Blind to Their Lies: The Girl They Underestimated

On my birthday, my boyfriend Ethan had arranged a grand fireworks display.

When everyone thought he was about to drop to one knee and propose, he simply handed me a bouquet of roses.

Smiling, he said, Zoe, I'm getting married in three days.

This is the last birthday I'll spend with you as your boyfriend.

I buried my face in the roses, a small smile tugging at my lips.

"So sudden? But I haven't prepared anything."

The whole room burst into laughter. Ethan laughed too and clarified:

"The bride isn't you. It's Maya."

"She's waited five years for me. I want to give her an answer."

In that instant, my heart seemed to stop.

I stared at him with hollow eyes and asked numbly, "Why?"

Maya was my best friend. Ethan was the boy I'd grown up with, my childhood sweetheart.

Until that moment, I never imagined either of them could betray me.

Ethan was quiet for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"Because I don't want people laughing at me for marrying someone who's blind."

"Maya is beautiful, and she can actually help my career."

"But you what do you have?"

My breath caught. My fingers locked around my shattered phone screen.

What he didn't know was this:

I was actually the long-lost daughter of the Sullivan family the wealthiest family in the city.

My biological parents were already on their way to bring me home.

The entire room fell silent.

Then the noise came back louder than before, and everyone was laughing.

"Oh my God, I can't she actually thought Ethan would marry her. She's blind!"

"The nerve. Even if she could see, she'd never be good enough for the Johnson family."

"Maybe she should look in a mirror oh wait, sorry, I forgot she can't."

Through the laughter, I clearly heard Ethan let out a quiet chuckle.

As if he found my delusion amusing.

My hands were shaking badly. I could feel all the blood in my body rushing to my head.

My fingers scrambled for my white cane so I could get out of there.

Maya grabbed my hand and stepped in front of me.

"Alright, alright Zoe didn't mean anything by it. Everyone stop laughing at her."

"Today is Zoe's birthday. Let's all have some cake together."

The moment she finished speaking, a cake the height of a person was wheeled out.

Maya gripped my wrist and pulled me toward it. The thick, sweet smell of buttercream hit me instantly.

I stepped back, uncomfortable, but Maya pressed firmly against my shoulders from behind, blocking me.

"Zoe, Ethan and I had this cake custom-made just for you. Do you like it?"

With someone pushing against my back, I gave a stiff smile.

"I used to. Not anymore."

I used to like it because Ethan liked it.

Now I didn't, because I didn't love him anymore.

But in everyone else's ears, it sounded like petty theatrics.

One of the girls standing beside Maya shoved me hard from behind, all while keeping a cheerful grin on her face.

"See? She loves it she can't wait to dig in."

Sweet, thick frosting covered my face and clothes. I cried out in shock.

My hands flew out wildly, grasping for anything to hold onto.

No one reached back. Everyone just crowded closer.

More and more people started throwing cake at me smearing it on my face, my clothes, even forcing it into my mouth.

"Come on, everyone help the birthday girl celebrate! She's practically crying, she's so touched!"

"Makes sense. She lives in that basement probably hasn't had anyone talk to her in weeks."

"Now she's got all of us here for her birthday. No wonder she's emotional."

Another wave of laughter. I was shaking with rage.

I wanted so badly to ask Ethan and Maya why they were doing this to me.

But the moment I opened my mouth, someone shoved in a handful of frosting.

Gagging, I fought through the crowd and stumbled toward the exit.

Laughter trailed after me as I went, everyone jeering at how pathetic I looked.

I finally found the door and shut all of it out behind me.

I sank down against the wall and let myself cry quietly.

Why? Why are they doing this to me?

Why were the people I trusted most the ones closest to me the ones who turned on me? Who humiliated me in front of everyone?

My chest ached like something inside it had collapsed. But worse than the pain was the shame the kind that comes from being mocked when you're already broken.

I was still falling apart when I heard two servers gossiping nearby.

"Did you see that girl from room 403? God, I feel awful for her."

"The blind one? I heard she's been throwing herself at Mr. Johnson for months. She guilted him into putting on a whole fireworks show, and his actual girlfriend had to just stand there and watch. I mean, what did she expect? Someone had to put her in her place."

"Apparently they used to be friends too. She looks so sweet and harmless. You really never know people."

"Probably figures that since she's blind, she can't do better so she latches on to whoever's nearby."

The words cut right through the wall and straight into me.

My whole body went cold.

My heart beat in my hollow chest slow, dull, and aching.

So that's how it is.

Maya had sabotaged me to clear the way to becoming Ethan's wife.

