When My Eyes Opened Again Chapter 01
The day my sight unexpectedly returned happened to be my birthday.
I planned to share this wonderful news with my husband, Brady Voss, at the birthday banquet he had prepared for me.
Never did I expect that at the party, I would first discover the “surprise” he had in store for me.
My eyes covered with gauze, Brady held my hand with utmost care and led me into the second-floor banquet hall.
He whispered tenderly in my ear, “Sweetheart, I know how much you love surprises, so I had fresh roses flown in from Kenya to build a flower arch for you and invited your favorite band to play live. All the business elites and prominent media from Los Angeles are here to celebrate your birthday. Do you like it?”
With that, he leaned in and kissed my cheek:
“Don’t worry. I promised you even if you never get your sight back, you’ll never lose a single thing you’re owed.”
Little did he know that my vision had returned, and I could see everything around me with crystal clarity.
Only a few dim lights were on in the banquet hall, with leftover posters and banners from previous guests strewn across the floor, while the faint floral scent came merely from a dust-covered reed diffuser in the distance.
Several waiters posing as guests clinked champagne glasses with Brady, exchanging superficial pleasantries:
“Happy birthday, Mrs. Voss!”
“Mr. Voss and Mrs. Voss look so enviable together.”
Yet my entire body froze, and I couldn’t even force a polite smile in response.
Sensing something was off, Brady waved the actors away and helped me to a seat.
“What’s wrong, honey? Are you tired? Why don’t you sit here, listen to the music, and rest for a bit?”
The surround sound system was merely playing cheerful music—this was the “live band” he had boasted about.
Brady sat with me for only a short while before picking up his phone, making an excuse, and getting up to leave.
Clenching my fists, I silently followed behind him down to the first-floor banquet hall.
And there, before my eyes, was the exact scene he had just described.
Beneath the lavish crystal chandeliers stood a glamorous crowd, complete with a wall of fresh flowers, a live orchestra, bustling waiters, and genuine guests.
It was a child’s 1st birthday party.
Wearing a masquerade mask, Brady strode toward the woman holding a baby in the center of the hall, who intimately wrapped her arm around his shoulder, as they both smiled and cooed at the infant in her arms.
They looked… exactly like a happy family of three.
Then the woman turned around. The moment I saw her face, my mind went blank—how could it be her…
My knees gave out, and I pressed myself tightly behind a massive pillar, a torrent of doubts and suspicions flooding my mind.
Yet I could only keep telling myself that this was impossible.
Until Brady walked over to a corner and began chatting with his closest circle of friends.
“Oh, Mr. Voss, doesn’t it feel suffocating having to wear a mask even to your own child’s 1st birthday party?”
“Yeah, Brady. Chloe Beaumont has been blind for three years, and your child with Carmen Jenkins is already one year old. How much longer are you planning to keep this a secret?”
“You guys just don’t get it, do you?
“Back then, Brady insisted on marrying Chloe, and we all knew why.
“He only wanted her for the Beaumont family’s influence.
“He threw such an extravagant wedding of the century, making sure the entire city saw how closely he was tied to her.
“And now look at him? He’s creeping around in secret just to throw his kid a first birthday party.”
The group let out a collective, barely audible sigh.
“You have a point. Once Brady makes the child public, it means cutting ties with the Beaumont family, and the company’s image would take a hit. You truly can’t have both your career and your love!”
“Hey, I have an idea…”
One of them lowered their voice, a sinister glint in their eyes: “Chloe is blind now anyway. If she met with an accident… it would make total sense for Brady to remarry.”
The others’ eyes lit up at once, and they chimed in excitedly: “Exactly! The Beaumont family moved abroad to expand their business anyway. As long as we keep it discreet and cause some kind of accident for Chloe—”
“Shut up, all of you!”
Brady’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, his cold gaze sweeping across the group of siblings, making the surrounding air feel degrees colder.
“I married Chloe because I truly love her. As long as I’m here, I will never let any harm come to her again.”
His gaze drifted into the distance, tinged with a hint of melancholy.
“When that happened to Chloe back then, my heart truly ached for her, but I genuinely couldn’t bring myself to touch her anymore.”
“During the most agonizing days, Carmen stayed by my side and made my heart flutter again… Now, our child is already one year old. I must protect this family. So, I want my career, I want Carmen, and Chloe… I want her too.”
Hearing this, the siblings exchanged glances, their expressions full of mixed emotions.
I froze where I stood.
The blood in my veins felt as if it had drained from my head down to my toes.
So, Brady really had another woman behind my back, and even fathered a child with her.
Tears instantly blurred my vision, and my hands trembled uncontrollably.
What was even more ridiculous was that he still claimed to love me…
Perhaps he had only loved me once, in the past.
Brady and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts; for as long as I could remember, he had stayed by my side like an older brother, inseparable from me.
In our childhood, he explored the rockeries with me; in our youth, he chased away boys who tried to flirt with me.
When I went abroad for chess tournaments, he would brave the snow and travel 10,887 miles just to cheer me on.
The only misalignment happened three years ago.
To help his new secretary, Carmen, get familiar with her work, he had the driver take me home alone late at night.
Back then, I didn’t know the driver was Carmen’s brother, nor did I know he would harbor sinister intentions toward me halfway through.
He tampered with the car’s aromatherapy diffuser, and by the time I realized what was happening, I was already pushed onto a bed by a gang of men who tried to force pills down my throat.
In my frantic bid to escape, I was cornered against a window and jumped.
Although I survived, I broke two ribs and lost my sight due to optic nerve damage.
Everyone said the once-glamorous eldest daughter of the Beaumont family had become a useless invalid overnight, yet Brady still stood faithfully by my side.
Ignoring Carmen’s tearful pleas, he personally sent Carmen’s brother to prison.
He threw a grand, magnificent wedding of the century to marry me, showing his stance to all the elite families in Los Angeles.
Yet now, he was also the one saying to his siblings with his own mouth:
“Even though Chloe didn’t actually sleep with those men, just thinking about how her clothes were torn off and how she was touched like that makes me feel sick…”
“Honestly, it’s pretty good that she went blind. At least it lets me keep everything from her and build such a beautiful dream for her.”
A gaping hole seemed to be torn in my heart, the howling wind rushing into it relentlessly.
Looking at the familiar face not far away, for the first time, I felt that he was the truly disgusting one.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I hurried away and answered the call in the restroom.
My sister’s voice was filled with excitement on the other end:
“Chloe, I’ve already talked with Dr. Eric Miller. Since you don’t want to go abroad, we’ll bring him here to treat you. Dr. Eric Miller is an internationally renowned ophthalmologist, so he should have a great chance of restoring your sight!”
“No need, Sis.”
I smiled bitterly, whispering softly:
“Thank you for working so hard these past three years searching for top doctors for me. I’ve made up my mind. Once I finish handling things here, I’ll go to Australia to reunite with you and Mom and Dad.”