Chapter 2

Before long, Archer took notice of my dedication to the company. He fast-tracked my promotion, making me his personal assistant ahead of schedule. This sparked envy among the other interns who had started at the same time as me.

Back then, I never imagined my relationship with Archer would go beyond that of a boss and subordinate. Everyone assumed he'd end up marrying Scarlett, his childhood sweetheart.

However, Scarlett fell for a blue-eyed blonde CEO from overseas. She made the bold decision to leave Archer behind and follow her new love.

At that time, Archer and I were on our way to cut the ribbon for a newly opened branch office. When he learned Scarlett was leaving the country with the foreign CEO, he became frantic.

Archer ordered the driver to turn around and head for the airport, constantly urging him to drive faster and faster. He couldn't bear the thought of letting the love of his life slip away.

The driver, following orders, floored the gas pedal. Unfortunately, while rounding a curve, he couldn't brake in time and violently collided with another vehicle.

A deafening crash rang out. The car began to shake violently, and the windows shattered, sending glass flying everywhere.

Almost instinctively, I threw myself in front of Archer. A shard of glass pierced my left eye, and blood sprayed everywhere, staining Archer's suit red.He rushed me to the hospital in a panic, holding my convulsing body wracked with pain. Even though he later went through hell and back to find the nation's top eye specialists to consult on my case, my left eye couldn't be saved.

On the night before I was discharged, Archer gently embraced me from behind and whispered tenderly in my ear.

"I've come to a realization. Rather than chasing after a woman who's had a change of heart, it's better to cherish the one right in front of me."

"Melody, marry me. From now on, I'll be your left eye, taking good care of you for the rest of our lives."

In that moment, miraculously, my left eye stopped hurting.

A sweet feeling washed over me, and I happily accepted Archer's proposal.

For the young, successful, handsome, and wealthy Archer to become my husband was something I wouldn't have dared to dream of before.

But this marriage didn't even last a year. When Scarlett broke up with her foreign CEO and returned to the States, Archer's attention was completely drawn to her.

Fortunately, my advisor at Cornell University had thought highly of me and specially reserved a spot for me to enroll within a year, allowing me to return anytime if I wanted.

To avoid hindering Archer and Scarlett's rekindled romance, leaving quietly now is the most dignified choice I can make.In the dead of night, Archer stumbled home drunk. He seemed surprised to find me still sitting upright at the table.

"Not in bed yet?" Archer took out a blue velvet box from his bag, approaching me with a beaming smile.

Inside the box was a blue sapphire prosthetic eye. He gently lifted my chin and pressed the eye into my empty socket.

"How beautiful, like an adorable Persian cat."

"This is a sapphire prosthetic eye I had rush-ordered from the factory. Do you like it?"

He caressed my cheek, placing a soft kiss on my eye socket, not mentioning a word about how he had toyed with me earlier, hoping to brush the incident under the rug.

I caught a whiff of the faint sweet scent lingering on his fingers - the distinctive perfume of Scarlett. I noticed the bright red kiss mark on his shirt collar, a deliberate mark left by Scarlett to taunt me.

Archer had always treated me like a little kitten, showering me with affection when he was in a good mood, tossing me aside when he wasn't.

He wouldn't bother checking for traces of other women before coming home, nor would he care if I'd be heartbroken seeing them.

Archer was confident enough, and I was loyal enough. He believed I would never leave him.