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.

After donating her cornea to Calvin, Heidi discovered that she was pregnant.

At the time, she felt both excitement and fear—excited that she finally had a family member by her side, but terrified that the surgery might affect her baby.

She spent a long time in anxious uncertainty, but in the end, fate was cruel to her.

The year she was diagnosed with eye cancer, Tommie was also diagnosed with leukemia.

She once went to Rosalie and begged for bone marrow. To keep it from Calvin, they secretly did a compatibility test.

Unfortunately, it failed.

Rosalie then cut off all contact with Heidi and Tommie.

Without money and without a matching donor, Tommie’s illness kept dragging on.

It had been three years.

Tommie couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Besides bone marrow, is there any other way to save Tommie?”

Sharon thought for a moment. “There is—umbilical cord blood. But unless you can have another child with Calvin, the chances are still very slim.”

‘A child… it isn’t impossible!’

As Heidi was lost in thought, the sound of a child crying suddenly came from outside.

‘It’s Tommie!’

Her heart tightened, and she rushed over. When she got closer, she saw Adrienne hitting Tommie—while Calvin just stood there.

“Tommie! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I-I-I’m fine, Mom. Don’t worry.”

From the moment he was born, her son had always been well-behaved. She didn’t know who he took after, but he had never given her any trouble.

Now, even with his little face red and swollen, tears still in his eyes, he was comforting her.

Heidi’s heart ached. She couldn’t help but hold her son tightly in her arms.

“Heidi, this… is your son?”

She looked at Calvin. A thousand words rose to her lips, but in the end, only one came out.

“Yeah.”

That single word ignited Calvin’s fury.

Just moments ago, when he saw Adrienne hitting the child, he had been angry and rushed over to stop her.

But he never expected that this child was Heidi’s!

She had really betrayed their love.

She had really been with another man.

Adrienne, watching the mother and son embrace, had a triumphant and calculating look in her eyes.

“Vin, it’s my fault. I was just startled by the child and acted out of panic.

“I didn’t know he was Miss Twigg’s son. I’m really sorry.”

As she spoke, Adrienne stepped forward, crouched down, and took Tommie’s hand.

“Miss Twigg, your son is really adorable. He looks about four or five years old, right? That means you had him the same year you and Vin divorced.

“This boy… could he be Vin’s?”

Back then, after agreeing to Rosalie’s request, Heidi pretended to be materialistic and greedy. She had handed over the divorce papers herself.

She and Calvin had spent seven years together. He had been willing to give up his privileged life for her, and she had been willing to endure hardship with him.

At their happiest moments, they had dreamed about what their child would look like. They had even imagined the life of a happy family of three.

At first, Calvin refused to believe she had fallen out of love. He even tore up the divorce papers with his own hands.

But to save him, Heidi had used the cruelest words.

She told him that she had only agreed to be with him for money and had stayed through the hardships because she believed he would one day return to the Rosenbachs.

She told him that now, as a blind man, the Rosenbachs would never take him back, and she didn’t want to spend her life with a blind man either.

She told him that she had found another man—one who was richer, one who promised to give her the best of everything, one who could make her dream of marrying into a wealthy family come true.