But what about Ethan? What was his reason?

I had given him everything. I had even lost my sight trying to protect him.

So what was it why did he hate me this much?

By the time I got back to the basement apartment, it was late at night.

The air was thick with the smell of mildew and something worse. It turned my stomach.

I had lived like this for seven years. I told myself I could keep enduring it.

But now, all I wanted was to escape.

My fingers traced over the calendar again and again.

Two more days. Mom and Dad were coming to take me home.

The weight in my chest lifted a little.

I peeled off my ruined clothes, managed to change into something clean, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, the sound of a key turning in the lock jolted me awake.

I looked instinctively toward the door.

The sharp click of heels on the floor told me who it was before she said a word. Maya.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dropping off an invitation. Tomorrow's my engagement party with Ethan, after all."

She pressed the envelope into my hands with a smug little smile.

"Zoe, you and Ethan used to show off your relationship in front of me every single day and look how it ended. I still took him from you."

"You know he's already bought me over a dozen properties? Meanwhile he wouldn't even let you move out of this tiny basement."

"And those cakes he used to buy you? Discount stuff from the clearance rack. The gift he gave me was a ruby worth millions."

"That job you worked so hard to get? He had someone destroy it on purpose. Just to keep you trapped here."

"Surprised? How does it feel, being betrayed by the person you loved? Does it hurt?"

The blood drained from my body. I couldn't even cry.

My eyes stayed fixed on the direction of her voice.

"Why?"

"What did I ever do to either of you?"

I'd been asking myself that all night and still couldn't figure it out.

Maya just laughed.

There was nothing but contempt in her eyes.

"Zoe, do you remember? Back in college, I was dating an older guy. Everyone was telling me to break up with him everyone except you."

"I ran away with him. Do you have any idea what he put me through?"

"He tried to use me to get to his boss. If Ethan hadn't pulled me out of that situation, I would have been destroyed."

"Zoe, you never actually cared about me. You just couldn't stand to see me happy."

My fingers clenched tight. I stared at her.

She wasn't wrong that I hadn't said anything. But it wasn't because I wanted her to suffer.

It was because she had blocked and cut off every friend who tried to talk her out of it. If I pushed too hard and she shut me out too, who would she call when things went wrong?

From campus to the city where she'd gone nearly three hundred miles. A bus ticket ran about forty dollars each way. I kept three hundred dollars set aside. Enough for multiple trips.

All so that if she ever called me in crisis, I could go.

Bitterness spread through me slowly. After a long silence, I finally spoke.

My voice came out rough.

"So that's your reason for betraying me."

"And Ethan? What's his?"

A quiet laugh came from the corner of the room.

I turned toward the sound.

Ethan walked toward me. His cold fingers caught my chin and tilted it up.

"Zoe, want me to remind you what you told the police seven years ago?"

I froze. My mind went back.

Back then, his parents had wanted his kidney to save the family's adopted heir the fake son they'd been grooming as their own.

I had fought to protect him. I went to the police and forced the situation into the open.

In the process, I was struck from behind. I spent seven days in the ICU.

I survived. But I never saw again.

"You told the police my family was trying to hurt me and force me to donate my kidney."

"But the truth, Zoe my parents never wanted that. If they hadn't brought me home later and told me what really happened"

"I might have believed your lie for the rest of my life."

His voice rose with every word. The grip on my jaw tightened.

"It's your fault."

"If it weren't for you, I never would have had to leave home. I wouldn't have spent those extra years struggling."

It felt like something had torn open in the center of my chest. A cold draft poured through. I could barely breathe.

Maya pulled Ethan back and leaned close to my ear, her voice almost gentle.

"Zoe, I'll be honest with you. By the third day after you lost your sight, Ethan and I were already together."

"We got an apartment. Every time he said he was working late, or on a business trip, or picking up extra shifts he was with me."

"We've already met each other's families. And I'm carrying his child."

"The only one rotting away here has always been you."

Each word landed like a blade, driving in one at a time.

Despair spread from my chest out to my fingertips.

I let out a raw scream. I shoved Maya away like something had snapped inside me.

I grabbed whatever was closest and threw it at the two of them.

In the dark, something hit Maya and she cried out.

"Ethan it hurts. My stomach"

Then a hand came out of nowhere and cracked hard across my face.

Ethan shoved me to the ground. The back of my head hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Warm blood began to seep from the back of my skull.

The whole world seemed to press pause.

Silence.

I don't know how long I was out.

When I came to, I was in a hospital. An IV was in my hand.

