Later, Zeke was forced to marry Lily.

Her parents had confronted him. "Lily's been in love with you for 15 years. Now, she's blind because of you. You have to marry her."

The Connollys delivered their own ultimatum. "Marry Lily, or don't bother coming home!"

In the end, he yielded and brought Lily home as his wife.

After the wedding, Zeke carried out his duties as a husband.

At first, he kept his distance from Lily, offering little more than the bare minimum. But with time, he began choosing gifts for her on every holiday.

They moved from long, uneasy silences to nights spent talking until dawn, losing themselves in conversation.

Just as things had begun to mend, Zeke's mother, Erica Blauner, drugged his food, driven by a desperate longing for a grandchild.

That night, Lily conceived. But Zeke believed she had deceived him into bed, and from that moment forward, he turned cold and withdrawn.

A few days earlier, Lily had woken to find the world returned to her—shapes, light, and color. Overwhelmed with joy, she rushed to the hospital for a check-up.

The doctor explained that her vision had likely returned due to the effects of pregnancy hormones. She could hardly wait to tell Zeke that she had regained her sight.

But when she arrived home, breathless with hope, she stepped through the door to find Sophie seated on the couch, sipping from a glass of water.

Zeke was beside her. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders. His voice was low and tender as he said, "Take your time."

Lily had never heard him speak to her that way.

In just five days, he had all but forgotten the blind wife he'd left behind. Sophie had taken hold of both his heart and his mind.

"Are you feeling worn out after the interview?"

"Don't worry. I just got a little tired from sitting for too long." Sophie leaned into Zeke's chest.

Lily remained standing in the center of the room, as if invisible to them.

Catching the scent of something in the air, Zeke asked. "Rhonda, what's simmering in the kitchen?"

"Ms. Erica had someone deliver truffles to be made into broth. She said they're meant to help with Ms. Lily's recovery," the maid, Rhonda Miller, replied.

"Bring it here for Sophie," Zeke said.

"But Ms. Erica sent it for Ms. Lily. There's only one serving!" Rhonda protested.

"I said, give it to Sophie. Are you deaf? She's weak, and the baby growing inside her is small. She needs the nourishment."

He threw a glance in Lily's direction. "She hardly eats as it is. She's always wasting food. From now on, anything my mom sends goes straight to Sophie."

Lily's body shook, and her fists tightened at her sides.

She could scarcely eat. From the beginning of her pregnancy, unrelenting waves of nausea had left her retching, day after day. Where other women put on weight, she had shed nearly five pounds.

Erica had noticed and, moved by concern, sent nourishing food in hopes of helping. But to Zeke, every bit of it had been wasted by Lily.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Zeke. After all, it was from Ms. Erica, and she wanted Lily to have it," Sophie said. The words were wrapped in a softness too deliberate to be real.

Zeke gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and spoke gently. "It's fine. You'll be my mom's future daughter-in-law. What is there to be afraid of? And besides…"

He looked up and glanced briefly at Lily. "Lily won't mind."

"Thank you, Zeke. You always take such good care of me," Sophie said, tilting her face upward to brush a quick kiss against him.

They assumed Lily couldn't see a thing, but she could.

"Yeah. I don't mind. Do as you please, Ms. Cruz," she said.

She looked away, then made her way up the stairs. She'd barely taken a few steps when Sophie's voice rang out behind her.

"So, when are you going to bring up the divorce with Lily?"

"Very soon. Don't worry. I'll get her to sign the divorce papers. I'll marry you, I swear."

Lily stopped in her tracks. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard that she could feel the ache as if it were flesh and bone. She'd laid her entire heart in Zeke's hands, and he'd crushed it because of someone else.

The disappointment she felt in him ran deep, leaving nothing untouched.

That night, Lily and Zeke lay in bed with their backs turned to each other. Silence stretched taut between them. Her belly had grown so large that it left her breathless more often than not.

She shifted uncomfortably, turning to her other side, on the verge of asking Zeke to hand her the oxygen canister. When it got this bad, breathing through it was the only relief.

