A Sugar-Coated Marriage of Poison

I stared at the photo of Suzanne smiling sweetly. Before I could even register it, Nolan zoomed in on the image, staring at Marcus' bright eyes again and again. "Mommy, do you think my eyes are pretty?"

My chest tightened with pain. I quickly closed the tablet and coaxed him toward his room. "Be good, Nolan. I'll stay with you."

Nolan nodded, but he held my hand tightly.

After Nolan fell asleep, I sent the transfer application to the principal.

Countdown: 15 hours.

It was almost over.

I was halfway through packing when Justin returned home with Suzanne and Marcus, looking worn out from a long day.

The moment he came through the door, he saw my suitcase left open.

Justin froze for a second, then quickly released Marcus' hand and positioned himself in front of the suitcase. "Claire, why are you packing? Where are you going? Where's Nolan?"

He looked at me helplessly. The fear in his eyes didn't seem fake, but I didn't bother looking any deeper. I offered a casual excuse to brush him off. "Nolan's been upset, so I thought a little outing would cheer him up."

Justin visibly relaxed. "That's good. As long as it's not…"

He stopped mid-sentence and continued, "Suz didn't have a place to stay, and since we're friends, I thought it would be fine for them to stay here for a few days. Claire, you're okay with that, right?"

When I didn't respond, he hurriedly continued, "I already spoke to Marcus about this afternoon. He knows he made a mistake. Look…"

I gave a brief hum and continued packing. "Okay, they can stay."

Tomorrow, I would be leaving with Nolan anyway.

As soon as I agreed, Justin quickly ushered them upstairs, as if fearing I might change my mind.

Shortly after, a shrill cry echoed from above.

I rushed up and into Nolan's room.

Marcus stood over something with an excited smirk, while Nolan pawed at the floor desperately. "My eye…"

When he heard me, Nolan lifted his head and cried, "Mommy, I can't find my eye. Help me find my eye…"

He sounded so helpless and fragile that my heart seemed to tighten into a painful knot.

I dashed to him and wrapped him tightly in my arms.

Startled by me, Marcus lost his footing, slipped to the floor, and began crying loudly.

Suzanne shot me a venomous glare. She looked like she wanted to hit me, but halfway through raising her hand, she seemed to remember something.

A twisted smile crept onto her face as she asked, "Claire, don't you think Marcus' eyes are beautiful? The doctor said Marcus might go blind, but Justin immediately scoured the country for a donor.

"The new eye turned out perfect. Marcus didn't just avoid rejection; he's even healthier than before. Tell me, whose eye do you think this is? I really should thank that person properly."

Nolan's crying faltered. He buried his face in my arms, yet his small body couldn't stop trembling.

Suzanne's amusement grew. She leaned toward Nolan and whispered, "There were actually a few matching donors back then, but your dad chose the eye of a five-year-old to lower the surgical risk. Claire, look how beautiful your son's eye look on Marcus' face."

That was the breaking point. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

Suzanne didn't manage to dodge it. She clutched her cheek and screamed, "Claire, you're insane! Let me tell you something. Justin lied about that scar on your waist. It wasn't from the car accident at all. You got it from donating a kidney."