of Claire's words.

The bedroom door was gently pushed open a crack. Aurora quickly pretended to be asleep.

Oliver walked up to her and waved his hand in front of her eyes experimentally: "Are you asleep?"

Aurora pretended to wake up and looked at him: "What's wrong?"

Under the covers, her hands were clenched into tight fists, using all her strength to hide the stabbing pain in her heart.

"There's something I want to tell you."

Oliver took some documents from the drawer and placed them in front of her.

Aurora saw the words on them.

Divorce Agreement.

These things had been kept in the bedroom—he must have prepared them from the day Claire returned to the country, right?

Oliver had a cigarette in his mouth. He flicked his lighter, and the flame flickered up. He exhaled a puff of smoke and spoke calmly: "Sign it. I need to give Claire an explanation."