Temporary Luna, Permanent Heartbreak - Chapter 86: Chapter 86

He began, "Indeed, she was a young she-wolf, around sixteen or seventeen years old. At that time, she ran over and said she wanted to remove her own corneas. It frightened me, and I tried to persuade her not to do anything foolish. She seemed very anxious, insisting on saving someone."
"You know as well, no matter how much healers want to save lives, we can't make a living wolf blind, especially when the patient is only visually impaired and not in life-threatening danger. It would be absurd to do something like that."
"The hospital director was there at the time and scolded the she-wolf before having the pack security take her away."
"I thought she had left after that, but to my surprise, a few days later, the hospital director called me into his office and said he wanted me to remove the corneas off someone."
"I thought we were going to remove them from a deceased wolf, but when I entered the operating room, I found out it was the same she-wolf."
"I don't know what methods she used, but she managed to force the hospital director to agree to do it."
"The hospital director repeatedly assured me that this matter wouldn't implicate me. He just wanted me to do the procedure and keep my mouth shut, never telling anyone."
The sound of ice clinking against the glass filled the room as the healer took a gulp of water mid-sentence. A decade had passed since the incident, but he still felt a deep sense of guilt and unease when he thought about it.
"I had no choice. You also know that the director of a private hospital is also the boss. How could I not obey him? So..."
The healer dared not miss Sterling's expression as he spoke. He saw Sterling bowing his head, furrowing his brows, and unknowingly clenching his fingers into fists.
His expression was extremely solemn!
This made the healer's heart skip a beat, and he didn't dare to continue his story.
"What happened afterward?" After a while, Sterling asked.
His voice was still calm, but it was evident that his emotions were not right.
The healer couldn't figure out Sterling's thoughts, so he didn't dare to go against his wishes and continued, "Later... the she-wolf... perhaps you don't know, but removing corneas is a high-risk surgery, especially when performed on a living wolf, and it had never been done before."
"The she-wolf kept insisting on us to preserve part of her corneas at all costs, so I..."
"Result!" Sterling interrupted impatiently.
The male healer trembled and sat up straight. He quickly said, "The she-wolf fell into a coma due to infection during the operation, and we thought... we thought..."
Even though it had been so many years, the male healer still felt terrified when thinking back to that time, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"At that time, the corneas had already been removed, and if we didn't rush for another operation, it would be a waste. The hospital director had no choice but to send the corneas to the hospital designated by the she-wolf in advance."
"Fortunately, the she-wolf had left relevant information with the hospital director; otherwise, it would have been much more troublesome."
"Did she... wake up?" Sterling's entire body tensed when he heard about the she-wolf falling into a coma.
The healer nodded, "She woke up three days later. It was a dangerous situation, and the hospital director didn't let anyone else know. During that time, it was me, him, and a nurse taking care of her. You don't know how afraid we were; we were worried that something terrible might happen."
"She woke up eventually, to everyone's relief, and she didn't sue any of us afterward. Shortly after waking up, she left on her own." The healer patted his chest; this was probably the most perilous thing he had ever experienced in his life.
Sterling's expression only eased slightly when he heard that the she-wolf had awakened.
"What did the she-wolf ask the director to do with the corneas? What was her name?" Sterling approached this matter with utmost caution.
"She asked the director to give the corneas to an alpha named Sterling. As for the she-wolf herself, her information didn't include her full name; she only wrote down the name 'Zara.'"
"Zara?" Sterling's eyes widened as he looked at the healer.
In the next moment, he grabbed the healer's arm tightly and asked, "Where's the information? Where is it? Show it to me!"
Zara's POV
Starlight Ophthalmology Hospital.
Freya was supporting me as we walked in from the entrance.
"I'm fine, don't support me," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. I quickly glanced around at all the curious looks we were getting and pulled my arm out of Freya's hold. After all, I only had one eye with impaired vision; it's not like I was completely blind. It just felt really awkward to be supported like that.
"You dare say that!" Freya was still fuming. She'd practically dragged me here for an examination. Of course, she hadn't told Arthur about it. If he knew that his precious daughter had given up the cornea of one eye, I can't even imagine how sad he'd be.
"To remove the cornea is such a huge deal, and you just went ahead and did it without a second thought. You're really something! Was it all for Sterling? You were willing to risk your life for him!" Freya kept ranting at me, and I could tell she was really frustrated.
I smiled helplessly and gently tugged at Freya's clothes. "Don't be angry. It was a one-time thing, and it won't happen again."
"There won't be another time!" Freya was so mad that she almost raised her fist to hit me.
After she'd let out all that anger, Freya suddenly seemed to get choked up. Tears welled up in her eyes. "That scumbag Sterling, you sacrificed one eye for him, but he can't even give you a little bit of love. He deserves to be struck by silver lightning and banished!"
"Alright, don't curse anymore," I said gently as I held Freya's hand. "I made this choice on my own, and I didn't tell him about it. Besides, we were mated for four years, and during that time, I probably made him miserable and angry too. So, we can kind of balance things out."
"Balance what? He's been having it easy for the past four years, while you've gone through so much hardship and loss," Freya said, and her tears just couldn't be held back any longer and started falling.
She wasn't the type to cry easily, but whenever she thought about how I'd made such a big sacrifice for Sterling and hadn't gotten even a kind word from him in return, she just couldn't help but feel so sorry for me.
In the end, it was me who ended up comforting her.
After a while, Freya finally remembered that we'd come here for my eye check-up. She then took my hand and pulled me towards the specialist clinic.
Third-person's POV
As they passed by, a long luxury car parked silently there. Because of the greenery around, it wasn't conspicuous.
With his eyes closed, the alpha rested his head against the half-open car window. His face was a canvas of emotions, and his thick, ink-like eyebrows were tightly knit together, forming a deep and heavy frown. His eyes were hidden by the dense shadow cast by his long eyelashes.
"Alpha Ashford..." Linda whispered anxiously.
Sterling had come straight here after leaving the private hospital. However, after arriving, he didn't do anything but sat in the car, his brows furrowed tightly.
Under his brows, emotions that Linda had never seen appeared. It was suppression.
Sterling rarely revealed his emotions on his face. Even when he was extremely annoyed or angry, his expression would only change subtly.
But now, it was so obvious...
Linda couldn't figure out what he had come here to do. He couldn't just sit here until the moon rose, right?
After five more minutes passed, Sterling finally opened his eyes. He didn't look at Linda and only said, "Make an appointment with a specialist."
"Yes." Linda still couldn't figure out what he was up to, but she got off the car and did as he asked.
As soon as she got off, Sterling started the car himself.
The car left...
Getting an appointment with a specialist was a challenge, but Linda was able to make it happen.
She called Sterling right away to inform him about the appointment.
On the other end, Sterling replied with a simple "Hmm."
Linda was about to ask him when he would come, but suddenly, two figures appeared before her.
Among them, one was slender and graceful. She wore a long dress that fluttered with the breeze, and her long hair cascaded like a waterfall down to her waist.