“I’m not confident, to begin with. Christopher’s family is just too good for me,” I said bitterly, “I’ve thought about it a lot of times. I wouldn’t mind if he were an ordinary man from an ordinary family. I don’t need a fancy house or bottomless cash. All I want is a man who I can come home to every day after work and spend my life with.”
“No one gets to choose the family they are born into, so there’s no use thinking about it. You’re not bad yourself. You’re a Tanner.” Sabrina nudged me in the arm.
“Yeah, I wonder who said I was the worst among all the children in wealthy families. I didn’t even have the money to buy clothes for myself. You had to pay for everything for me.”
“I don’t care about the past. What matters is that you’re with Christopher now. The picture is already out there on display at the art exhibition. Both of you have just undertaken another important milestone in life when y’all got married, so don’t you even dare think about quitting. I’ll be the first to give you a good lecture before Christopher does.”
I sigh, thinking about the drawing. “I don’t think I can do that anymore. I can’t see a thing now.”
“Can you please stop being so pessimistic, Yvonne Tanner? You’re driving me nuts! I would’ve left you all on your own so you could wallow in your tears if not for Zach.” I felt like she was on the verge of beating me to a pulp, but she held her anger in seeing me in dire straits. I had a bandage on my hand, after all, and I probably looked weak and frail.
I burst out laughing, imagining the expression on her face.
“You’re so cute, Sabby. You’re even more agitated than I am.”
“Of course I am!” she cried out.
I cleared my throat and held my head high. “You should stop having unrealistic expectations about Christopher. He won’t fall for you. Don’t you even go near him. I’ll get together with Zach and get pregnant with his baby if you do.”
“Like you’ll really do that.”
Both of us laughed out loud as we bantered.
Sabrina’s visit lightened my mood. I had been caught in limbo after I lost my sight, but I felt much better with her around.
“Don’t worry, Zach only has eyes for you. He’s not my type. I prefer someone passionate and dominant,” I teased.
“It seems like you know yourself well. Don’t worry; you might get to see someone like that in a few days’ time. It’s just a matter of time before you regain your sight. There’s nothing to be afraid about. You’re not even afraid of death.”
What Sabrina said was true. There was nothing that unnerved me—not even death.
It turned out that no man was an island. We all needed someone to support and listen to us at some point in our lives. With Sabrina keeping me company, I felt better. I did not even refrain from going over to see Christopher when his parents were around. I even held his hand and talked to him when they were around.
The doctor informed us that Christopher was recovering quickly and that he would be awake latest by tomorrow morning. I was exhilarated when I found out about it and told Julia I would come again the next morning.
I overheard her talking to Darius when I was out in the corridor. She told him I was a good woman. If it were not for my reputation and my divorce, she would have fully supported Christopher and my marriage.
After taking some medication in the afternoon, I felt dizzy and uncomfortable. I figured I might have stayed indoors for too long, so I went to the garden to get some fresh air.
When Darius saw me in the garden, he came over to talk to me, but I felt my head was spinning around and could not hear a word he said. I soon blacked out as he was still talking.
“There’s something wrong with her brain nerves. I suspect that she was infected by a virus on the island. She will consistently lose a lot of blood and may even develop brain cancer. There’s no cure for it.”
I could vaguely hear someone speaking as I tried to shake myself back to reality. Are they talking about me? Am I dying?
