Everyone in the business world knew that the wealthy Calvin Rosenbach had once been ruthlessly dumped by his ex-wife when he lost his sight.

For this woman, he had given up everything he owned—even his eyes.

That woman was Heidi Twigg.

She had said, “I was only with you for the money. Now that you have nothing, why should I stay?”

She had said, “You can’t give me the life I want, and you’re blind. I’ve had enough. Trash like you should just die!”

She was the kind of woman everyone despised.

Yet five years later, Calvin was on his knees, crying and begging her.

“Don’t go. Please… don’t leave me.”

The next time she saw Calvin was on New Year’s Eve, five years later.

He had become one of the world’s most outstanding entrepreneurs, newly listed on Forbes.

Meanwhile, Heidi—wearing artificial corneas, stricken with cancer, half-blind, and barely alive—was working as a bar waitress, serving drinks.

Inside a private booth, their eyes met. She heard Calvin ask, “You left me for money back then. Do you regret it?”

Staring at the vague silhouette before her, Heidi lowered her gaze and chuckled.

“Calvin, you’re so rich now. Lend me 20,000 bucks, will you?”

The hope in Calvin’s eyes turned to disgust in an instant. He sneered.

“I knew it. You’re still as greedy and sickening as ever.”

His words cut through Heidi like a blade.

He didn’t know that when he had gone blind, it was Heidi who had secretly given him both of her corneas.

——

The young woman in his arms, Adrienne Deneen, looked surprised. “Vin, does Miss Twigg really need money that badly? She was your ex-wife, after all. Why not just give it to her? I mean, the shoes you bought me cost more than 20,000 bucks. That amount means nothing to you, right?”

Hearing this, the others in the room sneered with contempt.

“So, you’re the ex-wife who left Mr. Rosenbach when he was at his lowest?”

“If you love money so much, you’d do anything for it, right?”

“If you want 20,000 that badly, why don’t you drink all the liquor here?”

The last question came from Calvin himself.

Heidi lifted her head toward his voice. She had already tried so hard to see him clearly, but her artificial corneas had long since deteriorated. She could only rely on sounds and shadows to judge the situation.

Yet, after five long years of longing for his face, she still couldn’t see it.

Forcing a weak smile, she finally spoke.

“If I finish it all… you’ll really give me 20,000, right?”

Calvin was momentarily stunned. The woman before him, so degraded and desperate for money, was nothing like the arrogant figure he remembered from five years ago.

Fury ignited in his eyes. Through gritted teeth, he spat out a single word.

“Sure.”

At his confirmation, Heidi smiled. Without hesitation, she grabbed a bottle and started drinking.

The liquor burned as it flooded her mouth. She could feel the sharp pain slicing through her stomach, her body instinctively wanting to retch. A metallic taste filled her throat, but she forced it back down.

Around her, mocking laughter rang out. Though she couldn’t see their faces, she could feel the malice in the air.

“Enough!”

Finally, just as Heidi—her face pale—reached for another bottle, a hand suddenly knocked it to the floor, shattering it into countless shards.

Calvin’s furious voice followed.

“Seriously, Heidi, are you really going to die for money?”

“Yeah.”

Her unwavering answer made Calvin laugh in rage.

“Fine. Fine! You want money that badly? I’ll give it to you!”

As soon as Calvin finished speaking, he flung Heidi away forcefully. Her body fell onto the shattered glass, the sharp edges cutting into her palms and the exposed skin on her body.

Blood dripped freely, and she was in utter disarray.

Yet, she seemed completely indifferent to the pain. She simply lifted her gaze and looked at the man before her.

Just now, they had been so close that she could finally see his face clearly.

After five years, the face that had haunted her dreams remained almost unchanged—except for the loss of its youthful warmth, replaced by steadiness and maturity.

The only thing that had changed was the woman standing by his side. It was no longer Heidi, but someone else.

Stacks of cash were ruthlessly thrown at her face and body.

Adrienne sneered. “Miss Twigg, weren’t you desperate for money? Vin is giving it to you now—why aren’t you taking it?”

Heidi, in her tattered state, crawled forward, picking up each blood-stained bill one by one. She kept her head lowered, concealing the tears welling up in her eyes.

Her mind drifted back to the past, to the time when she first met Calvin in college.

Back then, he was the campus heartthrob—wealthy, influential, admired by all.

She, on the other hand, was just an orphan who relied on scholarships to get by.

They came from completely different worlds, and being together had never been easy. The Rosenbachs were the first to oppose them.

But Calvin had defied all obstacles, and together, they built a home of their own.

They started from scratch, working hard to build their future. Just when everything seemed to be looking up, tragedy struck—Calvin lost his sight and urgently needed a corneal transplant.

The surgery and treatment required an enormous sum of money. They spent every last cent they had. To gather more, Heidi worked multiple jobs, often surviving on just one meal a day.

But no matter how hard she tried, it was never enough.

That was when Rosalie, Calvin’s mother, appeared.

And everything changed.

A sudden crash jolted Heidi back to reality.

A wine glass had been smashed in front of her, shattering her memories along with it.

“Stop looking at us with those eyes—they disgust me!” Calvin’s voice was cold. “Take the money and get the hell out!”

With that, he lowered his head and gently kissed the woman in his arms.