But as she rolled over, she caught sight of him leaning against the headboard. The glow of his phone was lighting his face, and his fingers were busy tapping out messages to Sophie on WhatsApp.

They were deep in a cheerful exchange. His smile cut clean through her.

She didn't know what they were talking about, only that Zeke suddenly looked down and glanced her way.

Lily shut her eyes at once, pretending to sleep. A moment later, she heard the soft click of the light switch, then the creak of the bed as he got up.

He thought she was blind, that she couldn't see anything at all. It was the only reason he dared to be so brazen.

Once he left the room, Lily rose too and followed him.

Sophie's bedroom door stood slightly ajar.

Lily stood outside the door, watching. Inside, Zeke was gently rubbing stretch mark oil onto Sophie's belly. He was entirely focused.

As he continued, Sophie sat up abruptly and kissed him on the lips.

Zeke caught her hand. His breath caught. "Sophie, don't. You're pregnant."

"It's okay, Zeke. The doctor said it's safe in the third trimester, as long as we're careful."

She slid down the strap of her nightgown. "Don't you want me, Zeke? All those five years I was abroad, I thought about you every single day. I missed you so much it hurt.

"If I hadn't slipped out that night to come back and find you, I never would've been—"

As Sophie spoke, her voice broke, and tears traced silent lines down her face.

Zeke leaned in and kissed the tears from her skin. His gaze was filled with pity and tenderness. "That's enough, Sophie. I'm sorry. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you."

Desire sparked between them. No longer able to resist, they gave in utterly. Their bodies were tangled together on the bed.

Lily stood rooted at the door. One hand was clamped over her mouth as tears slid through the gaps between her fingers.

She could scarcely believe what she was seeing. The man she had loved for 15 years, her husband of five years, lay with another pregnant woman, while she herself was eight months pregnant with his child.

She shook her head, backing away in disbelief. Her shoulder grazed the flowerpot by the door. It gave a muted rattle, bringing Zeke to an abrupt halt on the bed.

"What was that?"

"What are you so afraid of? You think it's Lily? Have you forgotten that she's blind? Even if she made it all the way here, she wouldn't know what we're doing!"

"But…"

Zeke's voice trailed off. He gave a reluctant nod, his eyes drifting toward the doorway where darkness gathered thick and still, a quiet ripple of unease tightening across his chest.

Lily couldn't see, but she could hear. And if she had heard everything, would it have broken her?

"Zeke, what are you thinking about?" Sophie turned his face toward her, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "Is it Lily? You're not allowed to think about her."

She reached up and kissed him again.

Zeke felt as if he'd lost his mind. Why was Lily in his thoughts now, in the thick of this? If she hadn't manipulated him into sleeping with her that night, she wouldn't be carrying his child.

That night, Lily hadn't even remembered how she'd made it back to her room.

Her belly throbbed with pain. She reached for the medication her doctor had prescribed, took a single pill, and only then did the ache begin to ease.

Her mind was set. Once the baby came, she would leave Zeke. There was nothing left inside her for him.

All she wanted now was to deliver safely. After that, she would file for divorce and leave with nothing but her child.

…

The next morning, Lily came down for breakfast.

Rhonda quietly set the truffle broth, once meant for Lily, at Sophie's place. Before Lily, she placed a plain bowl of broth.

They all believed she wouldn't know. The blind couldn't see, and surely taste alone wouldn't betray the switch.

Lily said nothing. She ate a few spoonfuls in silence, then lowered her spoon and left the rest untouched.

"Good morning, Lily. You're up early, aren't you?"

Sophie came down the stairs and eased into the chair beside her at the dining table. Her voice was laced with a barbed kind of amusement.

"Unlike you, I can't manage mornings like this. The night really drained me, and by morning, it felt as though my whole body had come undone. It took all I had just to drag myself out of bed."

Lily's gaze settled on Sophie's neck, where red hickeys bloomed, absurd in number.

They spoke for themselves. There was no mistaking how wild things had gotten with Zeke in that bed the night before.

Lily's fingers tightened around the spoon. Her appetite was gone.

