When His Eyes Opened

"Either you marry a man in a coma, or I stop paying your father's medical bills immediately." Her stepmother, Brenda Jensen, tossed a document onto the coffee table in front of Chloe Jensen.

Chloe stared at the name on the document, Damian Sterling, her body trembling slightly. "Brenda, you can't do this! He's my father!"

"Your father?" Brenda sneered. "I've paid nearly one and a half million dollars for his medical care. Now, it's your turn to contribute to this family."

Chloe's eyes turned red. She grabbed her coat. "I need to make a call."

She rushed out of the living room and walked quickly down the hallway, pulling out her phone to call her boyfriend, Leo Sterling. She hit the dial button but didn't hear a ringtone from her phone.

Instead, she heard Leo's familiar ringtone.

The sound wasn't coming from her phone. It was coming from the end of the hall, from her stepsister Bella's bedroom.

Chloe stopped in her tracks, staring at the closed door in disbelief.

From inside, she heard Bella's coquettish laugh, followed by Leo's impatient voice. "Stop it, I'm waiting for Chloe's call."

"Why wait for her? That boring woman, do you really like her?" Bella's voice was whiny.

"Like her?" Leo scoffed. "I've never even let her touch me. If it weren't for the Sterling family fortune, why would I put up with her?"

Chloe felt her blood run cold.

"Then what about Uncle Damian? What if he never wakes up?" Bella asked.

"Even better," Leo's voice was filled with greed. "Let Chloe marry him and become the vegetative man's legal wife. As soon as Damian dies, she'll inherit everything. And then, her share… won't it be ours?"

What followed were the nauseating sounds of kissing and rustling clothes.

Chloe stood outside the door, motionless. Tears streamed down her face, but she felt no warmth at all.

She raised her hand and wiped the tears away harshly, as if trying to scrape off that layer of weak skin.

She looked down at her phone, the screen still lit up with Leo's name. She pressed the end-call button, then found another number in her contacts and dialed it.

The call connected.

"Hello?" It was Brenda's voice.

Chloe's gaze was icy, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"I'll marry him."

Three days later, a simple and quiet wedding took place at the Sterling family's private chapel.

Chloe, dressed in a pure white gown, walked down the aisle alone. There was no groom waiting for her, only an empty, symbolic space.

The ceremony ended. She was now officially Mrs. Sterling.