I am the tenth in a line of martyrs, each of my foremothers born with a burden and a gift, each dying for a cause greater than herself. So it was that from the moment I drew my first breath, a voice, ancient and genderless, whispered in the back of my mind: “You will have three wishes, granted without question. All they will cost is a small piece of yourself.” For my first wish, I prayed for Ethan, whose body had been frail since birth. I asked that he be granted perfect health. The price was my right eye. For my second wish, I asked for a happy marriage with him, a life of love and partnership. The price was the feeling in the left half of my body. For my third wish, I prayed for Ethan’s success, for his ambitions to be realized. The price was a constant, searing pain, as if a thousand needles were embedded in my skin, every second of every day. And then, on the second day after his name appeared at the top of the Forbes list, I was dragged onto an auction block. Ethan sat in the front row, his arm draped around his “work wife,” Veronica. They were here to sell the rights to me. I closed my eyes and said nothing. Veronica’s sharp laugh cut through the murmuring crowd. “Look at her. Has the blind girl completely given up? She won’t even scream.” But I wasn’t listening. I was focused on a new sensation. A flicker of warmth, a ghost of a pulse in the hollowed-out socket of my right eye. A forgotten strength, coiling in my veins, returning to me at long last. If you want my life so badly, I thought, the words a silent prayer to the forces I’d bargained with, then you’d better be ready for the blowback when your wishes expire. 1 When I opened my eye again, the needle-prick agony was already washing over me. In a strange way, I was grateful for the price of my second wish—the paralysis that had claimed my left side. That half of my body was a silent continent, immune to the pain, a blessed void. I looked down. Sometime, in the darkness, they had changed me into a flimsy silk slip. It did little to hide me, and the chill on my skin seemed to amplify the jeering voices beyond the bars of my cage. “Seriously, Ethan, is your wife brain-dead?” a familiar voice drawled. “She’s not giving us any reaction at all. How boring.” I lifted my head. Through the haze of my single eye, I could make out the sharp silhouette of Veronica, the COO of Ethan’s empire. His work wife. “Hey, look at that,” she said, her voice sharp with surprise. “The little blind thing is glaring at me.” She rose and sauntered to the cage, her fingers slipping through the bars to stroke my cheek. Her touch was cold. “Tell me, Ethan. A woman this beautiful, and she did all that for you. Don't you feel even a flicker of regret?” The man who had once whispered promises of forever into my ear just chuckled. He pulled Veronica onto his lap and kissed her, a hard, possessive kiss. “If I felt regret, would you like that? Weren’t you the one who couldn’t stand the thought of her in my bed? Hmm?” Ethan’s hand slid down to squeeze Veronica’s hip, but his eyes, cold and flat as river stones, were locked on me. “She’s served her purpose. Better to sell her for a good price than to keep her around and listen to you complain.” I remained silent, watching them. From the moment the masked men threw the sack over my head, I knew. I knew it was Ethan. I had tried, of course. I had screamed for him. I told my kidnappers, “I’m Ethan Carter’s wife!” They had just roared with laughter. “We know! That’s why we’re here! Mr. Carter himself is paying us to do this. He offered us…” One of them flashed a number with his fingers, a blur I couldn’t decipher. I didn’t need to. I understood it was a fortune. I knew people changed. I just didn’t realize how fast. He’d been on the cover of Forbes for a single day before he decided the pretense was over. All that pain. All that sacrifice. For nothing. A bitter smile twisted my lips. I met his gaze through the iron bars. “I have to ask something stupid,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Did you ever love me?” For a second, just a second, something flickered in his eyes. A ghost of emotion. Then it was gone, his expression hardening into a mask of disgust. He shook his head. “How could I love a monster like you?” he said, his voice laced with contempt. “Loving you would be like making a deal with the devil.” 2 A deal with the devil. Funny, he didn’t seem to think I was a monster when he was begging me to make those deals for him. I never told Ethan about the prices I paid. I didn't want him to know. The sacrifices were mine to make, a private testament to my love. I loved him, so I bore the pain gladly. Now, with a few cruel words, Ethan had shattered that illusion. Before I could even process the wreckage of it all, Veronica signaled to a guard, who unlocked the cage. She stepped inside, a smirk playing on her lips. “Honestly, darling,” she said, circling me like a shark. “You’re about to be sold like cattle, and all you care about is whether he loved you? Ethan was right. You’re pathetic.” She paused, running a perfectly manicured hand down his tailored suit jacket. “Then again, he does cut a fine figure. If it weren’t for me dragging him to the gym every day, he wouldn’t have this body, would he?” The pieces clicked into