On the twentieth anniversary of our marriage, an unexpected explosion at the hotel left me blind.

In my dazed state, I heard the doctor ask sternly:

“Mr. Harrison, are you sure you want to give up on your wife's eye treatment?”

And my husband of twenty years, the man who feared my pain from childbirth and had willingly undergone a vasectomy, replied:

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Only when she’s blind can I openly bring Lena and the kids home.”

“We’ve been hiding for so long. Finally, the three of us can be together.”

Blood and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Twenty years of unwavering love turned out to be nothing but an illusionary deception.

Such a ridiculous marriage is better off ending.

“Alright then, just follow my instructions, make sure she doesn't die.”

The doctor sighed, with a hint of reluctance in his voice:

“She will be blind for the rest of her life, and you still want to remove her uterus. Isn’t that too cruel?”

“Cruel?” Jake Harrison seemed to chuckle.

“Lena Brooks has given me children all these years without asking for anything, willingly staying by my side without a title—that is cruel!”

“All this time, I know she isn’t without grievances; she’s just too kind!”

“Emily Foster’s eyes will be my compensation for Lena…”

He paused here, seemingly searching for more grandiose justifications:

“And besides… Emily was always child-free. Whether we remove her uterus or not, it’s the same.”

“Stop dawdling and get on with it.”

My uterus… my uterus…

I struggled to get up, wanting to scream no, but my anesthetized body grew heavier.

No matter how hard I tried to open my eyes, all I could see was a blood-red haze.

The sound of a machine starting up echoed in my ears, and the doctor sighed one last time:

“This is your twentieth anniversary.”

“…Yes.” Jake seemed to soften, reminiscing, “I will spend the rest of my life making it up to her. When Carl comes back, I will make him call her mom. Don’t let her suffer too much pain.”

With that, he turned and left the operating room.

Outside, an assistant ran in, “Mr. Harrison! The offender’s family has been settled, we gave them five million…”

“Keep your voice down! We’ll talk about it later…”

The door closed, and the cold machinery started invading my body.

I cried silently, too weak even to sob aloud.

Memories from over the years flashed through my mind.

Twenty years ago, Jake and I fell in love. Back then, we were so poor we couldn’t even afford condoms, so we decided to be child-free.

He feared my pain and volunteered for the vasectomy. On the day of the surgery, I watched the weakened Jake, crying from heartache, while he laughed it off:

“Silly Emily, I promised you, after our first night together, I would never let you hurt again.”

Fifteen years ago, our careers finally flourished, and he threw me a grand wedding ceremony.

That’s when his parents started pressuring us to have children, and we confessed our child-free decision.

His parents couldn’t understand, often ending in arguments, even kicking us out on Christmas night during their most intense outburst.

I tentatively suggested, “Jake, should we reconsider having kids now that we can afford to?”

But he shook his head firmly: “Having each other is enough, besides, I don’t want you to suffer the pain of childbirth.”

Eight years ago, his parents suddenly stopped pushing for grandchildren, and at the same time, Jake got busier, traveling more frequently.

He said we needed enough financial security to prevent his parents from meddling in our choices.

I was deeply moved, thinking he was protecting me.

But now, I understand. He has another family somewhere else.

It turns out he doesn't want children, he just doesn't want my children.

When I woke up again, I felt the touch of a towel on my face, as if someone was wiping my sweat.

I opened my eyes, but all I could see was a blurry light. I focused with all my effort and could make out that it seemed to be Jake.

He looked at me carefully and asked, "Emily, you're awake? Are your eyes feeling any better?"

I looked down, deciding to lie to him.

"I can't see anything... Jake, am I blind?"

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!" Jake gripped my hand tightly, his voice filled with nervousness. "It's nothing, Emily. I will find the best doctor to treat you, and even if it's incurable, it doesn't matter. I'll be your eyes from now on."

His voice was still gentle, just like the loving husband he used to be. But now, this gentleness felt like a dull knife, slowly cutting my heart open.

How can one person deceive another to such an extent?

Suddenly, a doctor called him from outside. Jake kissed my forehead and whispered, "I'll be right back."

The moment he left the room, I picked up the phone he had left by the bedside.

I brought it close to my face to see, and couldn't help but laugh at myself.

In such a short time, he had already changed the screensaver. No longer was it a photo of us, but a picture of him with another woman and a seven or eight-year-old boy.

The woman was young and beautiful. When she smiled, her eyes and brows surprisingly resembled how I used to look. But she had an extra layer of motherly gentleness that I never had.

And now, I'm old and blind.

"Emily! What are you looking at?" Jake rushed over and snatched the phone, looking flustered.

