The Eyes That Were Never Mine

Olivia

I couldn’t sleep.

Patricia’s words had lodged themselves in my mind, sharp and relentless. Elena was the girl who sold her eyes. I sat in the dim light from the bedside lamp, my fingers curling around the edge of my phone.

The screen was warm against my palm, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. If I did, I would make it real. If I did, I would chase a truth I might not survive.

But the doubt was suffocating.

I needed the truth.

I scrolled through my contacts, the steady thrum of my pulse in my ears as I landed on the number I hadn’t dialed in years. Dr. Samuel Greene. The surgeon who had given me my sight. Without thinking, I pressed the call.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Then…

A click. “Dr. Greene speaking.”

I swallowed, trying to steady my voice. “Dr. Greene, it’s Olivia. Olivia Crawford.” A pause. A breath. Then, wariness. “Olivia. It’s been a long time. What can I do for you?”

“I need information.” There was a short silence then “About?”

“I need to know who my donor was.” He hesitated a bit. “Olivia, that’s confidential.” I bit back a frustrated breath. “Please. I just need a name.”

Another pause. I could almost hear him debating, searching for a way out. But I wasn’t backing down.

“Dr. Greene,” I said, more forcefully now. “If you ever cared about me and if you want to help me please. I need to know who she was.”

I heard a long sigh, heavy and resigned. The sound of papers rustling, the faint tapping of keys on a keyboard. I gripped the phone tighter, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Elena Moreau.”

The name hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn’t breathe. My hand shook so hard I almost dropped the phone. It wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t a mistake.

It was her. The same Elena.

The same Elena who had given me my sight.

A choked sound escaped me, something between a gasp and a sob. “Olivia?” Dr. Greene’s voice was soft now. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

I hung up.

**

I don’t remember the drive to the hospital.

One moment, I was in my bedroom, everything spinning with the weight of Elena’s name, her eyes. The next, my hands were gripping the steering wheel, my knuckles white, the road slipping by in a blur of neon lights and shadows.

My mind was a storm, questions whipping through the chaos.

Why would Leonard visit her? Why would he lie to me?

Why does he care about the woman who gave me her eyes?

But I didn’t want to face the answers. I wasn’t ready for the truth to be real. I parked in front of Bintu Hospital, my legs weak as I stumbled inside. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose, but I didn’t register it. I didn’t care.

My body moved on its own, my feet carrying me forward. I had been here before, in another life. And maybe, just maybe, I had. Because somewhere in this building, a girl had lost her sight.

And I had taken it.

Room 217.

I saw the number on the door before I realized I had reached it. The name on the plaque was clear, bold:

Elena Moreau.

I stopped.

Proof.

There it was. The name. The girl.

I reached for the doorknob, but my hand froze inches away. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. Everything I thought I knew the lies, the silence was about to break loose. As I reached for the doorknob, but before I could touch it, I heard a voice.

It was faint, fragile. Trembling. Thick with tears.

“I… I’m scared, Leo.”

I froze.

Leo.

In her there was no hesitation, no doubt. She said it like it was hers. Like he was hers. My heart stopped. A sick, sharp pain spread through my chest. A moment later, Leonard’s voice, low and soothing.

“You’re not alone.”

And then, “I’ve been keeping your eyes safe all these years.”

My blood ran cold. No. I didn’t hear that right. I couldn’t have.

“Do you promise?”

Leonard’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Soon. You’ll have them back. And no one will ever take them from you again.” I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop the sound from escaping. My body went numb.

My mind didn’t want to believe it, but my heart… my heart had already accepted it.

Leonard.

The man I loved. The man I married. He was never mine. Not really. The way he looked at me. The way he touched me. It had never been about me. It had always been about her.

I wasn’t the one he wanted to protect.

He had married me to protect what had always belonged to Elena. The eyes I thought were mine. The truth hit me like a blow to the stomach. I couldn’t breathe.

My pulse thudded in my ears.

I had to get out of here. I had to leave. I turned, stumbling down the hallway, my legs shaky, my breath ragged.

Every step felt like a battle.

“No. No. No.” The words tumbled out of me, breathless, but they didn’t change a damn thing. I had to leave. I couldn’t stay here. Not after everything I had just heard.

My legs nearly gave out as I reached the stairs. I grabbed the railing, my knuckles white. My vision was spinning. It wasn’t my vision that was messed up.It was me.

Leonard had never loved me. Every moment we shared, every kiss, every touch it wasn’t for me. It was for her.

I wasn’t a wife. I was just a vessel. I was her substitute.

A cage for her eyes.

I couldn’t hold back the sob that tore through me. My chest felt like it was collapsing. “No.” I tried to push myself forward, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.

I couldn’t stop shaking. The truth was too much. I took a step.

My foot slipped as I screamed and I lost my balance. For a second, the world flipped. Then, darkness.