Chapter 1

The first thing I saw was light.

It wasn't the blurry, indistinct shapes I had grown used to over five long years. It was a sharp, clear, brilliant light, flooding the sterile white room of the doctor's office.

"Everything looks perfect, Ava," Dr. Carter said, her voice warm and reassuring. "The baby is strong and healthy. You're doing a great job."

I just stared, my heart hammering against my ribs. I could see her. Dr. Emily Carter. She had kind eyes, a few stray brown hairs escaping her neat bun, and a small, reassuring smile. I hadn't seen a face in five years.

"Ava?" she asked, a line of concern appearing between her brows. "Are you alright? You look pale."

I blinked, and the world stayed sharp. The posters on the wall, the metal instruments on the tray, the very texture of the paper on the examination table. It wasn't a trick of the mind.

"I... I can see," I whispered, my voice trembling.

Dr. Carter froze, her pen hovering over my chart. "What did you say?"

"I can see you," I repeated, a tear finally breaking free and rolling down my cheek. "Your hair is brown. Your coat is white."

A look of pure astonishment crossed her face. "My God. It's a miracle. The hormonal surge from the pregnancy... it must have triggered something. A one-in-a-million chance."

She helped me sit up, her professional calm barely masking her excitement. She wanted to run more tests, to understand what had happened. All I wanted was to find my husband, Liam.

To tell him the incredible news. To see his face for the first time since the crash.

"This is amazing, Ava," Dr. Carter said, beaming. "Liam must be over the moon. Where is he, by the way? I'm surprised he isn't here with you."

Her question landed like a stone in my stomach.

"He's busy," I said, the excuse tasting like ash in my mouth. "A very important meeting."

Liam was always busy lately.

I left the doctor's office in a daze, my senses overwhelmed. The colors of the city, the faces of strangers, it was all too much. I sat in the waiting area to catch my breath, my hand resting on my small, growing belly.

That's when I saw him.

On the large television screen mounted on the wall, a news channel was broadcasting a live press conference. And there was Liam, my husband, looking handsome and serious in his tailored suit.

My heart swelled with love and pride. I was about to stand up, to find a way to get to him, when another woman walked to the podium and stood beside him.

She was beautiful, with long, flowing blonde hair, and she was also pregnant, her belly more pronounced than mine. She leaned into Liam, and he wrapped a protective arm around her.

Then, Liam spoke into the microphones.

"I want to thank everyone for coming today," he began, his voice smooth and confident. "I'm here to announce a new chapter in my life. Chloe and I are expecting a child, and we will be getting married as soon as my divorce is finalized."

The camera zoomed in on their smiling faces.

Reporters shouted questions. "What about your wife, Ava Wilson?"

Liam' s smile tightened slightly. "Ava and I will always share a history. I will ensure she is well taken care of, but our marriage has been over for a long time. It's time for me to move on and build a family with the woman I truly love."

The room started to spin. The voices around me faded into a dull roar.

"Did you hear that? He's divorcing his blind wife."

"That's Chloe Davis, his high school sweetheart. I guess old flames die hard."

"And they're both pregnant? How cruel can you be?"

The words washed over me, each one a fresh wave of agony. I clutched my stomach, a sob tearing from my throat. This couldn't be happening.

A memory surfaced, sharp and unwelcome. Two months ago, Liam had brought Chloe to our home. He said she was an old friend, pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend, with nowhere else to go. He asked me to be compassionate, to let her stay.

I, the blind, trusting fool, had agreed. I had welcomed my husband's pregnant mistress into my home.

I had felt her presence as a disruption, a faint, cloying perfume that clung to the air, but I had trusted Liam. I trusted the man for whom I had sacrificed everything.

The pain in my chest was so intense I could barely breathe. I stood up, stumbling out of the building and into the harsh light of the city I could now see. The city where I had once been a rising star, a talented architect with a future as bright as the sun.

That future died five years ago, on a winding coastal road. A truck lost control, careening towards our car. I had been driving. Without a second thought, I yanked the wheel, taking the full impact on my side to shield Liam.

The crash took my career. It took my sight.

But it had saved him. And for five years, that was enough. I loved him, completely and without reservation. I believed he loved me too.

Now I saw the truth.

My love was a joke. My sacrifice was a footnote in his love story with another woman.

I walked numbly through the streets, the city lights blurring through my tears. I finally made it home, the grand house that had been my gilded cage.

As I pushed open the door, I heard the maids whispering in the hall.

"Did you see the news? Mr. Stone is going to marry Miss Davis."

"What about the missus? Poor thing. She's blind and pregnant."

They fell silent the moment they saw me standing there, my eyes red and swollen. They looked away, a mixture of pity and fear on their faces.

I didn't say a word. I walked past them, up the grand staircase, my hand trailing along the polished banister.

The man I saved with my own eyes was now using them to watch me be publicly humiliated.

This marriage, this life, it was all a lie.

And I was done with it.