A Bright Future

After a long time, I opened my sore, stinging eyes.

Darkness filled my vision.

My tears wouldn’t stop falling.

“Nina! Nina, you’re awake?”

Anthony rushed to my side and gently wiped away my tears.

“Nina, I’m sorry… the doctor said… your eyes… you might not be able to see anymore.”

He lowered his head, a bit guilty, then remembering I couldn’t see his expression at all, he softly took my hand.

“Nina, don’t be afraid. I won’t abandon you. I’ll be your eyes from now on. Our wedding will just be postponed.”

Hearing that familiar voice made me feel nauseous. He and Indya Hickey had taken my eyes, and now I was expected to be grateful in return.

Indya had always been Anthony’s childhood sweetheart—I had known all along.

That confession recording etched onto a vinyl record, I had accidentally heard it once.

A girl’s gentle, graceful voice made a firm promise about the future.

My heart had skipped a beat.

I had gone straight to Calum, demanding the truth.

To be preserved like that—Indya must have been very important to Anthony.

“Indya was Anthony’s first love. She broke up with him suddenly for a chance to study abroad.”

Calum had said it casually. In his words, Indya had been the one who betrayed the relationship.

I didn’t dwell on the past after that, just treated it as a piece of Anthony’s youthful memories.

Until news about Indya came back from overseas—

She had acid thrown at her during her own art exhibition.

It caused her to go blind.

She was a painter. The importance of her eyes went without saying.

Anthony knew that too. For days, he had been absent-minded, staring blankly at a newspaper with the headline “A Rising Star Falls.”

I brought him a cup of water.

“It’s okay, Anthony. Didn’t they already catch the person who did it?”

I just wanted to comfort him, but he grabbed my neck with red-rimmed eyes.

“Okay? How can you be so calm? Those were a painter’s eyes!”

That was the first time he lost control in front of me—and it was for another woman.

Tears burst from my eyes as I struggled, slapping at the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Nina. I got too emotional… I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days.”

He hugged me close, trying to soothe me, as the bruises on my neck throbbed with pain.