haven

Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO PRETENDED TO BE BLIND

The next morning, I woke in a bedroom larger than the entire east wing of Whitmore House.

For a moment, I didn't remember where I was.

Then I saw the wedding dress hanging beside the wardrobe.

My stomach tightened.

Married.

I was married.

To Damien Blackwell.

A man who had lied to everyone about being blind.

I found him in the kitchen.

He stood beside the counter, reading something on a tablet.

Actually reading.

With his eyes.

I stopped in the doorway.

He looked up.

“Good morning.”

I stared.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Still surprised?”

“A little.”

He smiled faintly.

“Understandable.”

A woman in her fifties entered carrying a tray.

“Mrs. Blackwell.”

I stiffened.

She smiled warmly.

“I'm Rosa. I manage the household.”

I nodded.

“Hello.”

She set down breakfast.

Eggs.

Toast.

Fresh fruit.

Coffee.

I looked at the plate.

Then at Damien.

“Where are my medications?”

The room went quiet.

Damien set down his tablet.

“Your prescriptions are being reviewed by an independent physician.”

My chest tightened.

“I need them.”

“Possibly.”

I stared.

He continued.

“But I won't let anyone change your treatment without a qualified doctor evaluating you.”

I swallowed.

Nobody had ever said that to me before.

My mother simply handed me pills.

My father signed forms.

Dr. Mercer adjusted dosages.

I obeyed.

Damien pulled out a chair.

“Sit.”

I hesitated.

Then sat.

He looked at me.

“There's something else you should know.”

My stomach tightened.

“What?”

He took a breath.

“My blindness wasn't entirely invented.”

I stared.

He continued.

“Two years ago, I was injured in an explosion.”

I looked at him.

“The warehouse bombing?”

He nodded.

“My vision was severely affected.”

I remembered the rumors.

Damien Blackwell had been attacked by a rival organization.

Some said he'd lost everything.

Others said he would never see again.

He looked down.

“For several months, I couldn't see clearly.”

My chest tightened.

“What happened?”

“Treatment. Surgery. Rehabilitation.”

He looked at me.

“My vision returned gradually.”

“Then why pretend it didn't?”

His expression hardened.

“Because the men who ordered the bombing believed I'd become useless.”

I swallowed.

“And you wanted them to keep believing it.”

“Yes.”

For the first time, I understood.

Damien hadn't pretended to be weak because he enjoyed deception.

He had used the rumors as protection.

And perhaps as a weapon.

I looked at him.

“Do you ever tell anyone the truth?”

He considered the question.

May you like

Then answered quietly.

“I'm trying to start.”

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