The doctor handed me a freshly printed CT scan, visibly shaken.

"You're lucky they brought you in when they did. Another fifteen minutes and you wouldn't have made it."

"But there may be a silver lining here. The blood clot that's been pressing on your optic nerve it's gone. Your sight should come back soon."

It was the first good news I'd had in longer than I could remember. My hands trembled.

I was about to thank the doctor when Ethan came storming through the door, fury on his face.

"Zoe, did you post that online?"

He slammed his phone against my face. My cheek stung immediately.

I pressed my hand to my face and kept my voice flat.

"Ethan, I'm blind or did you forget? How exactly would I be posting anything?"

He paused for a split second, but held his ground.

"The angle in those photos it could only be you."

"You've always been clever, Zoe. Don't tell me you couldn't find someone to help you."

I nearly laughed. I picked up his phone and looked.

My vision was still mostly white fog, but I could just barely make out a few blurred words.

Affair. Mistress. Best friend.

I didn't need to read the rest.

I tossed the phone back to him. My voice went cold.

"It wasn't me. If you've got nothing to hide, why does it matter?"

Ethan's expression flickered, but he softened his tone.

"In that case, come to the engagement party tomorrow. Set the record straight on our behalf, in front of everyone."

"Zoe, after everything you've put us through, this is your one chance to make things right."

"If you don't show up, I'm cutting off your monthly allowance. For good."

"Without me, who's going to take care of you?"

I closed my eyes. I lifted one hand and pointed at the door.

"Get out."

The next morning, a black sedan pulled up at the hospital entrance.

Several bodyguards dragged me out of bed and pinned me between them.

"Ms. Zoe, Mr. Johnson has asked us to bring you to the engagement party. If you'll come with us."

It was phrased as a request, but their grip left no room for escape.

When I was pushed through the entrance of the venue, the Johnson family was in the middle of a press interview.

The moment Ethan saw me step out of the car, he rushed over and took my arm, dropping his voice.

"Zoe, after everything we've been through you'll help me, right?"

"I know you're upset. Once the press conference is over, I'll make it up to you privately."

Before I could answer, he steered me in front of the reporters.

A wall of camera flashes went off all at once. The room went quiet.

Everyone was waiting for me to speak.

I opened my mouth and said four words.

"It's all a lie."

The room erupted. The reporters swarmed like they'd smelled blood.

"Ms. Zoe, what exactly is a lie?"

"Is it true that Ms. Maya interfered in your relationship with Mr. Johnson?"

"What happened to your eyes?"

Questions came at me from every direction.

Through the crowd, I caught Ethan's face going pale with fury as he pushed toward me.

Bodyguards carved a path through the press.

In full view of every camera, Ethan's hand cracked across my face.

"Enough. How long are you going to keep this up?"

The room went dead silent.

Ethan's mother stepped forward with a carefully composed expression, already spinning the story.

"Zoe, Ethan has been quietly supporting you for years. Is this how you repay him?"

"Everyone after Ethan came back to the family, I insisted he end things with Zoe. For years, she has been the one pursuing my son. The Johnson family has never approved of this match."

Ethan's father stepped up beside her, holding up footage from a security camera.

"When Zoe was injured in our home years ago, I was at a board meeting. My entire staff can verify that. The claim that I assaulted her and caused her blindness is completely unfounded."

Maya turned to me with tears running down her face.

"Zoe, you're my best friend. Ethan and I didn't get together until two years after you two broke up. How can you say these things about me?"

They were burying me under an avalanche of lies.

Every word was another nail pinning me in place.

And then, in the middle of it all my vision came back.

Not blurry. Not foggy. Clear.

I could see every face in the room.

Contempt. Dismissal. Indifference. Scorn.

I looked straight at Ethan through the noise of it all.

"You think everything they just said is true. Don't you."

He didn't answer. He just looked at me.

His voice was tired.

"Zoe, just let it go."

Just let it go.

Four words. And in them, everything.

Every last scrap of hope I had left gone.

I looked out at all those cold, hostile faces staring back at me.

And I laughed.

"Ha hahaha!"

His mother's brow furrowed.

"What is so funny?"

I stopped laughing. My gaze moved slowly and steadily over everyone in the room.

"I'm laughing at all of you. How naive."

I said, "You really think burying me in lies is enough to keep your hands clean?"

"You think destroying the evidence means you can rewrite the truth?"

"Fine. You want to destroy me? Then let everyone see exactly who you are."

I raised the shattered phone in my hand.

I turned the volume all the way up.

The recording played out clearly enough for every person in that room to hear.