Chapter 10: The Doctor Who Watches Her Eyes
The room smelled like bergamot and something faintly medicinal. A diffuser hummed on a nearby table, mingling the soft scent with the muted hiss of the heater. Erica sat in the center of it all—still, upright, every inch the graceful woman she was raised to be. Her hands were folded neatly on her lap. Her dark glasses framed her pale face.
Across from her sat Dr. Hana Lee, a woman in her forties with hair pulled back into a bun and eyes as sharp as scalpels. Unlike most therapists, Hana didn’t soften her gaze just to comfort. She studied people the way an artist studied light and shadow—honestly, curiously, completely.
And right now, she was studying Erica Salcedo.
“Tell me what happened before the darkness,” the doctor said gently.
Erica paused. “You mean… before I lost my sight?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind.”
Erica’s lips twitched into a cold smile. “I always mind. But I always answer anyway.”
Dr. Lee didn’t blink. “That’s fair.”
Erica leaned her head back, feeling the plush cushion behind her. Her fingers lightly traced the rim of her sunglasses.
“I was running an art exhibit,” she began slowly. “The pieces were mine, but I pretended they weren’t. I didn’t want my name attached to anything vulnerable. But I still wanted the praise.”
“Classic deflection,” the doctor murmured.
Erica continued, as if she didn’t hear.
“Lia—my best friend—managed the financials. I trusted her. She was like a sister. Until one day, I woke up and my world was half-sold. My condo, my studio, the rights to my designs. Gone. All signed away.”
“And she never told you?”
Erica shook her head. “Not a word. I didn’t even find out from her. I found out from… him.”
Dr. Lee leaned forward slightly. “David Guerrero?”
Erica’s hand clenched over her thigh.
“He told me everything over dinner,” she said flatly. “Like it was a business update. Said he was investing in me—saving me, even. He thought if he bought my whole life, I’d finally say yes to him.”
“And did you?”
“I didn’t say anything at all. I stood up, went to the restroom… and everything blurred. My legs gave out. I panicked. I thought it was a stroke, or a brain aneurysm. But the tests said I was fine. Perfectly healthy. Except I couldn’t see.”
Dr. Lee tilted her head. “You never confronted Lia?”
Erica’s voice dropped. “How could I? She left the country. No trace. No calls. Nothing. Just betrayal and silence.”
There was a beat of quiet. Only the diffuser’s hiss filled the air.
“And now you’re here,” Dr. Lee said. “Trying to move forward. But still unable to see.”
Erica gave a hollow laugh. “Maybe because I’m terrified of what I might see again.”
Dr. Lee’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “What are you most afraid of, Erica?”
The question made Erica pause.
She opened her mouth, closed it. Then finally, with a brittle breath, she answered:
“Of seeing myself. The woman who let it happen. The woman who was too proud to admit she needed help. Too desperate to look strong. Too blind to recognize danger even when it came wrapped in roses.”
Dr. Lee softened. “That’s not who you are.”
“But that’s who I became,” Erica said. “And if I ever see myself in the mirror again, I’m scared I won’t like what’s looking back.”
The doctor didn’t rush in to reassure. Instead, she nodded slowly.
“Then maybe,” she said, “this blindness isn’t about escaping the world. Maybe it’s about buying time. So you can come back to yourself gently… without breaking again.”
Erica’s breath caught.
She wanted to scoff. But the words had settled in her chest like a seed cracking open.
“I met someone,” she said suddenly.
Dr. Lee raised a brow. “Oh?”
“A man. Not my type. Not rich. Not polished. But he…” Erica faltered, cheeks warming. “He listens. He lets me be. He doesn’t ask for anything.”
Dr. Lee smiled faintly. “And you like that?”
“I don’t know what to call it yet,” Erica whispered. “But I think I feel safe around him. That hasn’t happened in years.”
“Does he know about your blindness?”
“He was there when I drank his soda in a 7-Eleven. I was crying. He just let me have it.”
Dr. Lee chuckled under her breath. “That’s a very unique way to meet someone.”
“It is.” Erica tilted her head. “But I think… maybe, I didn’t need my eyes to find someone like him.”
The doctor’s voice grew soft. “Then maybe you’re seeing more than you think.”
Erica didn’t answer. But for the first time since her diagnosis, her hand slowly rose… and she took off her sunglasses.
Dr. Hana Lee didn’t look away.
Erica’s eyes, though unfocused, were glassy with tears.
“I’m tired of the dark,” she whispered.
And this time, she wasn’t just talking about her sight.
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