Chapter 232

Hannah dragged her palm across her cheeks,scrubbing at the wetness with a harshness that reflected her fury. She avoided glancing at Vincent,locking her attention on the constellation-filled darkness beyond the glass, while her knuckles curled inward unconsciously.

A burning irritation boiled beneath Hannah's ribs,pressing harder than her lack of vision had ever done. Vincent's self-righteous interference and vice-like grip over her condition chilled her deeper than anything before.

Vincent's reply came level, each syllable slow. "There was no other donor when I signed that consent form."

He laid out his reasoning to Hannah with stiff clarity,driven by pragmatism rather than impulse. With Hannah pleading for release, offering his own sight was the fastest resolution.

Vincent advanced slightly, halting mere inches from her, his gaze tracing her outline. "Anyway, you've regained your vision now. That's what matters."

Hannah sliced through the tension with her tone like frost. "That's what matters? Yeah, I bet it does for you. Your signature on the consent form, your grand act,your way of fixing things. From beginning to end,this has always been you, Vincent, steering everything."

She leveled her stare directly at him, enunciating each word deliberately. "Were you the one who blinded me? No-I jumped in to shield you from harm,and I accept the consequences. Did I ask you to donate your retina to me? I never have, and I never will."

Hannah inhaled slowly, subduing the storm inside into an eerie composure. "If I hadn't regained my sight, and we'd gone through with the surgery, I'd be buried under the shadow of your grand sacrifice, bound to your side because of it. Was that your aim?"

Vincent caught the crux of her statement."Hannah,I never expected something like that from you." His tone dropped, weighted with something dense."But l made my choice. Hate me or resent me,whatever.I only did what I thought was right. That consent form?It's just a piece of trash now. You've got your sight back, I don't need to donate my retina, and that's the end of it."

Vincent fixed his eyes on hers, his voice bearing unshakable force.

Silence grew between them like thick fog.

Then, Hannah shattered it without warning."I once thought you've changed."

Hannah's mind flashed to that day at the cemetery,when they'd both let their guards down, and she'd started to see Vincent in a new light.

In her early blindness, his dominance had grated on

her, but she couldn't ignore the quiet ways he'd been there for her.

She remembered waking ravenous in the early light one day, and Vincent had quietly whipped her a bowl of oatmeal.

She recalled those chaotic ten minutes during her period, how he'd left, only to return holding a drink to ease the ache.

And when she woke up from the nightmare one night, unable to fall back asleep, leaving her sitting dazed on her bed, he'd come to her doorway and asked in a gentle voice, "Anything else bothering you besides your loss of sight? Talk to me."

Every moment of care from Vincent was scorched into Hannah's thoughts. Piece by piece, she'd dropped her guard, convinced he was changing bit by bit. That was the reason she'd come back to the villa. She'd hoped their next meeting could be civil,maybe even kind. But what faced her now? She couldn't stomach it. The magnitude of the sacrifice was too much for her to accept. "I was so naive," Hannah muttered, her laugh dry and sharp. "I honestly believed you'd begun to consider what others feel, even just a fraction."

Vincent's chest tightened sharply, her comment hitting like a blow.

Her glare turned frigid. "I'm human, Vincent. I get to chart my journey. Even if that road means staying in the dark or clinging to the tiniest thread, I'd still walk it proudly. But you? You handled me like I was some object on your board. You never respected me."

Her voice trembled slightly before she took a deep breath, holding her tears back.

Vincent, for once, had no reply. He managed, "1didn't view you as some object."

To Hannah, his words felt hollow. She didn't meet his eyes, fatigue overtaking her limbs. "That oatmeal you served? It tasted terrible. But believing you'd changed, only to face this? That's what truly turns my stomach." Vincent felt a paralyzing pressure tighten around him, alien and unbearable. His usual logic,calculated decisions, and outcome-driven mindset collapsed under the realization of the damage he'd done.

Stillness settled thickly in the room.

Vincent's jaw clenched, struggling to keep himself composed. "You've just recovered your vision. Don't get worked up. I'll get a physician."

Vincent attempted to divert the moment, his instinct to command still there, though concern laced every word.

Hannah moved to exit, but Vincent's arm intercepted hers, firm and immovable. "You're not stepping out until we confirm you're stable!"

Hannah's eyes stung, too drained to argue on this.Once the doctor gave her the all-clear, she slipped out while Vincent was distracted.

Upon noting her departure, Vincent's eyes darkened as he turned to his guards. "Don't let her out of