Blind husband, please show mercy

Chapter 1 Emma's life was miserable. Every morning, she dragged herself out of bed before sunrise, forcing down a cup of bitter coffee while staring blankly at the peeling paint on her apartment wall. At twenty-six years old, she was already exhausted by life. Being a high school teacher was supposed to be rewarding. That was the lie universities sold. The reality was standing in front of fifty teenagers who treated her like a joke. "Miss Emma, did your husband leave you?" Laughter erupted across the classroom. Emma clenched the marker in her hand. "I've never been married." "That's even worse." More laughter. A paper airplane hit her shoulder. Someone barked like a dog from the back of the class. Another student secretly recorded her when she fell and uploaded it on social media. Worst, the principal always gave the same answer whenever she complained. "They're just children." Children? Emma wanted to scream. Children didn't spend every day inventing new ways to torment someone. By the time classes ended, she felt like a soldier returning from war. Except soldiers got respect. Teachers got headaches and terrible paychecks. The only thing keeping her sane was her romance novels. Every evening, she rushed home, locked her apartment door, threw herself onto the couch, and escaped into fictional worlds where handsome men fell in love and villains got what they deserved. Or at least they were supposed to. Her latest obsession was a novel called Saint's Awakening. A wildly popular fantasy romance about a saintess who became the Crown Princess and eventually saved the kingdom. Emma hated it. Well... She hated the heroine. The Saintess. The woman was unbelievably annoying. Self-righteous,manipulative. Constantly crying whenever things didn't go her way. Yet every character in the story treated her as though she had descended from heaven itself. It drove Emma insane. The only reason she kept reading was because of one character. Asher Winston. The Blind Duke. The moment Emma had seen his illustration, she was doomed. He was tall, elegant, and so handsome. He was loyal to a fault. A man who suffered endlessly yet remained kind.He wasn't even the male lead. He barely appeared in the story. But Emma loved him more than every other character combined. In fact, her apartment looked less like a teacher's home and more like a shrine. Posters of Asher decorated her walls. Fan art filled her phone gallery. She owned keychains, bookmarks, stickers, and even a custom pillow featuring his face. If anyone discovered how obsessed she was, she'd probably die from embarrassment. But she didn't care. Asher deserved better. Far better than the ridiculous plot he had been trapped in. The story itself was infuriating. The Saintess became engaged to Asher despite being secretly in love with a knight. Three days before the wedding, she ran away to meet her lover. Naturally, the scandal exploded. Asher immediately stopped all wedding preparations and quietly withdrew. He never blamed her. Never sought revenge. Never even defended himself. Yet somehow, the Saintess was treated like the victim. The scene Emma hated most occurred shortly afterwards. The Saintess returned to the palace in tears. Instead of punishing her actions, the King comforted her. Then he blamed Asher. Asher. The man who had done absolutely nothing wrong. The king claimed his daughter was suffering because of the engagement and immediately banished the Blind Duke. Emma nearly threw her tablet across the room when she read it. "What kind of father is this?!" It made no sense. None. Yet millions of readers praised the scene as emotional. Emma considered it proof that society was doomed. Today was the release of the newest chapter. The chapter she had been waiting for all week. She hurried home after work. Ignored the pile of grading on her desk. Ignored her unanswered messages. Ignored dinner entirely. Nothing mattered except seeing Asher again. Please. Just one good scene. One victory. One moment of happiness. That was all she wanted. Emma opened the novel website. Her heart pounded. The chapter loaded. She started reading. Then her smile disappeared. "No..." Her eyes raced across the screen. "No." She read faster. The words blurred. Her hands began shaking. The King had learned that rumours about the broken engagement were spreading throughout the kingdom. Fearing damage to the royal family's reputation, he secretly dispatched assassins. Not to silence the rumours. To silence Asher. To silence everyone around Asher. His servants, knights, and maids.Anyone connected to the Duke's estate. An entire household. Massacred. Emma stared in disbelief. Her chest tightened. The chapter continued. Asher fought bravely despite his blindnes. Outnumbered and bleeding, he fought relentlessly. Despite that, he heard the screams of the people who took care of him. One by one. Until eventually— He slit his own throat. At least he would die with his dignity. Emma stopped breathing. The chapter ended with Asher collapsing into a pool of blood beneath the moonlight. Dead. Just like that. Dead. The screen slipped from her trembling fingers. "No." Silence filled the apartment. Then tears spilt down her cheeks. "No! No! No!" She grabbed the tablet. Read the chapter again. Then, a third time. Maybe she had missed something. Maybe it was a fake death. Maybe there was a twist. There wasn't. Asher Liam was dead. Emma burst into tears. The ugly kind. The kind that made breathing difficult. The kind that left your face swollen and your chest aching. "You can't be serious!" She pointed accusingly at the screen. "What kind of garbage writing is this?!" Her voice echoed through the apartment. "The Saintess ruins everything!" She paced around the living room. "The King is insane!" Back and forth. Back and forth. Her rage grew. "Everyone in that kingdom is stupid!" She grabbed a pillow featuring Asher's face and hugged it dramatically. "My poor Asher!" Tears streamed down her face. "He deserved better!" She ranted for nearly thirty minutes. Insulting the author. Insulting the plot. Insulting the fictional royal family. At one point, she became so emotional that she wished the entire kingdom would collapse. A neighbour banged on the wall. "Keep it down!" Emma ignored them. "You don't understand my pain!" Another knock. Louder this time. Someone shouted from the hallway. "Stop fighting with your boyfriend!" Emma froze. Then, she looked around her empty apartment. There was no boyfriend. Only grief. And a dead fictional man. "...It's worse than a breakup," she muttered. Outside, the neighbours exchanged concerned glances. Inside, Emma collapsed onto her couch, clutching the pillow to her chest. Tears slowly soaked the fabric. The chapter remained open on her tablet. The final image of Asher's death staring back at her. At some point, exhaustion overwhelmed her. Her eyelids grew heavy. The screen's glow blurred. And with one final tear sliding down her cheek— Emma fell asleep.