010

Xander Blackbourne

“What are you talking about?”

I had been lying in my room, staring into nothing but darkness and the endless void in my head, when the maid came to inform me that Cassian had arrived.

I immediately located my wheelchair beside the bed and instructed the maid to wheel me down.

On the way, I couldn’t help but wonder why Cassian hadn’t come straight up to see me like he usually did. If not for me, then what exactly was he here for?

But just as the chair slowed to a stop around the corner, I heard his voice—his words snatching my attention instantly.

“...marry my brother…”

“Xander, you’re here,” he said, his tone shifting drastically from the one he had used with whoever else was in the room.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on? And who are you talking to?” I asked, firing off questions without pause.

At that moment, I was painfully reminded of how incapable my disability had made me feel.

There was a pause, followed by the sound of feet shuffling across the floor. Then I felt Cassian’s presence move beside me.

“We have a problem on our hands, brother,” he began with a sigh.

I turned my head from side to side, angling toward the direction of his voice.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, dread curling in my chest. I already had a sinking feeling that it had something to do with my accident.

There was someone else in the room, I could sense that much—but for now, I focused on the issue at hand.

“Because of your... condition,” Cassian began carefully, “the board members are questioning your ability to lead the company. They’re considering a vote to replace you as head of the board.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Of course. I should’ve seen this coming.

The board had always cared more about the company’s growth than the people behind it. Whether I was alive or dead didn’t matter to them.

But the company meant everything to me. It was the one thing I had been groomed to run since childhood. The one responsibility my father had trusted me with.

And now, that position—my legacy—was being threatened. All because I was blind.

No. I wouldn’t allow it.

I would do whatever it took to make sure that didn’t happen.

Still, something about all this didn’t add up.

“What was all that talk about marriage?” I asked, a frown settling permanently on my face.

“It’s what the board wants,” Cassian replied. “They want proof that you’re still capable despite your blindness. They want to see stability. Someone to share your responsibilities with. So... I proposed marriage.”

“Think about it,” he continued, his tone persuasive. “If you get married, it’ll restore their trust in you. It’ll buy you time—time to recover, time to hold your position.”

His words echoed in my head. I paused, genuinely considering it.

Then a scoff cut through the silence.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually considering this.”

I immediately recognized the voice—Elara. Her tone was sharp and disapproving.

“What does that have to do with you?” I muttered, brushing her off.

“Why don’t you ask your brother what it has to do with me?” she shot back.

Cassian cleared his throat awkwardly beside me before speaking again.

“I thought she’d be the perfect candidate for the marriage.”

I wasn’t a fool. I understood exactly what he was trying to suggest.

And as he laid out his reasoning, I knew I had been right.

“Elara took this job for the money. We both know that. But she’s also the only one you can tolerate. She manages your temper better than any of the other maids. You two already have... a working dynamic. And I don’t think you have anyone else in mind except for—”

“No,” I cut him off sharply, shutting down the idea before he could say anything further.

That was not something I was going to consider. Not now. Not ever.

“I just think you two can help each other,” he continued gently. “Just until you get your sight back. Then everything can go back to normal.”

“What if he never gets his sight back?” Elara snapped, silencing Cassian. “The doctor said there’s a possibility, not a guarantee.”

But this time, I was the one who silenced her.

“I’ll marry Elara,” I said firmly, breaking the tension in the room.

“Not in a million years,” she shot back instantly, her tone laced with outrage.

“I don’t know who you think you are, trying to force me into this,” she spat. “Just because you’re rich, you think that makes you any less disabled? You sit there in your wheelchair, blind and bitter, treating everyone like they’re beneath you—”

“That’s enough!” Cassian growled beside me, his voice rising.

But she didn’t stop. She kept going, hammering at me with her words, picking at every insecurity, every wound, until I felt like I was about to crack under the weight of it all.

And just as I reached my breaking point, Cassian said something that made her go completely silent.

“Xander, excuse me for a moment,” he said quickly.

I heard her suck her teeth, but something must have passed between them because a few seconds later, I heard the scuffle of their retreating footsteps.

Normally, I might’ve wondered what he wanted to say to her in private, but right now, I couldn’t care less.

If it were up to me, she wouldn’t even be my maid in the first place.

I never would’ve considered her if Cassian hadn’t convinced me.

But in my current condition, he was the best person to make decisions for me—and I trusted him with my life.

I was only going along with this because of the company. And because I trusted Cassian’s judgment.

Soon after, I heard footsteps again—signaling their return.

“Brother, Elara has something to say,” Cassian announced.

I tilted my head toward his voice, one brow arching at his words.

I opened my mouth to speak—but she beat me to it.

“I…”