Chapter 10
The sound of a loud thud echoed through the otherwise quiet hall.
Tessa winced in pain and instinctively crouched down, rubbing her calf where she had bumped into the trash can.
She didn’t hear anything from behind her. So, she figured that Zachary had likely already left. She fumbled for the elevator button. Once the doors opened, she stepped inside.
What Tessa didn’t know was that Zachary had been watching everything unfold outside the building. When he saw her crash into
the large trash can, his expression instantly darkened.
After she got into the elevator, he immediately pulled out his phone and made a call. “Find out if something’s wrong with Tessa’s
eyes.”
After all, anyone with normal eyesight would have seen the bin and avoided it.
Tessa remained oblivious to it all. Back home, she quickly popped another pill. Only then did the sharp pain in her eyes slowly
begin to ease.
She changed out of her wet dress, took a quick shower, and threw on a fresh set of pajamas before collapsing onto her bed.
She had been hoping to find a moment to talk to Elyse at the banquet, but the opportunity never came. So, she decided to visit her
the next day.
Elyse had been staying at the hospital lately because Callum had been suffering from a rare disease and had been in the hospital
for nearly two years.
Tessa arrived at the hospital, asked around to determine which ward Elyse was in, and headed there. But when she saw the scene.
inside the ward, she froze.
She had assumed that Elyse was in the ICU caring for Callum, but instead, the bed was occupied by a middle–aged man, who was hooked up to tubes and wearing an oxygen mask.
Elyse was there, gently wiping his hands. From her demeanor, it was clear that this man was her husband, Aaron Moore.
At that moment, Tessa began to understand why they had suddenly backed out and accepted Ethan’s money. She hesitated, unsure whether to speak up, but Elyse had already spotted her.
“Who are you looking for?”
Since she was already there, Tessa decided to make an effort. If it was just about money, she could offer them that.
“Hello, I’m Tessa Langford. I was supposed to be the recipient of your child’s cornea donation.”
Elyse’s eyes flickered with guilt when she heard Tessa introduce herself. She set the cloth aside, stood up, and looked at Tessa warily. “What do you want?”
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“Don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Noticing the tension in Elyse’s posture, Tessa spoke gently to reassure her. “I just wanted to ask why you changed your mind about the donation. Maybe there’s still a chance for me to fight for it.”
“There’s no need to ask. We simply don’t want to donate anymore. Please leave.” Elyse tried to brush her off.
Tessa noticed the clear red marks on her face. They were remnants of the slap Charlotte had given her the night before. She reached out and grabbed Elyse’s wrist. “Do you know who your child’s corneas are going to?”
“Whoever it’s going to doesn’t matter. Just leave, or I’ll call someone.”
Tessa held her gaze firmly. “Does it really not matter, even if the person you’re giving them to has abused and humiliated you?”
Elyse froze mid–motion, her eyes wide as she stared at Tessa. “What did you say?”
Aaron, too, became agitated. “What are you talking about? Who has abused my wife? You had better explain yourself.”
Seeing his violent movements, Elyse rushed to calm him down. “Don’t move! The doctor said that you can’t do that right now. No one has abused me. Don’t panic.”
She tried to hold him down, but he was too agitated. She feared that his movements might make his condition worse, jeopardizing his surgery. She desperately turned to Tessa.
“Please, just go. My child is already dying. I can’t lose my husband too! We’re sorry for what’s happened. Please don’t come back here.”
Tessa hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. She felt a pang of guilt and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t want your child’s eyes to go to someone who’s so malicious and manipulative.
“I was at the banquet last night. I wanted to talk to you but saw you being mistreated instead. The person who mistreated you is the person who’s about to receive your child’s corneas.”
Elyse was stunned. “W–What did you say?”
Last night, Elyse had been just a waitress, too afraid to offend the wealthy guests at the banquet. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t have any dignity. She couldn’t just let herself be humiliated without feeling anything
She resented that woman.
That woman had been the one who bumped into her, yet she turned everything around and blamed her. And on top of that, that woman had humiliated her.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the doctor. The woman’s name is Charlotte Simmons. The person who intercepted the cornea donation for her is Ethan Ziegler, my husband.”
Tessa closed her eyes, unconcerned that she had revealed her deepest wound to them. She didn’t embellish anything. She simply spoke the truth.
Part of her spoke out of selfishness After all, she didn’t have much time to wait for her own bilateral cornea transplant.
But she also couldn’t stand the thought of a mother handing over her precious child’s corneas to someone so cruel.
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It might have been different if Elyse had been driven solely by greed. But Tessa saw that Elyse wasn’t like that. The latter had simply been overwhelmed by life’s pressures, and this was the only choice left to her.
After Elyse and Aaron heard Tessa’s words, their faces darkened.
Aaron hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, “Honey, we can’t give Callum’s corneas to someone like that. Return the money to them. We’re not donating them anymore.”
Elyse’s eyes welled up with tears, and her voice cracked. “But what about you? You won’t survive without the surgery!”
“I’ll cover your surgery costs,”
Tessa offered.
Elyse’s composure broke. “It’s not just the surgery. Mr. Ziegler said that the doctor operating on Aaron is a leading expert in his condition. This doctor is hard to get, and only Mr. Ziegler could bring him in. Only this doctor’s team can save Aaron’s life!”
They had no other choice. Aaron shed tears of pain and helplessness.
Tessa opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. She had imagined many possible outcomes when she came here. She thought that she could have worked something out if it was just about money or some other interest. But now, with a life at stake, Tessa couldn’t selfishly ask them to sacrifice for her, nor could she demand that they refuse Ethan’s money to preserve Callum’s corneas.
After all, the living mattered most.
Tessa sighed deeply. She realized that she would never get the corneas back.
