Chapter 1: The Prettiest Girl’s Curse

I’m the most beautiful woman in Maple Heights—though you wouldn’t guess it, considering how young I tied the knot.

Folks around here say that just one look from me is enough to make every guy at the county fair drop his corn dog. I swear, even now, the old-timers at the diner nudge each other and gossip about the Sinclair girls—usually about how my looks could cause a ruckus. But my husband? Nathaniel Rowe—the guy I wake up next to—is blind.

I could walk into any room and turn heads, but the man who sleeps beside me every night can’t see a thing.

Honestly, sometimes I think fate’s got it out for me. I mean, what else could explain this mess?

"I've been drugged."

Nathaniel—my husband, the blind man who usually can’t even find the bathroom without bumping into a wall—suddenly had me pinned to the bed, his weight heavy on me, and just dropped that little bombshell like he was announcing the weather.

The way he suddenly got so strong scared the living daylights out of me. My heart just about launched itself out of my chest. The air between us felt so charged I could practically taste the soap and cedar clinging to his skin.

"W-what kind of drug?" My eyes went huge. Instinctively, I shot a worried glance at the bowl of chicken noodle soup my mother-in-law had sent over, my voice all shaky and thin.

My brain spun—was there something weird in the soup? My mother-in-law always means well, but she always thinks she knows best when it comes to fixing a marriage. I eyed that bowl like it was about to sprout legs and attack me.

He arched an eyebrow but didn’t say a word, his deep blue eyes—those eyes—aimed right at me. For a second, I couldn’t tell if he was really blind or just messing with me. The look he gave was unreadable, and it made my skin crawl in the weirdest way.

The way he was looking at me—steady, intense, almost hungry—sent a shiver racing up my spine. I mean, how was he even doing that if he couldn’t see? It was like he could see right through me, and I couldn’t help but feel a little freaked out.

My heart missed a beat. Wait. Wasn’t he supposed to be blind?

Why did his stare make me feel like he was about to eat me alive—or maybe just eat me up with his eyes? I couldn’t tell if I wanted to laugh or scream.

The silence between us just dragged on, heavy as a wet blanket. I could hear my own heartbeat, loud and wild in my ears.

"What kind of drug…" I finally managed, but then he half-closed his eyes, almost savoring the question. Then he let out this low laugh—one that sent goosebumps skittering down my arms.

God, how dumb could I be? I opened my mouth to say something else, but before I could, his hand slid down to my waist, and he just went ahead and tugged my robe tie loose like it was nothing.

I almost screamed. My whole body locked up, my brain short-circuiting with a thousand thoughts at once.

Goosebumps popped up all over my skin, and a hot flush crept up my cheeks. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to shove him off or just melt right there into the bed.

In a haze, I heard Nathaniel’s low, rough voice, his breath hot against my ear.

"We’ve been married a year and still haven’t… you know. Ever since you married in, my mom’s been dropping hints—some subtle, some not—that she wants a grandkid. So, what do you think this drug is for, huh? Want to take a wild guess?"

Maybe whatever he’d been given was really getting to him, because his chest felt like a furnace, radiating so much heat it almost burned. Even through my thin pajamas, I could feel his heart pounding like a jackhammer.

His hands were steady, but his breath was all ragged and uneven, and the heat rolling off him had me dizzy. I could sense all that pent-up energy inside him, barely held in check.

I bit down hard on my lip and turned my face away, feeling something inside me come apart—like a thread snapping, unraveling everything I’d tried to keep together.

We’d been married for what felt like forever, but never this close—never like this.

My mind spun, dredging up every memory: the words we never said, the looks that lingered too long, all the little moments from the past year that now crashed over me like a wave.

All year, we’d been polite but distant—no more fighting, but not living like a real couple either. If I’m honest, we felt more like awkward roommates than newlyweds.

I’ll never forget sitting alone in the bedroom on our wedding night, waiting for the candles to burn out. He never came to lift my veil.

Instead, the next morning, he had someone else tell me he had "urgent business" and would be sleeping in the guest room for a few days. I shouldn’t wait up, apparently.

