Chapter 4

A pin-drop silence filled the lounge, but a moment later, everyone burst into laughter.

"Come on, Tessa. Surely you don't have to stoop so low just to gain sympathy!"

"Stolen corneas? Going blind? I'd say that you deserve it if what you said was real!"

"She must have been reading too many novels lately."

Tessa ignored the mockery and laughter growing around her, keeping her eyes on Ethan. She couldn't care less about love or any such sentiment. She only wanted to get her eyes treated, find out who had framed Adam, and find a place to settle down.

Ethan grimaced. A thought crossed his mind, and his face darkened as he barked at the others in the lounge, "Shut up, all of you! Get out!"

Everyone flinched at the order and fell silent. They dared not go against Ethan, so they hurried out of the lounge. When Derek was frozen in place, someone grabbed him by the arm and forcefully dragged him away.

The lounge was empty within seconds. Ethan took out his phone and called his assistant, asking the latter to check Tessa's medical records at the hospital. After that, he fixed her with a steely look and icily said, "You'd better not be lying to me, Tessa."

Tessa made no reply. Her records were at the hospital, and Ethan only had to look at them to know that she wasn't lying. Her eyes wouldn't hold out much longer. Even if she managed to get the corneas back, there was no guarantee that Ethan wouldn't find out and intercept them again.

She hoped that Ethan would have enough sentimentality as her husband to return the corneas he'd poached after confirming her critical eye condition.

Ethan did not speak again. Ten minutes later, his phone rang. He answered the call, but his calm expression turned stormy seconds later. He shot Tessa a look sharp enough to cut her to the core and snapped, "Did you have fun making things up, Tessa?"

He drew closer until his face was inches from hers, but by the time Tessa realized what he was about to do, he'd already had her in a chokehold. She was suffocating, and a numbness overcame her muddled thoughts.

Before she could struggle, Ethan suddenly loosened his grip but kept his fingers around her neck. "The hospital doesn't have your medical records, and the health report from your check-up half a year ago indicates that you're physically fine!"

Tessa's eyes widened in disbelief. She thought that it was impossible. After all, she'd been receiving treatment at the hospital for half a year! How could there be no record of that?

"No, that can't be. I—" Tessa choked out her explanation.

"Do you intend to keep lying?" Ethan snapped, cutting her off. His eyes burned with the rage of a man who had been fooled. "Did you enjoy making stuff up, Tessa? Aren't you worried that your lies might come true if you keep telling them?"

He paused, then sneered. "Even if they did come true, you deserve it."

With that, he turned to leave. Released from the chokehold, Tessa slumped to the ground and burst into a coughing fit. Her lungs felt as if they were being scratched, and her thoughts were so tangled up that she couldn't make sense of them.

Ethan's words rang in her ears. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her and made her blood run cold.

She hadn't known the depths of Ethan's hate for her until then.

Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Then, she stiffly rose to her feet and left the club. As she watched the cars that zipped past her, she hesitated for a moment before calling Rosalie.

"Rosie, can I stay at your place for a few days?"

…

Half an hour later, Tessa showed up outside Rosalie's place and knocked on her door. When Rosalie saw Tessa's terrible state, she cried in alarm, "Heavens, what happened to you? Did Ethan's band of bastards do this to you? I'll teach them a lesson right now!"

Rosalie was about to rush out the door when Tessa pulled her back by the arm. "Rosie, my eyes hurt."

Following the emotional outbursts and the peppery liquid that Ethan's friends had splashed at her, Tessa's eyes were badly swollen. She was going numb from the pain, too.

Upon hearing this, Rosalie hurriedly hauled Tessa through the door and tended to her eyes. While cleaning Tessa's eye area, Rosalie felt so bad for Tessa that she teared up. She cursed Ethan and his friends, occasionally using profanity with such artistic precision that it amused Tessa to no end.

"I can't believe you're laughing. Your eyes need treatment soon. Otherwise, not even surgery can reverse your condition," Rosalie lectured.

Tessa placated her. "I know, I know. But one must look for the silver lining in such circumstances."

Exasperated as she was, Rosalie couldn't bring herself to lecture Tessa. A while later, she asked, "Have you figured out a way to get those corneas back? What if you turn to Mr. Ziegler Senior for help?"

"I don't want David to worry," Tessa replied, shaking her head.

Rosalie fumed. "Is Ethan so heartless that he'd let his wife go blind?"

Tessa's smile vanished at the mention of this. She fell silent for a beat or two, then briefly told Rosalie what had gone down at the lounge earlier. When she was done, she sighed and said, "He's convinced that I'm lying. I doubt he'd help me."

"What do you mean your records aren't at the hospital? That's impossible!" Rosalie's brows knitted together as she said this. Suddenly, she clutched Tessa's wrist. "I know! After Ethan dragged you away, I was so angry that I snapped at Charlotte for stealing the corneas!"

Rosalie and Tessa exchanged a look as comprehension dawned upon them. It seemed that Charlotte had sensed something amiss and quickly took measures.

Feeling guilty, Rosalie apologized, "I'm sorry, Tess. It's my fault for speaking without thinking and letting slip about the corneas. I—"

"This isn't your fault," Tessa interrupted her. "Even if you didn't let slip anything, I might not get the corneas back. I'm too powerless to pull that off. After all, I'd be going against Ethan."

Ethan was the head of the Ziegler family and ruled from the top of Seabourne's social pyramid. Even if the Langfords hadn't fallen into such disgrace, Tessa still wouldn't be confident enough to take him on, much less now.

"What do we do now? If we miss the organ donation this time, there's no telling when the next round will happen." Rosalie grew anxious. "Your eyes are getting worse by the day. If we keep dragging this out, you'll be permanently blind!"

Tessa lowered her gaze. She was terrified of the consequences that would befall her, but as of now, she had no recourse. After a long pause, she sighed. "We'll just have to play it by ear. Until then, there's something I want to do."

"What?" Rosalie asked.

"Get a divorce."

If Tessa were destined to become permanently blind, she would like to cut all ties with Ethan before then. She thought that their toxic relationship had gone on for long enough, and it was time for it to end.