place. The two hours every night, religiously spent in his private gym. The way he always refused when I asked if I could join him. He had company all along. A cold sensation on my cheek snapped me back to the present. Veronica was holding a small, gleaming knife, tracing its edge along my face. “I’ve always hated this perfect little face of yours,” she purred. “The way you’d look at him, all wide-eyed and innocent. Like a goddamn siren.” Just as the blade was about to break the skin, Ethan’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. “Veronica. Don’t ruin the merchandise.” “Are you defending her?” she spat, her eyes flashing. Ethan simply smiled, a cold, empty thing. “Of course not. But if you scar her face, how will we get top dollar? And how will I buy you that diamond you wanted?” He snapped his fingers. An assistant scurried forward with a long, velvet-lined box. When he opened it, my breath caught. It was filled with hundreds of long, slender silver needles. “They say for a creature like her,” Ethan said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned close to my ear, “it takes nine hundred and ninety-nine silver needles to seal away her power.” He pulled back, his voice now a soft, intimate murmur that made my skin crawl. “Don’t blame me, baby,” he whispered. “Your gift… it’s terrifying. It scares me. I lie awake at night, terrified that one day you’ll just… take it all away.” His eyes met mine, devoid of any warmth. “Don’t worry. I’ve already found the perfect buyer. When this is all over, you’ll still be mine.” His words were a demonic promise. He was insane. He stepped back and gave a sharp nod. Veronica grinned, a predatory flash of white teeth, and plucked a needle from the box. She drove the first one into my arm. The pain was sharp, electric, a violation that seemed to pierce straight through to my soul. She was heavy-handed, brutal. One after another, she plunged the needles into my flesh, expertly avoiding any vital organs but choosing spots designed to inflict the most agonizing, debilitating pain. “Monsters like you, who make deals with demons,” she hissed, her face close to mine, “you don’t deserve to exist in this world.” She drove another needle in, this one into my thigh. “You should be grateful you’re still worth something. Otherwise, I’d make you regret the day you were ever born.” She worked with a feverish intensity, pausing only to admire her handiwork, to watch my face for the agony she expected to see. But she was disappointed. From the moment I made the third wish, my body had become a landscape of phantom needles. This? This was just a Tuesday. A familiar torment I had learned to breathe through. As the nine hundred and ninety-ninth needle found its home, a laugh bubbled up from my chest. Oh, Ethan. You accepted the gifts so freely. You let me bear the cost without a second thought. You have no idea how this works, do you? Everything has a price. Every action has a consequence. The moment I am harmed by the one I wished for, the pacts begin to unravel. Everything you were given will be taken back, piece by painful piece. My laughter grew louder, echoing in the cavernous room, a wild, unhinged sound. Ethan, I can’t wait to watch it all burn. The laughter stopped abruptly as the world tilted and went black. I had finally passed out from blood loss. 3 Cold. So cold. I curled in on myself, a desperate, futile attempt to find a scrap of warmth. When I came to, I was in a walk-in freezer. My wounds had been bandaged, the bleeding stopped, but a fine layer of frost on my eyelashes told me I’d been in here for a long, long time. As if sensing I was awake, the heavy door creaked open. “Damn, she’s tough. Still not dead?” one of the guards muttered. “Told you there was something freaky about her…” the other whispered back. They grabbed me, one by the shoulders and one by the feet, and hauled me out of the freezer. Their handling was rough, but I closed my eye and almost enjoyed the sensation of being moved. It was a strange comfort. From the day I was born, I knew. I was not meant to die easily. I’d asked the voice about it once, long ago. It had answered with something like a sigh. “In this life, you are meant only to experience. The joy, the sorrow, the sweetness, the bitterness. Live it all. The rest is not your concern.” This life was for me to simply feel. As for Ethan… he still didn't understand. He wasn't chosen by fate. He was chosen by me. Without me, he was less than the beggars on the street. Blinding lights assaulted my vision. I threw a hand up to shield my face. