Chapter 2

For the past three years, I told William that it was my fault for not placing the cup on the desk properly whenever he broke one.

I kept vigil by his bedside till dawn broke whenever he woke up in the middle of the night from pain, blocking the sun from stinging his eyes the next day.

It turned out that, from William's perspective, I was treating him like an invalid.

Nancy rose to her feet, dabbing the corner of her eyes.

"If you have to blame anyone, you can blame me for letting it slip, Julia," she said. "I can leave. I don't want the two of you to fight because of me."

She turned to leave, but her knees suddenly buckled.

William caught her before she could fall.

I slowly averted my gaze as I looked at his hands, asking, "How long have you been lying to me, William?"

He looked at me, his hands still holding Nancy.

It was only when she set down the cup that William spoke. "Six months ago."

Six months ago, William had told me that his eyes were in their worst condition yet. So, I had modified the prescriptions in "Balms for Blindness" and tested the medicines on myself.

There was once when the medicine's effects were too strong, forcing me to lean against the desk for half an hour.

When William sat on the couch and asked me why I had stopped reading, I simply told him that the light was too dim, causing me to misread some words.

"Why did you still ask me to read your official documents if you could already see six months ago?" I asked.

"The condition of my eyes wasn't stable," William answered.

"Why did you ask me to identify different medicinal herbs?"

"You're familiar with their properties."

"Why did you ask me to test the roads on snowy nights?"

"Do you have to be so calculating, Julia?" William asked with a frown.

"Will just regained his eyesight, Julia," Nancy said while looking at me. "He didn't know how to tell you. I can't just sit here and watch you interrogate him."

"You seemed to know him very well, Ms. Jennings."

I turned and made my way into the medicine room, flipping through the prescriptions that I had tried in the last six months.

There were two sets of handwriting on the papers—mine and the family doctor's. The medicines were meant to aid the recovery of restored eyesight.

I grabbed the papers as I left the room and placed them in front of William. "You told me that the condition of your eyes wasn't stable, but three months ago, the medicines were switched to ones that aid the recovery of restored eyesight."

William swept his gaze over the papers, pressing his knuckles against the corners.

Nancy pressed a hand to her chest and leaned back against the chair. "I'm having trouble breathing, Will…"

"Summon the family doctor," William said, rising to his feet.

I stood rooted to the spot and clutched the prescriptions.

The family doctor, Edward Bennett, arrived and checked Nancy's pulse. He then looked at the medicine box and said, "Ms. Jennings' body is quite weak. She can't just take any medicine. You're familiar with the properties of these herbs, Mrs. Yore. Could you identify the suitable ones for me?"

Nancy clutched William's sleeve and said, "I don't want to bother Julia. She's already annoyed with me today. I'm scared that she'll get even more upset if she has to prepare my medicine."

William shielded Nancy behind him.

I walked over to the medicine box and pointed at it, saying, "She can't take Greenscale. It can alleviate her heart condition, but it'll also hurt her eyes."

Edward was briefly stunned. "Ms. Jennings did mention that her vision has been blurry recently."

I looked at Nancy, who averted her gaze.

"You're not her doctor," William interjected. "Don't boss her around like how you boss me around."

I slowly placed the medicine box down as I looked at him.

I tested the medicines on myself for him and cleaned up the broken shards of his cups. I worked myself to the bone to restore his eyesight, but he hid his true condition from me for six months.

And now, he was telling me not to boss Nancy around like how I bossed him around.

I pulled out a scrap of paper from my pocket. It was a page from "Balms for Blindness" that recorded medicinal taboos.

I folded it neatly and said, "I won't read your official documents, identify medicinal herbs, test the roads, or support you from today on.

"That's enough, Julia," William hissed, grabbing my wrist. "You should know your limits even when you're throwing a tantrum."

I inhaled sharply. William was gripping my wrist so tightly that the skin was turning red.

Nancy curled up on the couch and said, "Don't get mad, Will. Julia just cares about you too much."

"Let go," I hissed.

William glared at me. He tightened his grip until he spotted an old burn scar on my wrist. His fingers briefly stiffened before he let go.

I hid my wrist in my sleeve.

William turned and walked to Nancy's side when she let out a low groan.

The wind blew the prescriptions off the desk and onto the floor.

William never halted his footsteps as he stepped on them.