Clarissa's POV

I risked my life saving Alfie Bowen from a fire, and as a result, I temporarily lost my sight.

He swore he would take care of me for the rest of his life, that he would never leave me.

Thankfully, five months into my pregnancy, my vision unexpectedly returned. But before I could tell him, I saw him bringing his female assistant home for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

At the table, she deliberately mouthed the words to him, "Your wife is so ugly. Just looking at her bloated face makes me want to throw up."

Adding fuel to the fire, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law burst into laughter.

Humiliation burned through me and I couldn’t sit there any longer.

However, just as I set down my chopsticks, Alfie shot me a cold glare.

"Shirley is having dinner with us for the first time. Who are you giving that attitude to?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the air. "Eat if you want. If not, get the hell out."

On New Year’s Eve, he kicked me out of the house. As I stood outside, shivering, I could still hear him boasting inside.

"So what if she's pregnant? I'm not about to start pampering her. Besides, who else would want a blind woman besides me?"

"Don't mind her, she won’t go far," he scoffed. "Just wait. She’ll come crawling back, crying and begging for forgiveness."

But he was wrong.

That night, dressed in nothing but thin layers, I took a cab to the hospital to schedule an abortion.

I didn’t want the child. I didn’t want him either.

——

On the last night of the year, while other families celebrated together, I sat across from the on-call doctor and booked the procedure.

Afterward, I drifted back home like a ghost. The house was dark. Not a single missed call on my phone.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

New Year’s Eve—a time for families to be together. And yet, I was the loneliest person in the world.

Exhausted, I slowly made my way upstairs, feeling my way through the darkness.

But just as I reached for the bedroom door, a woman’s sultry voice drifted out.

"Not so rough… Mr. Bowen, when are you finally going to divorce her?"

My heart plummeted. My hand froze in midair.

I felt like I’d been struck by lightning, unable to move, unable to breathe.

"She went blind saving me," Alfie replied, his tone indifferent but laced with hunger. "I can’t divorce her… not right now."

Then, with a low chuckle, he added, "Besides, doesn’t this make it even more exciting?"

Shirley Crawford giggled, a teasing lilt in her voice. "I wish she could see you like this—so desperate for me. But, oh well… she’s blind."

Laughter rang out, smug and taunting.

I couldn’t listen anymore.

Fury and humiliation surged through me. My vision blurred, and my hands trembled.

Before I knew it, I was downstairs, stumbling in the dark. My hip then hit the table, knocking over a lamp.

The crash shattered the silence and footsteps soon thundered down the stairs.

Within seconds, the entire living room flooded with light.

Alfie emerged from the hallway, wearing nothing but his pajama pants.

His eyes darkened when he saw me.

"You actually came back?" he sneered.

His voice dripped with irritation. "Shirley came over for New Year’s, and you just had to make a scene. Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for me?"

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Words clogged my throat, but none came out.

Shirley’s first time visiting, and she called me ugly in front of everyone. Her first time here, and she was already in my husband’s bed. Just because I was blind… was I supposed to sit at the dinner table and let them humiliate me? Was I supposed to obediently leave so they could continue their affair in peace?

Alfie glanced at the broken lamp, his annoyance deepening.

"You didn’t help with anything all night, and now you’re causing trouble? What, you think you can throw tantrums just because you don’t have to clean up?"

"Clarissa, you’re getting more unreasonable by the day," he added.

Before I could respond, Shirley sauntered over. She reached out and brushed her fingers against Alfie’s arm, causing him to stiffen momentarily. But after a while, he threw her a fierce glare.

However, Shirley was unshaken by it and even pretended to be surprised, saying, "Oh dear, what a mess. Let me help clean it up."

Clarissa's POV

But before Shirley could approach, Alfie stopped her with a sharp tone. “No need. Whoever breaks it should clean it up. I’ve spoiled her too much these past few years.”

A chill spread through me then.

Before, he told me that after we got married, I wouldn’t have to lift a finger—he would take care of everything. He said I married him to be happy.

But ever since Shirley started working for him, everything changed.

He came home later and later. When company parties ended late, he would even drive her home personally.

At first, he told me he just felt bad for her—said she was a young girl trying to make it on her own. But their conversations stretched later and later into the night.

One time, I asked what they were talking about.

But he simply replied, "Work."

I never doubted my love for him. I never thought I had to.

But love can change in an instant. The night he left me—newly pregnant and sick—to be with Shirley, everything fell apart.

While I spent the night throwing up, unable to reach him, he was by her side.

Now, as he gestured toward the mess on the floor, his voice was filled with irritation. “Shirley is staying here tonight. Clean up quietly. Don’t wake her.”

His furrowed brow made it seem like I had created this mess on purpose.

Then, he led Shirley to the guest room.

At the doorway, she leaned up to kiss him—fully aware I was watching. Her eyes met mine, smug and taunting.

A wave of nausea twisted in my stomach. I didn’t even want to imagine how many times they had done this behind my back.

In the end, I didn’t clean up. I just sat on the couch, staring blankly into the darkness for half the night.

At some point, Alfie came back into the living room. He sighed, crouched down, and started picking up the broken lampshards one by one. Then, he knelt in front of me and spoke softly, “You really think I’d make you clean this up?”