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Not quite dead yet,” Veronica’s venomous voice dripped into my ear. She huffed in annoyance. “I told you she was resilient! We wasted all that good medicine on her. Hmph!” I saw Ethan then. His eyes met mine, and for a fleeting moment, I saw a flash of anxiety before he masked it. He gently steered Veronica away from me. “Careful, honey. The baby. Don’t get worked up.” My blood ran cold. My hand instinctively went to my own flat stomach. There was a baby there once. But Ethan said he wasn’t ready to be a father. He held my hand all the way to the clinic. Veronica noticed my gesture. A smug, triumphant look crossed her face as she snuggled deeper into Ethan’s embrace. “The auction doesn’t start for a little while, and my feet are already killing me.” He guided her to a plush velvet chaise lounge. She settled into it, then pointed a stiletto-heeled foot at me. “I want a footstool.” Ethan waved his hand. Two guards seized me, dragging me across the floor and forcing me to my knees in front of her. “Kneel,” he commanded. I held my spine rigid, refusing. Ethan strode over and kicked the back of my knees, hard. “Are you deaf? Do what you’re told.” I crumpled, collapsing at Veronica’s feet. She slowly lifted her leg, the red sole of her designer heel pressing against my head, grinding my face into the floor. “Do you know what they’re auctioning off in a little while?” she cooed. Her heel scraped against my cheek, leaving angry red marks. “It’s not you, silly. Your body isn’t worth that much.” She leaned in closer, her voice a triumphant whisper. “It’s your wishes.” The four words hit me like a physical blow. Ethan knew. He knew I only had three. They were all used. They were all for him. My gaze shot to his, a silent, desperate question. He simply turned away, offering no explanation. “Hey! Who told you to look at him?” Veronica’s red-lacquered nails dug into my chin, forcing my head back towards her. Her lipsticked mouth twisted as she spoke, but the words were a distant buzz. Noticing my detachment, she slapped me hard across the face. “Pay attention when I’m talking to you! You’re about to die and you’re still spacing out?” Her eyes glittered with malice. “Do you want to know why we’re auctioning your wishes?” 4 She enunciated every word, savoring my dawning horror. “Ethan and I both know you’re all used up. Worthless.” She smiled. “But they don’t know that, do they? Imagine it. Some billionaire pays a fortune, takes you home, and discovers he bought a broken toy. What do you think he’ll do to you then?” It was a fate worse than death. A slow, agonizing execution of the soul. I stared at them, at the two people I had given everything for, and felt a hatred so pure it was almost blinding. Suddenly, Veronica recoiled, scrambling away from me as if I were venomous. “Ethan! I told you there was something wrong with her!” she shrieked. “She’s crying blood!” I lifted a hand to my face. My fingers came away wet and crimson. A blood tear. A slow, cold smile spread across my face. It was starting. The blowback was coming for him. It took me years to realize I had loved the wrong man. And now that heartless man wouldn’t even grant me the mercy of a quick death. I had built my entire world around him, this hollow, faithless creature. How ridiculous. How utterly, pathetically ridiculous. As I was lost in my grief, I heard Ethan sigh beside me. His hand gently brushed the bloody tear from my cheek, his touch eerily reminiscent of how he’d wipe away my tears of pleasure after we made love. “Baby, I know this is hard for you,” he murmured, his voice a low, seductive croon. “Just hold on. As soon as Veronica has the baby, I’ll come and get you. We can be a family again. Just be good, and wait for me.” Heh. I tried to laugh, but the pain in my heart was so vast it choked the sound in my throat. Veronica watched his pathetic attempt to soothe me, then let out a peal of shrill laughter. “Oh, Ethan, you haven’t told her about the pills, have you?” she giggled, clapping her hands. “Well, let me! Listen up, little wifey. After your… procedure… Ethan came to me, asking my permission. Could he risk getting you pregnant again? And I said, absolutely not! I forbid it!” “And you know what? He listened to me! The very next day, he started grinding birth control pills into your morning coffee. He was so scared I’d kick him out of my bed!” She doubled over, howling with laughter. “Oh, you should have seen his face! So pathetic!” I didn’t react. My gaze was fixed on a point in the distance, my mind a hollow chamber. Then, something shifted. A flicker. In the dead, useless orb of my right eye, a blurry shape began to resolve. A distant chandelier, a hazy outline. I was stunned. My good eye darted toward Ethan. He was still watching Veronica, his face a perfect mask of adoration, one hand hovering protectively over her swollen belly. Had he ever looked at me with such tenderness? I couldn't remember. It was as if someone had taken an eraser to my memories of him, scrubbing away all the sweet moments, leaving only the stark, ugly truth. All that remained was a deep, abiding hatred. As if sensing my stare, he looked down at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then, a deep, resonant bell chimed through the hall. “The auction is beginning!” Veronica declared, beaming. She pointed at me. “Drag her out. She’s the grand finale.” I was pulled across the floor like a sack of meat, limp and silent. The whispers and stares of the wealthy patrons followed me, their eyes filled with a greedy curiosity about my "secret." I found I had the strength to offer them a strange, unsettling smile. Why wouldn't I be happy? I could feel it now, a current of power thrumming back into my limbs, filling the empty spaces inside me. The gavel fell, and the show began. The blowback I had waited for, the price of Ethan's betrayal, was finally here.
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