I Nursed Him Back to Sight, He Chose My Sister

The plastic container of organic blueberries crinkled in my tight grip. Neo loved them. For the past year, ever since the devastating car crash stole his vision, I made sure the wealthy heir had a fresh bowl every single morning. I never missed a day.

Today was different. Today, the doctors were removing his bandages.

I pushed through the heavy double doors of the hospital corridor, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. After twelve months of darkness, my fiancé might finally look at me again.

I reached Room 302 and shoved the oak door open.

"Neo, I brought—"

The words died in my throat.

Sunlight poured through the massive window, illuminating two figures locked in a tight embrace. Neo stood tall, no longer wearing the thick white gauze over his eyes. His striking gray eyes were open, clear, and perfectly focused.

He could see.

But he wasn't looking at me. His arms were wrapped securely around Fiona, my half-sister.

The blueberries slipped from my fingers. The plastic container hit the linoleum floor. Berries scattered everywhere, rolling under the hospital bed.

Neo pulled back from Fiona and turned his head. His gaze landed on me. There was no spark of recognition, no overwhelming relief. Just a polite, distant acknowledgment.

"You're here," Neo said, his voice smooth and steady. "I got my sight back."

I stared at him, my chest seizing. "Neo? What are you doing?"

Fiona stepped forward, slipping her slender hand into his. "Oh, Eddy, you made it," she chimed in, her tone heavy with fake sweetness. "I was just telling Neo how grateful I am that my big sister came to check on him today."

I froze. *Big sister?*

I took a shaky step into the room. "Fiona, what is this? Neo, it's me."

Neo frowned, a deep crease forming between his brows. "I know who you are, Eddy. You're my fiancée's sister. It's nice of you to visit, but Fiona and I were just having a moment."

My blood turned to ice. *Fiancée's sister.*

"No," I choked out, shaking my head violently. "I'm your fiancée. I'm the one who sat by your bed every single night. I'm the one who read to you, who fed you!"

Fiona squeezed his hand tighter and leaned against his broad shoulder. "Neo, she's doing it again. She always gets jealous of the things I have."

"Fiona!" I yelled, stepping closer. "Tell him the truth! Why are you doing this?"

Neo stepped in front of her, his body forming a protective wall. His gray eyes hardened into steel. "Lower your voice, Eddy. Do not speak to her that way."

"You're defending her?" Tears spilled over my cheeks, hot and fast. "Neo, listen to my voice. It's me! We share the same father. We're both Ms. White. The nurses just called us Ms. White! She stole my identity!"

"That's enough," Neo snapped. The warmth I had known for a year vanished, replaced by the ruthless heir everyone else feared. "Fiona has been by my side through the darkest period of my life. I won't let you barge in here and insult her just because you want a piece of the spotlight."

I peered around his arm. Fiona met my gaze. A triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She had won, and she knew it.

"Neo, please," I begged, my voice breaking. "Ask her about the accident. Ask her about the nights we talked about Paris. She doesn't know!"

"I told you everything about Paris," Fiona whispered to him, her eyes wide and innocent. "She must have listened at the door."

"You liar!" I lunged forward, desperate to rip her away from him.

Neo caught my wrist mid-air. His grip was a vise. "Don't touch her."

"Neo, you're making a mistake!" I sobbed, struggling against his hold. "She wasn't here! She was traveling the world while I held your hand!"

"I said, enough." Neo released my wrist with a rough shove. "Leave. Before I have security escort you out."

I stumbled backward, my heel crushing a stray blueberry. The purple stain smeared across the pristine floor like a fresh bruise.

"You don't mean that," I whispered.

"Get out, Eddy," Neo commanded.

I looked at Fiona. Her eyes danced with absolute victory. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, playing the perfect, fragile victim.

I turned and ran.

The hospital corridors blurred into a wash of white walls and fluorescent lights. I shoved past nurses carrying clipboards and patients in wheelchairs, bursting through the main entrance into the chilly afternoon air.

My chest heaved. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to hold my shattering world together. He didn't know. He actually didn't know. A year of love, of shared whispers in the dark, erased because my half-sister decided to play a twisted game of pretend.

I walked blindly down the bustling sidewalk, my mind spinning into chaos. How could I prove it? He wouldn't listen to me. He was completely under her spell.

Then, I remembered.

The necklace.

My hand flew to the leather strap of my purse. Inside the inner zip pocket sat the custom pearl necklace Neo had given me six months ago. He had traced the unique diamond clasp with his fingertips, promising that he would recognize it anywhere.

*That's it. The necklace.*

I stopped near a busy intersection and fumbled with the gold zipper of my bag.

"Excuse me, watch out!" a gruff voice shouted.

Before I could react, a sudden, violent yank threw me off balance.

"Hey!" I shrieked.

A man in a dark hoodie ripped the purse from my shoulder. The strap burned against my skin as it broke free. He shoved me hard in the chest, sending me crashing onto the concrete pavement.

"Stop!" I screamed, scrambling to my knees. "Please! Give that back!"

The thief didn't even glance over his shoulder. He darted through the thick crowd, dodging a fruit cart before vanishing down a narrow alleyway.

"Somebody stop him!" I yelled, my throat burning. "He took my bag!"

Passersby stared, giving me a wide berth. A businessman adjusted his briefcase and hurried past. A mother pulled her child closer. No one offered a hand. No one chased the thief.

Gone.

The bag was gone.

The pearls were gone.

The only physical proof I had that I was the woman Neo loved was currently disappearing into the city's underbelly.

I sat on the gritty sidewalk, my knees scraped and bleeding. I pulled my legs to my chest and buried my face in my hands. Fiona had his heart, and now the streets had my only hope. If I couldn't prove who I was, I would have to stand by and watch my sister marry my fiancé.

A tall shadow fell over me, blocking out the afternoon sun.

"Need a hand, Ms. White?" a deep, unfamiliar voice asked.

I looked up, squinting against the harsh glare. A man in a sharp charcoal suit stood over me. In his outstretched palm, something caught the light.

It was a single, flawless pearl.