Regaining My Sight, The Truth About Love

The first thing I did after regaining my sight was to find Mia Sommers and share the incredible news.

But as I stood outside the VIP lounge at the gala, I overheard her joking with her friends about me.

Mia, are you seriously going to marry that blind guy? He's not even the one you've been waiting for!

There was a long silence before Mia finally answered, "Kaelen got hurt saving me. I owe him my life. Marrying him is the only way to take responsibility."

"As for Ro... let's just drop it. We were never meant to be. There's no point in bringing him up again."

"Then why are you still keeping that lucky charm he gave you? You're clearly not over him, are you?"

Mia stayed silent, offering no denial.

It was only later that I realized the lucky charm they were talking about was a childhood memento I had lost years ago.

Rowan Miller had found it and stolen my identity, taking the place in her heart that belonged to me.

I never imagined that the moment I regained my vision, this is what I would hear.

I was still clutching my white cane, the one I hadn't yet found the courage to throw away.

In my other hand, I held a small cake I had baked myself, step by painstaking step.

My legs felt heavy, as if they were made of lead, and I tilted my head slightly to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"But if you marry him, you'll never be happy! Don't be stupid, Mia!" her bridesmaids-to-be pleaded on her behalf.

The more I heard, the more my heart throbbed with a dull, aching pain.

I had truly believed Mia was marrying me out of love.

Only now did I understand that it was nothing more than a guilt-driven compensation package.

I bit my lip until it stung, then pushed the door open with trembling hands.

The room went dead silent the second I stepped inside.

Mia froze when she saw me, a flicker of genuine shock crossing her face.

"Kaelen? What are you doing here? The streets are so busyDhow did you navigate all the way here on your own?"

"Didn't I promise you I'd be home tonight?"

The pain in my chest flared up again.

The string of the cake box dug into my palm, leaving a sharp, stinging sensation.

A cold chill crawled up my spine and settled in my brain.

When I was blind, Mia used to keep me tucked away at home, telling me to wait for her return.

I thought she was being protective, but now I realized she was just ashamed of me.

To her social circle, I was an embarrassment.

I was just a disabled man, a placeholder for the guy she actually wanted.

To her, I was a useless card she felt obligated to keep in her hand.

I stared at her for a long time before finally setting the cake down on a side table.

I had made this for her because she loved sweets.

While I was blind, I spent weeks learning how to bake, breaking countless bowls and wasting heaps of flour.

I had broken down so many times, ready to give up.

Back then, Mia would pull me into her arms and clean up the mess, whispering, "It's okay, Kaelen. I'll be your eyes. We can get through anything together."

When the bandages came off and I realized I could see, I was ecstatic. I wanted to run to her immediately.

But I forced myself to finish her favorite dessert first, wanting to see the joy on her face when I surprised her.

How pathetic. I was the only one moved by my own devotion.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm.

A bitter, cold smile touched my lips.

"Mia, I saved your life once, but I never intended to use that to trap you into a marriage."

"I don't want you to do something you hate just because you feel guilty."

"Since your heart belongs to someone else, let's just end this now. Go find your happiness."

I turned to her friends and gave them a slight, polite nod.

"You're right. Living a lie with someone you don't love is no way to spend a lifetime. Mia deserves to be with her Ro."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. They stared at me, mouths agape.

I didn't have the energy to look at their faces anymore. I leaned my cane against the wall.

Then, I tossed the cake into the trash bin and walked out without looking back.

It took a long time for them to snap out of their shock behind me.

"Wait, what just happened? Can Kaelen see now?"

"What the hell? He's been blind for yearsDsince when did he get his sight back? Mia, did you know about this?"

I let out a self-deprecating laugh as I walked away.

This is what unconditional devotion gets you.

Kaelen Sterling, you really are a fool. You waited all this time, only to find out she was waiting for a different man.

What a total joke.

When I was in the fifth grade, Mia was just a tiny first-grader.

Back then, I went by my mother's maiden name, and after she got sick, Mia would follow me around every afternoon.

She'd hop along with her little backpack, calling me "Ro" with that sweet, high-pitched voice.

Those were some of the only happy memories I had from my childhood.

I remember her saying while doing homework, "I'm going to marry someone exactly like Ro one day."

Her parents would laugh and tease her, "Then why don't you just marry Ro when you grow up?"

Mia would look up with her big, bright eyes, showing her tiny teeth in a wide grin.

"Okay! I'm going to marry Ro!"

At that age, I didn't know what love was. I just knew that being with her made the world feel less lonely.

When my mother passed away, Mia was the one who helped me survive the grief.

Later, her parents got into some trouble with the wrong people.

Mia was kidnapped, and I was taken along with her.

To keep her from crying, I tried to stay calm and talk to the kidnappers, but I only ended up making them angry.

They stabbed me, leaving me with a life-threatening wound.

When I woke up in the hospital, I saw my father's face for the first time in years.

After that, I took his surname, Sterling, and moved to another state.

I didn't see Mia again for twelve years.

When our paths finally crossed again, she was a stunning, brilliant businesswoman.

But she didn't recognize me. She already had a man named Rowan Miller by her side.

I clearly remembered the day I saw Rowan Miller outside the office, acting jealous.

"That guy almost had his hand on your shoulder! Why didn't you move away?"

"Does he even know you're mine?"

Mia wasn't even mad at his possessiveness.

She just looked at him with soft eyes and whispered, "Ro."

"I'll come home right after this meeting, okay? Didn't you say you'd make that shrimp tempura I love?"

"You promised that once you found me, you'd never let me be alone again. I'm holding you to that!"

Her voice was thick with affection and total reliance.

