The Blind Wife’s Revenge

POV: Clara

The hospital room is quiet when Dr Evans takes off the bandages, and the bright white light hurts my eyes for a second, but I blink through the tears because the blurry shapes start to take form, and soon I can see his face clearly for the first time in three years.

"The surgery is a complete success," Dr Evans says with a warm smile, handing me a pair of dark glasses, "though you still need to avoid bright lights and heavy emotional stress for the next few days."

"Thank you, Doctor, you have no idea what this means to me," I reply, my voice shaking with pure joy because I can finally see the walls and the window and the way the light hits the floor.

"Just take it easy and let your eyes adjust naturally," he adds, patting my shoulder before leaving the room to let me pack my small bag.

I decide right then that I am not going to call Alexander to tell him the good news, because I want to see his face when I walk through the front door and tell him I can finally look into his eyes without any help.

On the way home in the taxi, I look out the window at the busy streets, watching the cars and people pass by, and I cannot stop smiling because everything looks so bright and clear, and I feel like a brand new person stepping out of a long nightmare.

I tell the driver to stop at the small bakery on the corner, and I step inside to buy his favorite chocolate cake, and then I walk over to the grocery store down the street to pick up a bottle of red wine, feeling like the luckiest woman in the entire world.

For three whole years after that terrible car accident took my sight away, Alexander never left my side, and he fed me every single meal, helped me walk around every room in the house, and whispered that he would love me even if I never saw the light again.

He stayed with me through every dark night, and he held my hand when I cried about my lost independence, and I always told my friends that I hit the jackpot with a husband who loved me so much.

"You are my whole world, Clara," he told me just last week when he helped me down the stairs, and I believed every single word because he said it with such a soft voice.

"Do you really mean that, Alexander?" I had asked him then, turning my blank face toward his voice.

"Of course I do, I would never leave you or do anything to hurt you," he had answered, kissing my forehead and holding me tight against his chest.

I pay the driver and walk up the front steps of our house, holding the cake box carefully in one hand and the wine bottle in the other, and I pull my key from my pocket to unlock the front door.

The house is quiet when I step inside, and the hallway smells like the perfume my cousin Elara always wears whenever she visits us, which is strange since Alexander said she was out of town for the weekend for a business meeting in another city.

"Is someone here?" I whisper to myself, shaking my head because I figure the wind must have brought the scent inside or maybe she came back early to visit.

I take off my shoes and set the cake and wine on the table in the entryway, walking softly across the floor because I want the surprise to be perfect, and I make my way down the hallway toward our bedroom.

The bedroom door is slightly open, and soft voices are floating out into the hall, so I step closer with a big smile ready on my face, but then I hear Elara giggle and say something that makes my chest go cold.

"What if she comes back early from the hospital today?" Elara asks, her voice breathless and laughing.

"She is blind, Elara, she cannot see a thing even if she is standing right here," Alexander answers, and his voice sounds so cruel and harsh that I almost drop the smile off my face.

"Are you sure she won't suspect anything when she gets back later?" Elara asks again, her tone playful and mocking.

"Of course I am sure, she relies on me for everything, and she thinks the sun rises and sets on me," Alexander laughs, and the sound of his voice makes my stomach turn upside down.

"She really believes you love her," ELara says.

"She is useful, and her family money keeps my company afloat, but she is nothing compared to you," Alexander says, and then I hear the sound of them kissing in the bed we share every single night.

"Do you think she will ever get her sight back?" Elara asks, her voice dropping lower.

"The doctors said the damage was permanent years ago, so she is going to be in the dark forever," Alexander replies with a cold laugh.

"She will never know about us," Elara says, and they both laugh out loud in our room.

My hand reaches out and pushes the door open all the way.