By the time Nolan is five, I finally see the truth clearly. My husband, Justin Ford, does not love our son or me.

Determined to end this disastrous marriage, I decide to leave with Nolan.

But fate has other plans. A car accident leaves me with a lost kidney and Nolan missing an eye.

In our darkest hour, the cold, indifferent Justin kneels in public, begging for forgiveness, promising to be a lifelong support for both our son and me.

Nolan and I decide to give him a trial period of 100 days. If he passes, we will stay.

On the 99th day, we stumble upon him speaking with the attending doctor.

"Mr. Ford, you caused the accident on purpose to save Ms. Lloyd's child while taking organs from Mrs. Ford and Nolan. Was it really worth all that?"

"It's worth it. I'll do whatever makes Suzanne happy."

"What if Mrs. Ford and Mr. Nolan find out?"

Justin falls silent for a moment, then instinctively touches his wedding ring.

"They must never find out. All they want is a family, and I'll do everything I can to make it right," he says coldly.

It turns out his entire act of repentance was nothing more than a carefully orchestrated lie.

The happiness Nolan and I believed in was merely an illusion, designed to protect the one he truly cared for.

Every gift came with a secret cost, and now, we are paying the price.

In the office, Justin Ford carefully reviewed the report the doctor had handed him, feeling a huge weight lift off his chest.

"Nolan's eye really did the trick. Marcus can leave the hospital now. I can finally breathe easy."

The doctor's anger boiled over, and he couldn't stay quiet. "Mr. Justin! Even if you care for Ms. Lloyd, she's not your wife. You took Mr. Nolan's eye without consent. If anyone finds out, the whole hospital could shut down. Was it really worth it?"

Justin's eyes darkened. He slammed the report onto the desk and snapped, "Enough! What I choose to do isn't for you to dictate. Suzanne only has Marcus. How could I stand by and do nothing? It's only an eye! It doesn't affect his life."

The doctor asked sharply, "Can you guarantee that Mrs. Ford and Nolan will never learn the truth? What will you do if they find out you almost risked their lives for Ms. Lloyd?"

Justin fell silent for a moment, then took out his phone and stared at the family photo on his lock screen. His expression dimmed. "They'll never know. I've covered it up perfectly."

He paused, turned off the screen, and added calmly, "Claire and Nolan love me very much."

…

I gripped my son's hand as tightly as I could, shivering from the icy chill that ran through me.

I could still remember that day, when six-year-old Nolan Ford lay in an ICU bed, staring at me with blank eyes.

"Mommy, where's my left eye? Why is it gone?"

That day, I cried until my voice was gone and my body wouldn't stop trembling. I even wished for death, just so the pain would end.

I hated myself for leaving with Nolan. I hated myself for not protecting him. Most of all, I hated myself for being a bad mother.

But in truth, the one I should have hated the most was Justin.

Nolan covered his mouth, unable to believe that the person who took his eye was his own father.

Justin folded the report and said, "Now that Suzanne and her child have mostly recovered, it's time for them to return."

He seemed unusually cheerful. "Make the arrangements, and remember—Claire must never find out."

The sound of approaching footsteps made me panic. I held Nolan close, hiding as best I could, yet Justin still spotted us.

"Claire? Nolan? What are you doing here?" Justin asked, tense to the point that his breathing faltered.

I exchanged a glance with Nolan, and without a word, we wiped away our tears.

I took a deep breath and turned calmly toward Justin. "Since you've been holding onto that report for so long, Nolan and I thought we'd come find you," I said. "We got a little lost and almost went the wrong way."

Justin let out a sigh of relief, and just as a small smile was about to curve his lips, my next words froze him in place.

"What are you holding? Is that our medical report?" I stepped forward, reaching for it, but my eyes didn't leave his face for a moment.

Justin's gaze darted, and he slipped the report out of sight. "We can go over this at home. No hurry."

Seeing his lips pale from nervousness, a hint of irony flashed across my eyes. I pulled my hand back, took Nolan's hand, and turned to leave.

Justin paused briefly, then rushed forward and held Nolan close. His touch was still as gentle and caring as it had been in the 99 days before.

Nolan didn't wrap his arms around Justin's neck like he used to. He froze, staring at him with vacant eyes.

Justin didn't notice anything was wrong and held him all the way to the car. As he set up the child seat, he said casually, "Honey, remember Suzanne Lloyd? Her child was sick before, but now they're recovered and ready to return home. She doesn't have much family, so I thought she could stay at our place for a few days."

He studied my expression and added, "Of course, I'm just suggesting. If you or Nolan mind, we don't have to."

"I don't mind. Bring her home," I said.