I calmly said, "I wanted SIRI to play a song for me."

Jake sighed in relief. "If you need anything, just tell me. Your eyes aren't good now, what if you bumped into something?"

Soon, my favorite soft music played from the phone.

"Emily... The doctor just told me that your body has also been damaged. Your hormones are out of balance, and you may not have periods anymore. But that's a minor issue. We can slowly adjust it with medication, so don't worry."

I didn't say anything, just quietly listened.

He continued, "Emily, I've been thinking. Since I'm often at the company, it's inconvenient for you to be home alone. How about I hire a nanny for you?"

"She's a relative of mine, named Lena Brooks. She works very meticulously. She also has a well-behaved little child who won't cause any trouble. I think it would be good to have them around, bringing some liveliness to the house."

I looked at Jake's figure in confusion, my heart filled with boundless irony.

Lena... that Lena...

So this was his plan, to openly bring his mistress and child home, reuniting the whole family.

"Okay." I didn't have the strength to expose him, so I nodded lightly.

Jake hugged me, his voice choked with emotion. "Emily, you've been through so much. I really feel for you..."

Tears wet my shoulder. I closed my eyes. My heart, already shattered beyond repair, was too numb to cry anymore.

In the dead of night, I dialed my brother Zane Brooks' number.

"Zane, help me find a divorce lawyer... and assist me with moving abroad. Any country will do, as soon as possible."

Jake's family had a criminal record, making it extremely troublesome for him to go abroad due to the heavy scrutiny.

This time, I need to leave him for good.

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital, and Jake brought Lena and the child named Carl back home. My vision improved since waking up, enough to see the tears of grievance in Lena's eyes. Jake kissed her face soothingly until she finally let go and turned her head, allowing Jake to bring the child to me.

"Emily, this is Carl. I've accepted him as my godson. From now on, you will be his godmother. Carl, come on, call her mom."

Carl reluctantly opened his mouth and drawled, "Mom!"

I nodded and handed over the gift I had prepared from my bag. Jake watched, smiling with satisfaction. Just then, my phone rang again.

Jake glanced at the screen and remarked discontentedly, "Why is your brother always calling lately, knowing it's inconvenient for you..."

He picked up the call, and on the other end, Zane said urgently, "Sis! The documents for going abroad are ready..."

"Going abroad? What going abroad?!" Jake interrupted nervously, "Is Emily going abroad? Emily, are you going abroad?"

Zane hastily corrected himself, "No, no, it's me going abroad. I was just informing my sister..."

Jake looked unconvinced, holding the phone and moving aside to continue questioning. I glanced at the boy and then at Lena, who was staring sadly at Jake, feeling both amused and bored. Was this some kind of drama?

In my boredom, I picked up a glowing ornament from the coffee table to play with, not expecting Carl to suddenly leap towards me.

"Give it to me! I want to play with it!"

I sneered and dodged. Carl went frantic and yelled at me, "Are you blind?! I said I want it!"

Jake moved the phone away and scolded sternly, "What's the uproar?! Haven't I told you to respect your Mama Foster?"

Carl pouted and ran over to Lena, feeling wronged. Lena stubbornly wiped away her tears, her voice choked with emotion:

"Why are you being so harsh… I know there’s no place for us here. You lied about a reunion… It might be better for Carl and me to stay away, so we don't have to see disapproving faces..."

"Don't say that!" Jake lowered his voice, quickly glancing at me before rushing forward to hug them both tightly.

"How could I not want you? This is my home. I'm the man of the house, and you're the lady of the house. Who told you to feel unwelcome? Right, son?"

Carl giggled, suddenly pushed Jake and Lena's heads together, making them kiss. Their faces turned red in an instant. They locked eyes and then began to kiss again, passionately.

"Mommy and Daddy kissing in front of Carl, so embarrassing!" Carl laughed, covering his eyes.

Meanwhile, I sat on the cold sofa like a passerby, an outsider to this story.

Ding dong—the doorbell rang.

Jake and Lena came out of their kiss, awkwardly separating.

"Dear, I heard you were discharged from the hospital, so your father and I came to visit you..."

My in-laws entered, holding baskets full of fruits and supplements, freezing in place upon seeing the scene before them.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lena from a relative's family, and her son Carl. He's my godson now. Come, meet him."

My father-in-law immediately picked Carl up, "Wow! What a sturdy boy!"

My mother-in-law quickly took out cherries from the fruit basket, "Here Carl, grandma has fruit for you."

"Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma."

"Oh, what an understanding child, so lovable!"

Jake put his arm around Lena's shoulder, smiling warmly as Lena playfully hit him and then nestled into his embrace.

They looked like a real family.