Chapter 1

1: 1

My best friend was blinded in a car accident, and her boyfriend died in a fire. When she came to, she tried to follow him in death three times.

The last time, after they'd barely pulled her back, her parents knelt down in the hospital room and clutched at the hem of my pants, begging:

"Nora Fox, she's the only child we have. If something happens to her, the two of us won't be able to go on living either."

"Tim Harding's about the same height and build as Bob Henson. We're begging you, please, until Renata Swanson recovers, just tell her Bob is still alive and let Tim stay with her."

I looked at Renata, still unconscious on the bed, gritted my teeth, and nodded.

From that moment on, my boyfriend became my best friend's boyfriend.

To make it easier to look after Renata, I moved in with them and resigned myself to playing the nanny.

Until six months later, when I came home early from a business trip and stood outside the door, listening to them talk.

Renata's mother asked:

"Renata's eyes have been fine for three months now. She's home all day binge-watching shows and shopping online. If we drag this out any longer she'll be found out sooner or later. If I'd known, we should have used some other method."

Renata's father sighed:

"If she hadn't insisted on breaking up with Bob back then and made a scene in the middle of the road, would any of this have happened? That Bob was out of his mind too, crawling straight under a truck. At least he didn't drag Renata down with him."

I froze on the spot.

Realizing that my boyfriend and I had both been deceived, I immediately pulled out my phone to call Tim.

But the next second, Tim's voice came from inside:

"Don't worry, Uncle Alvin Swanson, ma'am. I'll take care of the rest. I'll figure out how to handle Nora. Renata has suffered so much for me. I'll never let her down."

1

I stood outside the door with my hands full of gifts, my fingertips going white.

I looked down. In my right hand were the imported eye-care supplements I'd brought for Renata.

In my left were local specialties I'd picked up out of town for Uncle Alvin and Renata's mother.

And the limited-edition watch for Tim, the one I'd waited half a month to get.

Now every one of them was a joke, burning until my palms ached.

Renata's mother's voice came from inside:

"You were the one Renata had her heart set on all along. She broke up with Bob because of you. You really can't let her down. You two are finally together after all this trouble. You can't give up halfway."

The blood in me went cold, bit by bit.

I took a deep breath and reached up to ring the doorbell.

The talking inside cut off at once.

A few seconds later, the door was pulled open.

Renata's mother saw it was me, went blank for a moment, then forced out a stiff smile:

"Nora? You're back. Perfect timing. The two of us have something to deal with at home, we were just about to leave."

She didn't even dare meet my eyes. She turned, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.

Renata's father followed close behind.

They both moved fast, as if afraid that one extra second would give them away.

I carried my things inside, pretending nothing had happened.

On the couch, Renata was tucked into Tim's arms as usual.

She had an orange segment in her hand, about to lift it to his mouth.

Hearing the sound at the door, her hand jerked and the orange dropped to the floor.

She shrank back into Tim's arms, frightened:

"Bob, who came in?"

Tim wrapped his arms around her at once and looked up at me, his brows drawn tight:

"You come back early without a word, and don't make a sound coming in? Aren't you afraid you'll scare Renata?"

Renata groped for his arm and gripped it, fingertips trembling, the picture of someone startled.

"The project wrapped up early, so I came home."

I set the gifts down on the table and let my eyes sweep over Tim.

He was wearing the loungewear I'd bought him. There was a pale pink lipstick mark on the collar.

Something in my eyes dimmed.

"Thank you for all the trouble. You even went out of your way to bring things back."

"Eye-care supplements? I hear they're good for the eyes, and they're not cheap. I'll thank you on Renata's behalf."

Hearing that it was my voice, Renata settled down.

She reached out, feeling around for the eye-care supplements on the coffee table.

But her fingertips skimmed neatly past the glass and closed steadily around the bottle.

"Is this for me? Thank you, Nora, you're so good to me."

She smiled, all innocence.

Tim frowned at me:

"You just got back. If you're tired, go rest in your room first. I've got Renata covered."

This was the newlywed home the two of us had spent half a year choosing.

But his tone made it sound like I was the outsider who didn't belong.

I said nothing more and turned to go back to the guest room.

At night I got up for water and passed Renata's room.

The door wasn't shut all the way, and their conversation came through, every word driving into my ears.

"Tim, I feel so awful. Nora and I have been like sisters for ten years, and I went and fell in love with her boyfriend. I even faked being blind and clung to your home, using such a low trick to take you from her..."

"Am I a really terrible person?"