Justin froze for a moment, then quickly smiled. "Thanks, honey. You're the best. Marrying you really is my luck."

I didn't smile back. I simply walked to the back seat, holding Nolan close. A single tear slid down my cheek.

Once we got home, Justin immediately found an excuse to leave. I knew he was eager to arrange Suzanne's return. I used the opportunity to finally have a heart-to-heart with Nolan.

I wanted to take him away, as far from this disgusting house as possible, and preferably never see Justin again.

Nolan didn't resist. He just tore the diary apart, which held his record of every day since the accident and all that involved Justin and us.

Day 1 after the accident: My eye was gone. I asked Mommy where it went, and she didn't answer. She just cried. Daddy cried too. It was the first time he held me, saying he would be my eyes from now on.

Day 3: Daddy came every day to take care of Mommy and me. He said he loved us so much, he wanted to be our lifelong support. I told him I loved him too. Daddy cried again.

Day 21: I was discharged. When Jack Stanton discovered my secret, he and the other kids in kindergarten laughed at me for having only one eye. They called me disgusting and said they would never play with me again. I quietly hid in the storage room and cried for a long time, telling myself it was okay as long as Mommy and Daddy loved me.

Day 25: The doctor installed a toy eye for me. Daddy said no one would laugh at me now. I showed the eye to Jack, telling him I wasn't disgusting. But Jack poked it with a pencil, called me a demon, and said the eye wouldn't hurt.

…

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably as I held Nolan tight.

"Nolan, I'm going to take you away, okay?"

He touched his cold, fake eye, his eyes red-rimmed, and nodded.

"Okay."

…

I set my phone to a 24-hour countdown. I quickly started packing, knowing that lingering any longer would only hurt Nolan more.

Countdown: 21 hours.

I took Nolan to the kindergarten to handle his withdrawal.

As I was about to knock on the principal's office door, I heard a familiar voice inside.

"Is Marcus doing okay? Are his eyes bothering him?"

Suzanne chuckled lightly. "Marcus has recovered so well, and his eyes are doing fine. Justin, we really can't thank you enough."

Justin smiled sincerely. "As long as you're happy, I'd do anything."

Suzanne flashed him a mischievous look and said, "What about Claire? If she knew Marcus was using Nolan's eye, would she get upset? Justin, I don't want to make things difficult for you."

Her familiar voice made me feel queasy.

Suzanne had always been like this. Despite reaping all the benefits, she acted as if she were pure and untouchable, making others eager to cater to her.

Suzanne wasn't even due the day Nolan was born five years ago, but she insisted the doctor induce labor just to get Justin's attention, leaving me alone while he spent the night with her in the hospital.

I cried, pleading with the nurse to bring Justin to see Nolan, but he was more concerned about Suzanne. He passed Nolan to the nurse and told me to stay calm.

Recalling those moments, my eyes brimmed with tears. Just as I turned to go, the late principal pushed the door open.

Seeing Nolan and me, Justin's eyes flickered with a hint of panic. "When did you get here? Why didn't you knock?"

Noticing my glare toward Suzanne, he quickly added, "Claire, don't misunderstand. I just found out that Suz already brought Marcus back from abroad. We happened to run into them and decided to register them at the kindergarten. You…"

"I understand," I interrupted, taking Nolan's hand and turning to leave.

However, Suzanne called after me brightly, "Claire, long time no see."

She pulled the young boy sitting nearby forward and introduced him to Nolan. "Nolan, this is Marcus. Say hi. You two seem to have a connection."

Marcus leaned closer, staring at Nolan's eyes with obvious disgust. "Mommy, his eye is fake. That's so gross."

Nolan's face instantly paled, and he hid behind me in shame.

I trembled with anger, but Justin stepped in just in time, standing awkwardly between us and Suzanne. "Claire, don't be upset. Marcus didn't mean it. He's just a child and doesn't understand. As adults, there's no need to get worked up over a child, right?"

Every word was a defense of Suzanne's son.

Nolan stared at him with disbelief. Just yesterday, Justin had lost his temper over someone else mocking Nolan. Now, he was openly protecting the one who had ridiculed him.

Seeing this, the light in Nolan's eyes dimmed. I lost patience and pulled him away, leaving Justin flustered as he watched our backs. Only after Suzanne called out several times did he regain his composure.

…

Countdown: 19 hours.

I spent that evening on the phone with the principal about Nolan's transfer as he sat on the couch watching cartoons.

Just as we were about to finish, the cartoon cut out. I stepped closer and saw a post from Suzanne. She was nestled in Justin's arms, screaming in delight on a rollercoaster, while Marcus looked at the camera with bright, wide eyes, flashing a playful peace sign.