“Sorry you had to see this,” he murmured to Adrienne. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. How about we go shopping for some new things you like? That pair of heels you wanted last time—the ones that cost 20,000—I’ll buy them for you and put them on you myself, alright?”

Listening to their affectionate exchange, Heidi felt an unbearable pain surge through her chest. She struggled to her feet, but the overwhelming bitterness and pain made her vision blur. She nearly collapsed.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand firm. But the moment she stepped out of the private room, she couldn’t hold it in anymore—a mouthful of blood spilled from her lips.

She stared at the crimson splatters on the floor and curled her lips in self-mockery.

Her body was reaching its limit.

She didn’t have much time left.

But if she died… what would happen to their son?

Suddenly, the door behind her was yanked open.

Calvin’s panicked voice rang out.

“Heidi? What’s wrong?!”

Instinctively, he reached out to help her, but Adrienne quickly grabbed his arm, her face full of concern and helplessness.

“Oh gosh! It’s my fault,” she said anxiously. “I shouldn’t have broken those bottles earlier. But… Miss Twigg, when did you hurt your mouth? Weren’t your injuries on your arms and hands?”

The worry in Calvin’s eyes darkened, replaced by anger.

“Oh, I never thought you’d stoop so low, Heidi. You’re faking an injury just to swindle more money? Wow.”

Heidi stared at him, at those once-blind yet now-clear eyes, and a bitter smile tugged at her lips.

“Since President Rosenbach knows how much I love money, why not lend me a little more?”

Before he could respond, Adrienne tightened her grip on his hand and softly pleaded, “Vin, why don’t you help her again? Maybe she really is desperate for money…

“Besides, if she hadn’t abandoned you back then, you would never have returned home… and you wouldn’t have gotten the chance to receive that kind stranger’s corneas, would you?”

Adrienne’s words seemed to be helping Heidi, but in reality, they were a cruel reminder of the humiliation Calvin suffered when his ex-wife dumped him years ago.

His anger turned icy, and he let out a cold snort. “A despicable miser like you isn’t worthy of my money! Tell the manager here—I don’t ever want to see this woman here again!”

With that, he wrapped his arm around Adrienne and returned to the private room, slamming the door shut behind him.

It was strange—Heidi’s vision had long since blurred, yet she could still see clearly the disgust in Calvin’s eyes as he turned away and the smug satisfaction at the corner of Adrienne’s lips.

A sharp, suffocating pain spread through Heidi’s chest. She clutched the spot over her heart, her face contorted in agony. Lifting her gaze toward the closed door, her surroundings gradually faded into a blur.

Her trembling fingers brushed against the corners of her eyes, where pain had resided for five long years. When she saw the crimson tears of blood on her fingertips, she couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

‘Calvin still doesn’t know.’

The eyes he used to gaze so tenderly at another woman—were Heidi’s.

Five years ago, his vision had been deteriorating due to a lack of funds and a suitable cornea until he was nearly blind. His mental state declined along with it, leaving him dispirited and broken.

That was when his mother came to Heidi.

Years ago, Calvin had cut ties with his family for her. Now, Rosalie wanted Heidi to sever ties with him.

The reason? Money and a cornea.

Thinking of Calvin’s vacant, lifeless eyes, Heidi agreed. But she still insisted on giving him her own cornea.

The Rosenbachs had money—they could afford an artificial cornea without issue. But that would only last for so long.

A donor cornea could work too, but it would take time.

Once she left, Calvin wouldn’t wait. He might even spiral out of control.

So, his mother agreed.

Once a match was confirmed, Heidi had her cornea transplanted to him.

As for herself, she got a pair of artificial corneas—the cheapest kind, to save money.

For the first two years, her vision was no different from a normal person’s. But by the third year, she was diagnosed with eye cancer.

By the time she found out, it was already too late. The cancer cells had affected the artificial corneas, subjecting her to relentless, excruciating pain day and night—along with the agony of impending blindness.

Three whole years. Over a thousand days and nights.

The world before her eyes grew dimmer and blurrier with each passing day.

She knew that whether it was her life or her vision, she was already at her limit.

After leaving the bar, Heidi went to the hospital.

“You can’t keep taking painkillers. You’ve had more than enough over the years.”

The person scolding her was Sharon Sumners, Heidi’s best friend and her attending physician.

Seeing the concern on her face, Heidi gave Sharon a reassuring smile.

“It’s fine. I’ve already taken so many—what difference do a few more make?”

Sharon rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Fine, forget the painkillers. But what about alcohol? How many times have I told you—you can’t drink! Heidi, the cancer has already spread to your stomach. Drinking could literally kill you!”

‘Kill me? Of course, I knew that. But I desperately needed money—not just for myself but for my son.’

At the thought of her child, she quickly asked, anxious, “Right, how’s Tommie? Did he eat today?”

“Don’t worry, Tommie is very well-behaved. Today is New Year’s Eve, so I brought him black-eyed peas and cornbread. He ate them happily. But we still need to find a matching bone marrow donor as soon as possible. Otherwise… he might not make it through the year.

“It’s a pity Calvin wasn’t a match. Otherwise… your son wouldn’t have had to suffer for so long. Some father he is—ugh, completely useless!”

Sharon’s voice was full of anger and frustration, but Heidi only curled her lips into a bitter smile.