He gave me a look as if I were being difficult. “Shirley was eating with us for the first time. No matter what, you should have given me some respect as your husband. If word gets out, do you know how embarrassing that is for me?”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

His chest and back were covered in faint red scratch marks—marks that weren’t from me.

He didn’t even try to hide them. Because in his eyes, I was just a blind woman. Someone he didn’t have to answer to.

“Don’t be upset,” he said, inching closer. “It’s bad for the baby.”

The scent of Shirley’s perfume clung to his skin, making my stomach churn.

His hands, the same ones that had just been on her, reached out to touch my face.

Disgust and rage surged through me. I shoved him away and fell to my knees, retching into the trash can.

Meanwhile, Alfie stumbled back, startled. He hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward—but soon stopped with a distaste in his face.

“I’ll get you some water,” he muttered before turning and walking off.

I threw up until there was nothing left inside me, gripping the edge of the trash can for support.

When I finally stood up, I watched his retreating figure—his hurried steps, his obvious need to get away from me—and I laughed bitterly.

He used to be different.

One year, at a company New Year’s party, I got drunk. He stayed up all night taking care of me, cleaning up after me without a single complaint.

Back then, he cared. Back then, he loved me.

Now, he didn’t. And it couldn’t be more obvious.

I closed my eyes, willing those painful memories away.

From now on, no matter what Alfie did, it wouldn’t matter to me anymore.

I walked straight to my vanity and opened a small box. Inside were two small dolls, their fabric scorched and ruined by fire.

The night I saved him, these were in his hands. Even when he was on the verge of death, he smiled and said, “Love, these are the lucky dolls you painstakingly got two years ago. I found them again. One for you, one for me. That way, we’ll never be apart.”

Back then, those words moved me to tears.

Now, they were nothing but a cruel joke.

Clarissa's POV

I could no longer tell if Alfie loved me or not.

If he didn’t love me, why would he risk his life to retrieve those dolls for me? But if he did, why would he let Shirley walk all over me?

Outside, the sharp sound of shattering glass broke through the silence. Then came the muffled sounds of Shirley pulling him in again. Seeking excitement, she had no shame—they were getting intimate right outside the door.

Alfie’s voice was low, a weak attempt to stop her. “Don’t mess around. Clarissa is still inside.”

But any hesitation quickly melted under Shirley’s touch. A door clicked shut and he never came back.

I tossed the dolls into the trash.

That was it. That was me severing my marriage with my own hands.

That night, I didn't sleep.

By morning, I heard Alfie open the bedroom door. He must not have expected me to be awake because he hesitated for a second before scrambling for an excuse.

“I fell asleep watching TV in the living room,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Didn’t even realize it. You’re up early.”

I didn’t acknowledge his excuse. Instead, I asked, “Alfie, is it snowing outside?”

His hand paused inside the closet before he pulled out a thick winter coat. He rubbed his nose and muttered, “Yeah, it’s cold. You should stay in. If you catch a cold, Mom will start nagging again.”

With that, he grabbed his coat and hurried out of the room.

I watched him rush off to see Shirley, and the cold in my heart stung far worse than the frost outside.

But this was my first snowfall since regaining my sight. I wanted to see it too.

When I stepped into the living room, my mother-in-law was fastening the zipper of Shirley’s puffer jacket, her face full of warmth and affection—the way a mother looks at her beloved daughter-in-law.

“Shirley is such a beautiful girl,” she beamed. “If only she could be my daughter-in-law.”

Her words were a dagger straight through my heart.

Years ago, when I was hospitalized after saving Alfie, she visited me every day, bringing soup and calling me her daughter.

But the moment she found out Alfie planned to marry me, her attitude did a complete 180.

After our wedding, she never had a kind word for me. She spent years pressuring him to divorce me.

Eventually, to stop constant fights, Alfie moved out with me.

Back then, he told me, “No matter how bad things get between you and my mom, I will always stand by your side.”

But last night at the dinner table, when Shirley and his family openly mocked me, he sat there in silence.

And that silence shattered something inside me.

I finally understood—his heart no longer belonged to me.

Shirley blushed and lowered her head, acting shy.

My sister-in-law, on the other hand, looped her arm through Shirley’s. “That’s right, Mom! You have no idea how generous Shirley was with her gift yesterday! Not like that stingy blind woman.”

The moment she said it, a wave of bitterness surged through me.

Just six months ago, on her birthday, I gave her a designer handbag worth thousands of dollars. She had clung to me sweetly, calling me ‘sissy’ like I was family.

And now?

Now, to her, I was nothing more than a stingy, blind fool.

Outside, they built a snowman together, laughing and playing in the snow, looking more like a family than I ever had.

Snowflakes drifted down, but I felt no cold.

That was when Alfie spotted me standing by the door. His body went rigid.

I acted like I hadn’t seen anything, just like always. I reached out, feeling along the wall, and slowly made my way back inside.

Just then, a message popped up on my phone. It was from my lawyer. The divorce papers were ready.

I printed two copies of it. One for him, one for me.

Not long after, Alfie barged into the room.

Before I could react, he was already demanding answers.

“What the hell is this?” His voice burned with anger.

“You hate the cold. Why would you suddenly go outside?” He took a step closer. “Did you do it just to make Shirley look bad?”