Of course I was disappointed. "Urgent business"? Please. Who would buy that? He was obviously dodging me.

But deep down, I always knew this marriage was a mistake from the get-go—

His heart was already spoken for.

A few days after the wedding, when we went to visit my family, I finally saw Nathaniel again.

He walked me home, and even though he couldn’t see, he did everything just the way folks around here expect. My parents were so touched by his effort they teared up—they even joked that I should give him two kids within a year.

I blushed so hard I didn’t know where to look, but I couldn’t help sneaking a peek at his face to see what he’d say.

He paused, then gave a small smile. "I’ll do my best."

Oh, great—now I was even more mortified.

But after that, for a whole year, he’d rather sleep alone in the guest room than share a bed with me.

As the so-called "good wife," I pretended to be calm.

Yeah, right! Who could actually stay calm through all this?

Seriously, what kind of business takes a whole year? Come on!

Was he trying to be like some legendary hero who never comes home—just vanishes for months on end?

I mean, let’s get real—I’m Autumn Sinclair, the prettiest girl in Maple Heights!

Long lashes, bright eyes, skin like fresh cream, a waist so tiny I could slip through a fence rail—every part of me is a showstopper.

I was the dream girl for half the guys in town!

Guys at church socials would whisper, and even the old ladies at the grocery store would nudge each other and gossip when I walked by. I was the kind of pretty that made people stop and stare, sometimes even trip over their own feet.

After I finally calmed down, I realized maybe this was all for the best. We didn’t even like each other, and we were forced into this marriage anyway. Fine, let it be.

But why did that ache in my chest just keep getting worse…

"Autumn Sinclair!" Nathaniel’s voice, rough and raw, yanked me out of my thoughts as his fingers clamped around my chin—cold, firm, impossible to ignore. "Even now, who are you thinking about?"

Jolted back to reality, I was forced to meet his eyes—his gaze pinning me in place.

In the dim light, his usually unreadable face was twisted with anger. He lowered his voice, each word tight and sharp, like he was forcing them out between gritted teeth. "Jackson Monroe?"

Hearing that name for the first time in a year left me stunned for a second, but only just.

I glanced up at him, saw the storm brewing in his eyes, and suddenly a surge of anger rose up in me, hot and fast.

He’s the one who’s ignored me for a year, the one who’s never let go of someone else—and now he’s accusing me of not getting over Jackson Monroe?

Unbelievable!

He leaned in even closer, and I caught a whiff of his cologne—cedar, maybe a hint of pine—filling up my senses. His breaths came fast and hot, almost ragged.

The tension between us was so thick it felt like static in the air, the kind that makes your skin buzz and your heart pound for all the wrong reasons.

"It’s none of his business. Let me go!" I snapped, my nerves jangling, more than a little freaked out.

"Still hung up on Jackson Monroe?" His eyes—so dark, so intense—seemed to drill right into me, making me forget for a second that he couldn’t actually see.

"I’m not!"

He clearly wasn’t buying it. A cold, dangerous look flashed across his face. He pressed his lips into a thin line, his voice dropping, simmering with something sharp and mean.

"Even though Jackson’s already married, and his wife is five months pregnant, you still can’t let him go?"

My pupils shrank, my chest tight with a mess of feelings I couldn’t even name.

All I really knew was that Jackson Monroe got hitched right after I did. His wife, Melissa, was beautiful and sweet. That’s about it.

Wait a second—how did Nathaniel know she was pregnant?

Had he been keeping tabs on Jackson this whole time?

A weird suspicion flickered in the back of my mind, but before I could chase it down, Nathaniel’s scorching breath was suddenly right up against my ear, his voice low and dangerous—

"Since Mom wants a grandkid, maybe it’s time we gave her what she wants."

I started shaking all over. This was not how I wanted things to go—not when we were both so out of our minds. I called his name, loud and desperate, "Nathaniel!"

He hesitated, but then his breath went hot again as he kissed me.

"Calling my name won’t save you now!"

Nathaniel lost his sight because of me.

Because I blinded him.