She never spoke to me like that. Not once.

I finally realized that she simply didn't love me. It was a truth so simple, yet it took me years to wake up to it.

The man walked ahead with long strides, and Mia struggled to keep up in her heels.

Still, she started running toward me as I walked away from the gala.

I couldn't stand the thought of her tripping, so I stopped and turned around.

"Stop running. You're going to fall."

Mia was panting, her eyes rimmed with red.

"Kaelen, you haven't told me. When did you get your sight back? You were blind just yesterday!"

"Are you breaking up with me the second you can see again? Why, Kaelen? I need an explanation!"

I blinked, forcing back the moisture in my eyes.

I gave her a calm, distant smile.

"Mia, I'm not the man you love. You don't need to sacrifice your life to take care of me out of pity."

"If you can't let go of Rowan, go to him. He's the one you want. Stop running from your feelings."

Mia opened her mouth to argue, but her phone suddenly buzzed.

She glanced at the screen, and her entire body stiffened.

I followed her gaze. The caller ID read "Rowan."

"Kaelen, wait here for a second. I have to take this!"

My heart sank even further. My mind felt sharper than ever.

See, Kaelen? Rowan is always her priority.

Just let it go. Don't look back.

I laughed at myself and didn't wait for her to finish her call. I hailed a cab and left.

It's annoying being a man sometimes; you can't even cry after a breakup without the driver giving you a weird look.

Mia had no idea how much I was hurting. She didn't realize how deep the wound went.

Goodbye, Mia. Someone else will bake cakes for you now.

I silenced the incoming calls from her and blocked her number, deleting every photo of us.

When I was blind, I was stagnant. I had no drive.

But now that I could see, the world was vivid again.

I found a remote job I could do from home.

I spent my free time relearning how to paint, reclaiming the skill I thought I'd lost forever.

Slowly, I realized that being alone wasn't so bad.

Two months later, I attended a college friend's wedding.

I thought it would be a simple dinner, but I didn't expect to run into Rowan Miller.

"Kaelen! Long time no see. How's the vision? Have you had a follow-up at the clinic?"

Rowan spotted me instantly and walked over with a smug grin.

I had to admit, the guy had a certain charm that drew people in.

I wasn't intimidated by his fake friendliness, but something caught my eye.

The lucky charm on his wristDit looked hauntingly familiar.

The people around us started whispering. They knew the history between Mia, Rowan, and me.

Gossip was the lifeblood of these events.

"Is it just me, or does Kaelen look even better now? He's so sharp. Now that his eyes are fixed, he's actually quite a catch."

"Why do you think Mia didn't stick with him?"

"Kaelen? What does he have? He was a shut-in for years. Mia basically supported him like a pet."

"Look at Rowan. He and Mia are the power couple of the finance world. They're perfect for each other."

"But Kaelen used to be brilliant. His designs won international awards. He's not exactly a nobody."

"Who cares about talent when you're broke? Mia made the right choice with Rowan."

I gripped the fabric of my trousers, feeling a surge of annoyance.

I truly hated these types of scenes.

The buzzing of the crowd was giving me a headache.

"Kaelen, it's been a while. Mia is so clingy these days, she barely lets me out of her sight. She hasn't even mentioned you."

Rowan checked his watch, then looked at me with a smirk.

"I actually have to go pick her up now. She used to be so independent, but now she can't do anything without me. I worry about her!"

He shook his head as if it were a chore, but his eyes were full of pride.

The people around him let out sighs of envy. My heart gave a familiar pang.

Mia had never been that way with me. Never.

Maybe it was because I was blind. I was a burden, not a partner.

"Kaelen, why don't you come with me to get her?"

I shook my head, my face a mask of indifference. "I'll pass. Do whatever you need to do."

When Mia arrived twenty minutes later, she looked different. She had lost weight, and the dark circles under her eyes were heavy.

When she stood before me, her gaze lingered on me for only a split second.

Then she looked away, as if we were total strangers.

The groom came over to chat, and everyone joined in the laughter.

I sat in the corner, picking at my food, which tasted like ash.

Suddenly, I heard my name. It was Rowan again.

"Kaelen, I really should thank you for looking after Mia while I was away."

"You were my senior in school, and you're still my senior now. I actually wanted to ask for some advice on how to handle her."

He put a nasty emphasis on the word "senior."

"I don't think I have anything to teach you," I said coldly.

"Oh, come on. I just want to know how you took care of her while you were blind. Did you just make her little cakes all day?"

I clenched my fists under the table.

Even a fool could hear the malice in his voice.

He was mocking my disability and painting me as a freeloader.

Mia just sat there, silently eating her dinner, chatting with a girlfriend as if she couldn't hear him.

"Kaelen, how did you manage the oven when you couldn't see? Could you give us a demonstration right now?"

"I'd love to learn. Maybe I can try making Mia a strawberry souffl with my eyes closed."

A few people at the table snickered. I looked at Mia.

She acted like I didn't exist.

"Let's just eat, guys. The lobster is great!" someone tried to break the tension.

But Rowan just smiled and waited, letting the awkwardness fester.

He was determined to humiliate me, but what hurt more was Mia's silence.

Mia, do you really think I'm this pathetic?

I took a sharp breath and stood up. Finally, Mia's eyes locked onto mine.

Her gaze was flat, cold, and utterly detached.

Fine. If she wanted a show, I'd give her one.

If she wanted to remember me as a laughingstock, I'd give her that "honor."

I was about to step forward when a warm hand grabbed my arm.

"Rowan, don't you think you're being a bit of a prick?"

The entire room gasped. Mia's expression finally shifted into something icy.