Chapter 9 Darkness and Light

"You worthless slut! Bringing nothing but shame!" Martha screamed.

"Barely divorced and already rushing to be a whore in places like that? You've humiliated the entire Lynn family! How could you be so cheap? You reject Aiden and run off to service those old men? Can't you be useful for once in your life!"

The venomous words rained down like hailstones.

Keira covered her stinging cheek, tears silently streaming down her face.

Even in this state, Martha wouldn't leave her alone?

Sean abruptly stood up, blocking Martha, who was about to strike again, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"Get out. You're not welcome here!"

Martha was momentarily startled by his intensity, but continued her tirade.

"Who the hell are you? I'm disciplining my daughter—what's it to you? She deserves this!"

Sean barely contained his fury, pointing at the door, his voice ice-cold. "I said, get out!"

Martha was instantly cowed by Sean's frigid demeanor.

But her greedy nature remained unchanged. Her eyes darted around calculatingly.

She switched to a pitiful, begging manner, trying to pull at Keira on the bed.

"Keria, I had no choice! We're out of money, and those debt collectors come knocking every day. Come back with me. Brandon said if you just apologize to him and spend a few days with him, he'll forget about the compensation and even give our family another business opportunity."

Keira heard these words and felt her heart turn to ice, her body beginning to tremble as she instinctively retreated further into the blankets.

Sean was completely enraged.

He stepped forward, roughly pushing Martha's hand away, his gaze piercing.

"She's not going anywhere with you."

"Who do you think you are to interfere in our family business? She's my daughter!" Martha sputtered, trying to maintain a threatening tone.

"Because she needs medical treatment, and you're pushing her toward death!" Sean's voice barely contained the storm within.

He pulled out a checkbook from his inner suit pocket, quickly wrote an amount, tore it out, and practically threw it in Martha's face.

"This money should keep your Lynn family afloat for a while. Take it and leave immediately. Don't ever come harass her again! Otherwise, I guarantee the Lynn family will have no place left in this city!"

Martha saw the amount on the check, her eyes instantly lighting up with greed as she snatched it.

The harshness on her face immediately transformed into fawning.

"Mr. O'Neill, you're so generous! You should have said so earlier. Our Keira is truly fortunate to meet a benefactor like you. Take good care of her then. I'm leaving right now."

Terrified that Sean might change his mind, Martha clutched the check tightly and hurried away without a backward glance.

The ward finally fell into complete silence.

Sean looked at Keira, curled up in a ball, silently weeping, and his heart filled with compassion.

He gently tucked the blanket around her and said softly, "Don't be afraid. No one will force you to do anything ever again."

"Thank you, Mr. O'Neill. I truly don't know how to repay you," Keira whispered gratefully, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

Sean smiled gently. "By living. That's all I need—for you to live."

However, Keira's condition didn't improve despite this momentary peace.

The pain in her eyes intensified, and the shadows in her vision grew increasingly dim.

Several days later, when she woke from a deep sleep one morning and habitually opened her eyes, she discovered a complete, endless darkness before her.

No light. No shapes. Nothing.

She frantically waved her hand in front of her face, but couldn't see anything.

A broken whimper escaped her throat.

Despite having mentally prepared herself for this possibility, when darkness truly descended, the overwhelming fear instantly consumed her.

She was blind.

Sean noticed her distress immediately.

Those once clear eyes now stared vacantly at the ceiling, without any focus.

"Keira?" he called softly, his heart sinking.

Keira slowly turned her head toward his voice, tears silently streaming from her sightless eyes.

"Mr. O'Neill, my eyes!"

Sean felt as if his heart had been violently wrenched. He immediately pressed the call button for the doctor.

The examination results were devastating.

Severe damage to the optic nerve had reached a critical point. Blindness was the expected outcome.

The most important concern now was preventing a further increase in intracranial pressure that could endanger her life.

A series of interventional treatments needed to be implemented immediately.

Sean arranged everything without hesitation, transferring Keira to the best ward and bringing in top specialists.

He stayed by her side, patiently describing her surroundings, telling her about the weather outside the window, helping her drink water, and eat.

But Keira's spirit visibly deteriorated with each passing day.

Blindness had become the final straw that broke her.

She lost her last shred of hope for the future, becoming silent and withdrawn, like a soulless puppet.

She appreciated Sean's warmth and protection.

But she felt undeserving of any goodness, seeing herself as nothing but a burden.

Just when she had fallen into complete despair, even beginning to refuse food, a routine full-body examination brought shocking news.

"Ms. Lynn, you're pregnant. Based on the gestational age, it's about four weeks along."

The word exploded like thunder in her dark world.

Was it from that night at the Coleman house, after he had forced himself on her?

Aiden's child?

In an instant, her emotions became impossibly complex.

Shock. Confusion. Fear.

And a faint, barely perceptible flutter that shattered her chaotic thoughts.

This child had come at the worst possible time.

When she was completely blind, her life hanging by a thread, with no hope for the future.

What was she supposed to do?

Meanwhile, at the Coleman Group headquarters, in the CEO's office.

Aiden irritably loosened his tie.

His mind kept flashing to Keira's pathetic image vomiting at the club, and the scene of Sean carrying her away.

He stood up and paced around his office.

Suddenly, he remembered that during their divorce, she hadn't returned the sapphire bracelet his grandmother had left him.

He found Keira's number and dialed it once, twice... No one answered.

An inexplicable irritation and anger rose within him again.

Not answering? Was she with Sean and too busy to pick up?

Had she so eagerly thrown herself into Sean's arms?

He snorted coldly, grabbed his car keys, and decided to go to the Lynn house himself to demand answers.

At the Lynn residence, only Zoey was home.

She warmly welcomed Aiden, and after hearing why he had come, a strange expression crossed her face.

"Aiden, don't be angry. Keira probably just forgot. She's so... well, you know. She barely gets divorced and starts getting so close to Sean. She probably didn't think about these things."

As she spoke, Zoey's phone screen lit up.

She casually picked it up, opened a photo sent by a friend, and gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. "Aiden!"

Aiden snatched the phone from her hand.

On the screen was an image of Sean carefully carrying Keira from the emergency room to the inpatient building.

Keira's face was nestled against his chest, looking utterly dependent and intimate.

Aiden's gaze instantly hardened, his expression darkening to near murderous.

Faking illness. She must be faking it!

To gain Sean's sympathy and affection!

Maintaining an outward calm, he told Zoey, "Since she's not here, I'll leave for now."

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Keira gently placed her hand on her still-flat abdomen.

Sensing the completely unexpected little life growing there.

In the midst of overwhelming darkness and despair, this sudden connection left her confused and uncertain.

Aiden despised her, while she herself was struggling—blind, with her life hanging in the balance.

This child—what should she do?

Her phone suddenly rang.

The harsh ringtone seemed particularly jarring in the quiet ward.