Chapter 1The Walking Spare Parts Refuses to Be Blinded

My fiancée’s first love went blind.

Without even asking, she announced to everyone that I would donate my corneas to him, and she had already scheduled the surgery.

Everyone in the room looked at me with mocking smirks, except for my mother, who was crying so hard she nearly passed out.

I held my mother up, my heart turning ice-cold.

Five years ago, I gave a kidney to her first love, thinking my sacrifice would finally earn her genuine affection.

I never imagined she only saw me as a walking spare parts inventory for him.

Taking a deep breath, I said in a low, firm voice, "I refuse."

Furious, she snapped, "Ethan, if you don't do this, you'll lose me forever! Could you even survive without me?"

I offered a numb smile, turned around, and walked away.

I was no longer the man who couldn't live without her.

The hospital room was packed with people.

Everyone wore smirks as they stared at me.

At that moment, Chloe was anxiously shouting, "Doctor, I need the surgery scheduled as soon as possible! I can't bear to let him suffer through the darkness, not even for another single day."

She finished speaking and looked at her first love, Brandon, her eyes brimming with worry.

The doctor paused, looking at me with hesitation. "Are you certain your fiancé is voluntarily donating his corneas?"

My entire body trembled. I looked at Chloe, a silent plea in my eyes.

Brandon was afraid of the dark.

Did she think I wasn't?

I wished so desperately that she would notice my anguish and regret the horrific words she had just uttered.

Yet she merely frowned at me, her gaze bitterly cold.

"Of course I'm certain! Just get the surgery scheduled right now!"

My head spun, as though a massive boulder had crushed down on me. Pain radiated through every bone in my body.

Meanwhile, the corner of Brandon’s mouth curved into a faint smirk—the triumphant grin of a victor stepping on my neck.

"Son, you can't! Mom doesn't want to see you go blind!" My mother clutched my arm, her eyes bloodshot as she pleaded desperately.

Seeing her state, someone in the crowd snickered.

"Ma'am, don't waste your breath. Everyone knows your son is Chloe’s absolute lapdog. Whatever Chloe says goes. Even if you dropped to your knees, it wouldn't change a thing. Save your energy."

"Seriously. Five years ago, just to win Chloe over, he gave Brandon a kidney. That was the only way a loser like him ever stood a chance with her."

"If Brandon hadn't gotten sick, and if your son hadn't coerced Chloe into dating him by dangling a kidney, Chloe and Brandon would be happily together right now. Your son broke them up. Giving up his corneas is only fair."

Chloe and Brandon’s mutual friends all chimed in, tossing sarcastic barbs my way.

Chloe frowned slightly at their words, glancing coldly at me as if everything they said was the absolute truth—as if she believed it, too.

I stood there limply.

I felt like an utter clown.

Right. In their eyes, I was just Chloe’s pathetic simp, the interloper who ruined her fairytale romance with her first love.

Back then, even though I had a massive crush on Chloe, she was actually the one who reached out to me first.

Crying, she had told me that Brandon was not just her first love, but also her best friend.

Only if Brandon was saved could she move on and be with me in good conscience.

I was so hopelessly in love with her back then. I couldn't bear to see her shed a single tear.

I agreed to donate my kidney without hesitation, ignoring all of my mother’s tearful protests.

I foolishly thought that once Brandon recovered, Chloe and I would share a sweet, loving relationship, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after.

Yet once we were together, she grew visibly cold and distant toward me.

In my stubbornness, I convinced myself that I simply hadn't given her enough. I believed that if I treated her well enough, she would eventually open her heart to me.

So, I became the desperate doormat her friends laughed at.

They mocked and belittled me whenever they had the chance.

To keep Chloe from being caught in an awkward position, I never once pushed back.

Deep down, I had secretly hoped that just once, she would step up and speak on my behalf.

Not once did she do so.

Yet whenever anyone playfully joked about Brandon being frail, she would flush with anger and snap at them for crossing the line.

In those moments, a bitter pang always stabbed my heart.

I made excuses for her, telling myself they were first loves and longtime friends, so it was natural for them to be closer than usual.

It was Brandon's fragile health that brought out Chloe's protective instinct, I reasoned.

And all I could do was treat Chloe even better.

For five years, I never let Chloe lift a finger to do housework.

Occasionally, late at night, she would lean her head against my shoulder and murmur that being with me made life so easy.

I thought I had finally found a place in her heart.

I thought I finally mattered as much as Brandon did.

Who would have guessed that the day after our engagement party, Brandon would suddenly go blind?

Chloe rushed to the hospital in a panic.

Without a second thought, she demanded that I donate my corneas to Brandon.

That was the moment I finally woke up.

In her eyes, I didn't even measure up to a single strand of Brandon's hair.

The towering wall of devotion I had built brick by brick over the years instantly collapsed into dust.

I was exhausted. I didn't want to love her anymore.