Chapter 3

At those words, Rabiana snapped out of it. She flinched as if something had pierced her and quickly bowed her head.

She hurried to get up, but keeping her balance in the swaying carriage was no easy feat. It was even worse when she couldn’t see. Caught between not sitting and not moving forward, she fumbled around. When the carriage jolted over a rock, she instinctively grabbed Alberto’s shoulder tightly.

Alberto took her hand and seated her beside him. Rabiana bit her lip and turned her head away.

She had made a mistake. She shouldn’t have shown her eyes.

‘It really feels like she’s looking at you but not actually seeing you. When I make eye contact with her, it gives me the creeps.’

The words she didn’t want to remember echoed in her ears. To shake them off, Rabiana slightly shook her head.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“What won’t?”

“…Suddenly clinging to you, and… showing my eyes.”

“The clinging was an accident. And your eyes—why?”

“… ”

Rabiana couldn’t bring herself to answer. Even trying to speak, her throat tightened from the old wounds.

Alberto looked at her intently, clearly intent on hearing the truth.

Though she couldn’t see, she could feel his gaze. The prolonged silence made it hard to breathe.

Fine. It was better to say it now. Alberto was her husband now. Even if he didn’t like it, he was the one who would be spending the rest of his life with her. Maybe telling him now would lessen the hurt later.

“When people make eye contact with me… they get uncomfortable.”

“…”

“As you probably know, I can’t see. So I don’t know what my eyes look like. I must still have the habit of meeting people’s eyes from when I could see, so sometimes I try without realizing it… But since I can’t see, I probably end up looking somewhere strange.

And I know… that when people meet my eyes, it creeps them out—”

“I won’t listen to that.”

Alberto looked down at Rabiana in silence, then clicked his tongue in disapproval and turned her chin toward him.

Her face tilted toward him. Rabiana, who stubbornly kept her eyes downcast, felt his face move close to hers.

Her hands tightened around her skirt. The soft rustle of fabric and her shaky breathing filled the carriage.

Alberto’s gaze swept over her face. His eyes lingered long on her trembling eyelashes, as if wanting to see her eyes. But Rabiana didn’t lift her gaze.

She was scared. Afraid that the mouth which spoke kindly would suddenly spit out words like “disgusting.” That he would turn on her at any moment. She couldn’t bring herself to raise her eyes.

A moment later, a much lower voice whispered in her ear.

“Well. I’m not sure.”

“…”

It wasn’t a kind answer, but it somehow sounded like he wasn’t repulsed either.

Alberto slowly pulled back. As the warmth of his hand left her chin and his gaze faded, Rabiana finally took a breath. Her heart, startled earlier, was still pounding.

Her throat felt tight and warm. That single sentence, despite its coldness, comforted her more than anything else. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

Then she grew curious.

Why? Why would this man go so far as to marry someone like her?

“Um, may I ask you something?”

“Just one.”

“I’d like to know… why you paid such a large sum to buy me from Count Bill Ford.”

Truthfully, Rabiana wasn’t worth such a price. In the marriage market, she was bottom tier. All her immediate family was dead, and any inheritance in her name had already been transferred to Lawrence. And on top of that, she was blind. No one would want a bride like her.

Lawrence, now the Marquis of Carter, had been acting as the proxy head of the Selden family. Since she had lost her sight, he insisted on handling her assets. Rabiana had complied without objection.

As Lawrence had said, she had no way to manage the estate on her own. With no property in her name, and unable to see, Rabiana wasn’t attractive compared to the countless noble daughters out there. Yet Alberto had paid a fortune to acquire her.

It was unethical, yes—but surely he had a reason.

“You took your time asking.”

“…”

Alberto turned his body toward Rabiana. He found himself mildly curious—how would her expression change in response?

For some reason, whenever he looked at this woman, he felt something strange. When she had fallen into his arms earlier, it had almost hurt—like something had struck his heart. Frowning slightly without realizing it, Alberto opened his mouth.

“Because I need you.”

“Need me… how?”

“I want you to bear my child.”

A heavy silence followed.

Having children was a marital duty. Yet hearing it said so plainly—and yet so detached—left Rabiana momentarily speechless. Alberto continued, unaffected.

“Bear my child. Once you do, I’ll send you wherever you wish.”

“…What do you mean by ‘let me go’?”

“Exactly what I said. If you want a divorce, I’ll grant it. If you wish to leave while still married, I’ll allow that as well. But I will retain custody of the child.”

At that, Rabiana finally understood.

This wasn’t just about marital expectations. This marriage existed solely for the purpose of producing an heir. Nothing more. She only just realized it.

“Ah…”

Rabiana exhaled a quiet sigh.

She had thought it didn’t matter who her husband was. But now, facing a man who treated her like nothing more than livestock, she felt the muscles in her face stiffen.

Even if she had lived with no ambition, merely adapting to whatever came, she was still a human being. She had feelings, thoughts, and her worth did not lie in her ability to give birth.

But this man had bought her solely for the child.

It was the worst.

Not just that someone had assigned her a price—but that they had actually paid it. And worst of all, once she bore the child, she would have nowhere to go. She couldn’t see. Where could she possibly go after being turned out of his estate?

There was no real choice. He claimed to offer her freedom, but it was just a polished way of saying she would be discarded once used.

Rabiana felt her heart grow cold.

There was likely only one reason a man would choose a blind woman as his bride, when no one else would: the arrogant belief that she wouldn’t contest custody of the child. That she was convenient—easy to control, easy to discard.

Yes. Maybe it was to be expected. Count Bill Ford, her original fiancé, had also put a price on her like a product. No, even before him—Lawrence, the one she had called family—had done the same.

Everyone treated Rabiana as insignificant, disposable. This man was no different.

“Why?”

That was all she could manage to ask.

“Why me, of all people?”

She had to ask. If all he wanted was an heir, there had to be other women. Even without sight, surely some lady somewhere would accept such terms.

Alberto said nothing. The silence strangled Rabiana. With normal sight she could have endured it, but trapped in darkness, a wordless hush felt like torture. Just as she parted her lips to press him, Alberto finally spoke—delivering a merciless answer.

“Because you’re a woman I don’t need to concern myself with.”

So that was it.

Exactly as she’d guessed. Rabiana merely nodded. Hearing it aloud, the uneasy flutter in her chest vanished as if stolen away.

“I understand perfectly.”

How she hated this moment—being insulted yet unable to protest, too powerless to abandon a marriage she’d never chosen.

“I’ll do as you wish.”

There was nothing else to do but accept. In a twisted way it even sounded like freedom: once she bore his child she would be released. Maybe, just maybe, once she’d repaid the debt of surviving—once she’d escaped this sightless darkness—she could end this wretched life on her own terms.

“Please, keep your promise to let me go—wherever I ask to go, after the birth, you must let me.”

Bear the child, be discarded by her husband, and then… finish everything herself. Rabiana repeated the vow silently, a bitter yet oddly calming resolve swirling inside her.

The carriage fell into leaden quiet. Rabiana smothered any lingering curiosity about the man who had bought her. Perhaps it was better not to know. Sharing this cramped space with him already made it hard enough to breathe.