The emergency room smelled of antiseptic and cold steel.
Even with my eyes squeezed shut, the burning refused to stop.
Every blink felt like shards of broken glass grinding against my corneas.
“Keep flushing,” someone ordered.
Another bottle of saline was emptied over my face.
I gripped the edges of the examination bed so tightly that my fingernails bent backward.
“Easy,” the nurse whispered. “We’re almost done.”
I wanted to laugh.
Almost done?
The pain had only begun.
Valeria never left my side.
I could hear her pacing outside the examination room while the ophthalmologist finished looking at my eyes.
The silence before he spoke frightened me more than anything.
Doctors only hesitated when the news wasn’t good.
Finally, he removed the examination light.
“Miss Lucía.”
His voice was calm, practiced.
“You’ve suffered severe chemical irritation to both corneas.”
I swallowed.
“Will I recover?”
Another pause.
“The good news is that I don’t believe the damage is permanent.”
My shoulders relaxed for the first time in an hour.
“But…”
Of course there was a but.
“The powder remained in contact with your eyes far longer than it should have.”
Twenty seconds.
I remembered every single one.
“If your eyes had been irrigated immediately,” he continued, “your injuries would have been much lighter.”
Instead…
Instead everyone had stood there asking questions.
Camila had cried.
Mateo had comforted her.
Someone had worried about the wedding schedule.
By the time they poured water over my face, precious minutes had already passed.
“You’ve developed corneal abrasions in both eyes,” the doctor explained. “Your vision is heavily blurred right now. Whether it returns completely depends on how well your eyes heal over the next several days.”
“Several days…”
“Perhaps a week.”
The room fell silent.
A week without seeing.
A week because someone thought assaulting a bride was funny.
The doctor handed the nurse a prescription.
“Strict rest. No bright lights. Antibiotic drops every four hours. If the pain worsens, come back immediately.”
Valeria thanked him for me because my throat had stopped working.
The ride home was painfully quiet.
I wore thick protective eye shields that blocked what little blurred light I could still perceive.
Outside, rain had started falling.
I could hear it tapping softly against the car windows.
“Your phone won’t stop ringing,” Valeria muttered.
I didn’t answer.
A minute later it rang again.
And again.
Then message notifications.
Dozens.
Finally Valeria sighed.
“It’s Mateo.”
Of course it was.
“Block him.”
She hesitated.
“…Are you sure?”
“Now.”
A few taps.
“There.”
Silence returned.
For exactly thirty seconds.
“My God.”
“What?”
“He switched to texting me.”
She read the first message aloud.
Tell Lucia to stop acting like this.
The second.
Everyone is waiting for an explanation.
The third.
Camila already apologized.
The fourth.
The investors left because of her stunt.
The fifth.
She embarrassed me in front of my entire family.
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because I genuinely couldn’t believe this man still existed in the same reality as the rest of us.
“My stunt,” I whispered.
Valeria’s breathing became uneven.
“I swear to God,” she growled, “if he were sitting in this car right now—”
“Don’t.”
“No, Lucia. Don’t tell me to calm down.”
“I’m not.”
I slowly turned toward her voice.
“I’m telling you he’s no longer worth our anger.”
For the first time since leaving the hotel…
I truly meant it.
By the time we reached my apartment, social media had already exploded.
I didn’t need to see the videos.
Valeria described everything.
“Someone recorded you on stage.”
Naturally.
“There are thousands of comments.”
She hesitated.
“People are arguing.”
“About what?”
“Half of them are defending you.”
“And the other half?”
“They think you ruined your own wedding over a prank.”
I almost smiled.
Prank.
That magical word people used whenever cruelty became inconvenient.
Then Valeria’s voice changed.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“There are new posts.”
“What posts?”
“…Camila.”
My fingers froze around the cup of water.
“What did she write?”
Valeria took a deep breath.
“She uploaded a crying selfie.”
Of course she did.
“Caption?”
“‘I never imagined my innocent surprise would hurt my best friend. I blame myself every second. I hope people stop attacking me. Mental health matters.'”
I remained completely still.
“And Mateo?”
Another silence.
“He shared it.”
No surprise there.
“He wrote…”
Valeria stopped reading.
“Read it.”
“‘Everyone makes mistakes. Let’s show kindness instead of online bullying.'”
I burst into laughter.
Real laughter this time.
So hard that tears escaped beneath the protective eye shields.
Kindness.
To the woman who emptied a fire extinguisher into another person’s face.
Not a single word about my injuries.
Not one sentence asking whether I could see.
Only concern for Camila’s feelings.
It was astonishing.
Not because he defended her.
Because he managed to expose himself so completely without realizing it.
Around midnight, someone knocked on my apartment door.
Valeria peeked through the peephole.
Her voice became icy.
“It’s him.”
Mateo.
“I’ll send him away.”
“No.”
I stood slowly.
“I’ll do it.”
She helped me reach the entrance.
The moment the door opened, Mateo rushed forward.
“Lucía.”
His voice sounded exhausted.
“I’ve been worried sick.”
I said nothing.
“You blocked my number.”
Still nothing.
“I know today got out of hand.”
Out of hand.
Not “Camila assaulted you.”
Not “I’m sorry.”
Out of hand.
“I came because we need to talk.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“Lucía.”
He sighed dramatically.
“I admit Camila crossed the line.”
Crossed the line?
She had nearly blinded me.
“But she’s devastated.”
I couldn’t help asking.
“And me?”
Silence.
Then…
“You’re stronger.”
I closed my eyes beneath the bandages.
There it was.
The sentence that explained our entire relationship.
Every sacrifice.
Every compromise.
Every time my pain had been dismissed.
I was stronger.
Therefore I could endure more.
Therefore someone else’s tears always mattered first.
“Mateo.”
“My father already spoke with the hotel.”
His voice brightened, as though announcing wonderful news.
“They agreed not to charge us for today’s cancellation.”
I actually thought I had misheard him.
“The venue…”
“They’ve been very understanding.”
I slowly interrupted him.
“Do you know what the doctor told me?”
Silence.
“My vision may not fully recover.”
He didn’t answer.
“I may carry permanent damage because your best friend sprayed industrial chemicals directly into my eyes.”
Another pause.
Then came the sentence that erased the last trace of love I still carried.
“…The doctor is probably just being cautious.”
I nodded once.
Very gently.
Then I reached for my engagement ring.
Except…
There was no ring anymore.
I had already given it back.
How fitting.
“There is one thing I want from you.”
His voice became hopeful.
“I knew you’d calm down.”
“I want you to leave.”
“Lucía…”
“And don’t ever come back.”
His breathing changed.
“You can’t seriously end three years over one accident.”
“No.”
My voice was steadier than it had ever been.
“I’m ending it because when I couldn’t see…”
I rested one hand lightly against the doorframe.
“…you looked directly at my blindness…”
“…and all you could see was your embarrassment.”
Without waiting for his reply, I closed the door.
This time…
It stayed closed.
