A week later.

For seven days straight, Briony had endured the bitter taste of medicine each morning and night. Her sense of taste had finally returned, but her vision remained stubbornly unchanged.

Every day, Ferdinand would check her pulse and perform acupuncture, his hands steady and certain.

Half a month passed. One morning, Briony woke to sunlight streaming through the window, so bright it made her squint and wrinkle her brow. For a long time, she simply stared, her eyes stinging with the sudden brightness. It had been so long since she'd seen light. Tears pricked at her eyes.

She could see again. After all this time, her vision had come back.

It was already April now. The snow in Northborough should have melted by this point.

Briony pushed aside her covers and slid out of bed, moving to the window. She opened it, letting in a crisp morning breeze and the sound of sparrows chattering in the trees. Compared to Northborough's endless winter, this place felt like spring all year round.

She missed her children.

Lorna Riley and James Delaney were hiding with them in Cloudcrest City. The climate there was similar to Nortia's, but being up on a plateau, it was drier. She wondered if the children had managed to adjust.

The bedroom door creaked open from the hallway.

Ferdinand stepped in.

Briony turned at the sound, meeting his eyes from across the room.

He arched an eyebrow. "Your sight's back?"

a quiet

gently lift her chin. Briony didn't

a smile in his

to eye. There was a

then, since you've recovered, isn't it about

expression didn't so much as flicker.

didn't want this. But she had no choice. For the sake of

that Briony's love for those two children was unwavering. Stewart was gone. She would never let them become orphans never let herself become an invalid, not when everything she did was for

fraction of the love she lavished on

in just a few months, his own child would

I don't care why you're staying with me." His eyes darkened, holding her gaze. "Don't blame

blood. I love

to do is stay by my side, and I won't take it out on the people you

She'd stopped trying to argue

day she'd made

treat Ferdinand as nothing

her shadow. If she didn't see him as a person, nothing

do was remember

was still here.

if you want," she said at last, her tone

before, I'll only sign the papers

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