Blind to Everyone But Her

Chapter 7 – Leah’s Past

The estate was quiet in the late afternoon, the golden light turning the olive trees into dark silhouettes against the horizon. Leah moved through the hallway carrying a stack of linens, but her hands shook slightly, and her mind replayed memories she had long tried to bury.

She pressed the folds of the sheets tighter to her chest, forcing her breath to slow. Her pulse raced—not from exertion, but from recollections she couldn’t quite escape. Faces. Voices. The sharp sting of betrayal, of being unseen, of being blamed for things she didn’t do.

Eli’s voice broke through the haze. “Leah.”

She jumped slightly, folding the sheets hastily. “Yes?”

He was standing in the doorway, his posture rigid yet deliberate, as if he could feel the tremor in her hands without seeing it. “You’re tense,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I’m… fine,” she replied, though the lie tasted bitter.

“You’re not,” he said softly, stepping closer. “Tell me why.”

Leah froze. Part of her wanted to run, to hide, but something about the firmness in his voice, the certainty in his presence, made her stay. She couldn’t explain it, couldn’t name it, but she didn’t pull away.

“I—” she began, then stopped, shaking her head. “It’s nothing.”

Eli’s hand lifted slowly, hovering near her shoulder, but not touching. The space between them was heavy. “Leah. I see more than you think. I notice every flinch, every hesitation. Every small fear you carry, you cannot hide from me.”

Her chest tightened. The admission made her pulse spike, heat creeping into her cheeks. She wanted to run, but she couldn’t. And in that realization, she felt something new—trust.

“It’s my past,” she whispered finally. “Things… I’ve been through. I’m afraid of people sometimes.”

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he came closer, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him. His hand brushed lightly against the edge of her arm, deliberate but gentle. “No one will touch you here. No one will hurt you,” he murmured.

Leah’s breath caught. His words weren’t just protective—they were a promise. A claim. A boundary that only he could enforce. She felt a shiver of relief… and something else, deeper, that tangled with the fear she still carried.

“I can’t…” she began, struggling to put words together. “I’m not used to… this. People… caring.”

Eli’s thumb brushed lightly against her wrist. “Then learn,” he said quietly. “Because here… I will notice everything. I will protect. And I will not let anyone harm what is mine.”

Her chest tightened again. “Mine?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “If you stay… you will belong here. To me.”

Leah’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. The weight of his possessiveness, his certainty, made her tremble—not with fear, but with something she had not allowed herself to feel in a long time. Safety. Desire. Connection.

She wanted to pull away. She wanted to retreat. And yet, she found herself leaning slightly toward him, as if drawn by a gravity she couldn’t resist.

Eli’s eyes remained unfocused, but she knew he saw her. He always saw her. Every flinch, every hesitation, every heartbeat. And in that moment, Leah realized that surviving her past would require surrendering, at least partially, to this blind, possessive billionaire.

Because for the first time in years, she felt that she could be safe.

And maybe… even wanted.