Gone Like It Was Never Here

Later, Zeke was forced to marry Lily.

Her parents had confronted him. "Lily's been in love with you for 15 years. Now, she's blind because of you. You have to marry her."

The Connollys delivered their own ultimatum. "Marry Lily, or don't bother coming home!"

In the end, he yielded and brought Lily home as his wife.

After the wedding, Zeke carried out his duties as a husband.

At first, he kept his distance from Lily, offering little more than the bare minimum. But with time, he began choosing gifts for her on every holiday.

They moved from long, uneasy silences to nights spent talking until dawn, losing themselves in conversation.

Just as things had begun to mend, Zeke's mother, Erica Blauner, drugged his food, driven by a desperate longing for a grandchild.

That night, Lily conceived. But Zeke believed she had deceived him into bed, and from that moment forward, he turned cold and withdrawn.

A few days earlier, Lily had woken to find the world returned to her—shapes, light, and color. Overwhelmed with joy, she rushed to the hospital for a check-up.

The doctor explained that her vision had likely returned due to the effects of pregnancy hormones. She could hardly wait to tell Zeke that she had regained her sight.

But when she arrived home, breathless with hope, she stepped through the door to find Sophie seated on the couch, sipping from a glass of water.

Zeke was beside her. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders. His voice was low and tender as he said, "Take your time."

Lily had never heard him speak to her that way.

In just five days, he had all but forgotten the blind wife he'd left behind. Sophie had taken hold of both his heart and his mind.

"Are you feeling worn out after the interview?"

"Don't worry. I just got a little tired from sitting for too long." Sophie leaned into Zeke's chest.

Lily remained standing in the center of the room, as if invisible to them.

Catching the scent of something in the air, Zeke asked. "Rhonda, what's simmering in the kitchen?"

"Ms. Erica had someone deliver truffles to be made into broth. She said they're meant to help with Ms. Lily's recovery," the maid, Rhonda Miller, replied.

"Bring it here for Sophie," Zeke said.

"But Ms. Erica sent it for Ms. Lily. There's only one serving!" Rhonda protested.

"I said, give it to Sophie. Are you deaf? She's weak, and the baby growing inside her is small. She needs the nourishment."

He threw a glance in Lily's direction. "She hardly eats as it is. She's always wasting food. From now on, anything my mom sends goes straight to Sophie."

Lily's body shook, and her fists tightened at her sides.

She could scarcely eat. From the beginning of her pregnancy, unrelenting waves of nausea had left her retching, day after day. Where other women put on weight, she had shed nearly five pounds.

Erica had noticed and, moved by concern, sent nourishing food in hopes of helping. But to Zeke, every bit of it had been wasted by Lily.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Zeke. After all, it was from Ms. Erica, and she wanted Lily to have it," Sophie said. The words were wrapped in a softness too deliberate to be real.

Zeke gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and spoke gently. "It's fine. You'll be my mom's future daughter-in-law. What is there to be afraid of? And besides…"

He looked up and glanced briefly at Lily. "Lily won't mind."

"Thank you, Zeke. You always take such good care of me," Sophie said, tilting her face upward to brush a quick kiss against him.

They assumed Lily couldn't see a thing, but she could.

"Yeah. I don't mind. Do as you please, Ms. Cruz," she said.

She looked away, then made her way up the stairs. She'd barely taken a few steps when Sophie's voice rang out behind her.

"So, when are you going to bring up the divorce with Lily?"

"Very soon. Don't worry. I'll get her to sign the divorce papers. I'll marry you, I swear."

Lily stopped in her tracks. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard that she could feel the ache as if it were flesh and bone. She'd laid her entire heart in Zeke's hands, and he'd crushed it because of someone else.

The disappointment she felt in him ran deep, leaving nothing untouched.