"You go ahead. I'm leaving."

"Hey, don't. Stay and talk to me," Sophie said, reaching for her.

Lily tore her arm free, the motion catching Sophie's bowl of truffle broth. It toppled, and the liquid spilled across the floor.

Sophie let out a sharp gasp, yanking her hand back from the burn. "Ms. Rosenfelt! I was only hoping we could talk about the kids we're having. Why are you reacting this way?"

"Lily! What on earth are you doing?"

The noise brought Zeke over, and he tore into her without hesitation.

"Sophie's eight months pregnant! You know she can't handle this kind of stress. If anything happens to her or the baby, I'm not letting you off the hook."

Lily scoffed. "I'm eight months pregnant too, and blind. It was an accident. And you'd still hold it against me?"

"I…"

Zeke caught himself, realizing how harsh he sounded. He sighed. "Forget it. You can't see, so I'm letting it slide. Just sit down and keep Sophie company. It's her first time having a baby, and she's nervous."

Lily sneered under her breath.

His words cut to the bone. Sophie was carrying her first child. So was she. Yet somehow, he made it sound as though hers didn't count.

She made her way back to the table. The spoon slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.

When she bent down to pick it up, she caught Sophie's foot hooked around Zeke's pant leg beneath the table, a gesture far too intimate. Her eyes went cold.

As she rose, she found them locked in a fierce kiss. Their arms were wrapped tight around each other. They carried on so brazenly over breakfast, thinking her blindness made them invisible.

Lily tossed the spoon onto the table and turned away. "You two take your time. I'm going back to my room."

"Wait, Lily. There's a document I need you to sign."

Zeke's voice broke the silence at last. He slid the papers toward her and pressed a pen into her hand.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

She lowered her gaze and found the bold words "Divorce Agreement" glaring from the top of the page.

Sadness gripped her like a vice. Her fingers tightened around the pen, and a scornful laugh curled inside her.

He wanted her signature so soon. Was he really that desperate?

"Our baby's almost here, so my mom has decided to give you a house. Here's the contract. All you need to do is sign it," Zeke lied smoothly, exploiting Lily's blindness without a moment's doubt.

Sophie chimed in from the side, "I'm so jealous of you, Lily. If only I were as lucky. How I wish I could be Mrs. Connolly, too. Watching you receive such a grand gift is making me green with envy."

Lily pressed her lips together, and a blank mask settled over her features. "Zeke, are you sure you want me to sign this?"

"Why would you even ask? Don't you want the house my mom's giving you?"

A thread of nervousness wove its way through Zeke's veins. Lily's face was taut, as if she'd uncovered something unspoken.

He raised his hand, tracing slow arcs before her eyes. When she didn't move, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Fine. If that's what you want," Lily said. She signed her name with a fast, decisive stroke where he had indicated.

Just then, Zeke's phone rang. He didn't need to check the screen to know it was Erica.

He stepped away, putting space between himself and Lily before bringing the phone to his ear. "What's up, Mom?"

"Zeke, did you mean what you said on TV? You're divorcing Lily for Sophie? Are you insane? Lily's pregnant with your baby!"

The news had reached Erica, and she was calling to confront him. She had liked Lily from the beginning and had pictured her as the daughter-in-law her family longed for.

How could she not be alarmed now, learning that Zeke planned to divorce Lily and marry a woman with such a past?

"Don't worry, Mom. It's only a temporary measure. I promised Sophie I'd protect her reputation for the time being. After her baby is born and recorded in my name, I'll divorce her. I won't betray Lily. We'll be married again."

"Be married again?"

Sophie had been nearby and had overheard everything. Her expression turned sour. She had believed Zeke was truly serious about marrying her, but now, she saw it was only a temporary arrangement.

Still, that didn't matter. As long as she was legally wed to Zeke, she'd make certain he never got the chance to end it.

Zeke assumed Lily couldn't hear him. But since losing her sight, her hearing had sharpened remarkably.

She sneered quietly. He was a master of schemes, but he hadn't realized that she had already made up her mind to leave him for good.

They'd be married again? Not a chance.