He's Blind, I'm His Fake Fiancée for a Year

Chapter 3

Lucas.

I froze. My fingers curled into my palm as I forced myself to turn around. He stood at the top of the stairs, his expression expectant, completely unaware of what was happening.

My throat tightened. "Later."

"Then I'll wait for you." He smiled, like he always did, like he always would, if only he knew.

For a second, I wanted to stay, wanted to drink in the way he looked at me, but I knew better.

I gritted my teeth, steeled my heart, and walked out the door.

I dragged my suitcase back to my old apartment, a cramped, dingy place that smelled faintly of damp walls and stale air. But for the first time in a year, I could finally breathe.

No more playing pretend. No more walking on eggshells.

After my brother's surgery, I took him abroad, just as planned. That was part of the deal, when Emma returned, I had to disappear.

Before I left, I saw Lucas on the news.

He was standing under the bright lights of a charity gala, dressed in a tailored suit, his sight fully restored. And beside him, Emma, elegant, poised, the perfect match.

They belonged to the same world, just like they always had.

The image dragged me back to high school, to the New Year's party where they stood side by side on stage, looking like a real-life fairy tale.

I had been a year below them, but I'd known about Lucas for a long time.

Every girl did.

He was the golden boy, handsome, brilliant, effortlessly kind.

I didn't fall for him because of his looks or his reputation.

It was something small.

There used to be beggars near our school. Most students ignored them, some recoiled in disgust.

But not Lucas.

He would always stop. Always offer them food with quiet, unassuming kindness.

Back then, my family was still whole, and I could afford to admire him from a distance.

But life had other plans.

My father gambled away everything we had and, in the end, took the easy way out.

I was forced to transfer schools, juggling part-time jobs just to survive.

And now, standing in my tiny apartment with nothing but the echo of his voice in my head, I realized,

I had spent a year living in his world.

But I was never meant to stay.