[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

Chapter 162: A Choice Between Darkness and Hope

"Alright, Charles... I have to go now. I’ll call you after work."

"Alright, catch you later."

The line went dead. Adrian lowered the phone, the brutal truth crashing down on him. Matteo wasn’t just ignoring his calls. He was actively, deliberately ignoring him. He was perfectly capable of picking up the phone to speak to his twin brother, but he had entirely cut Adrian out of his life.

The rejection stung so deeply that his eyes blurred with tears again. Knowing his vision would fail if he stayed, Adrian gathered his things, left his office, and rushed home before his eyes could fail him.

Back inside his house, Adrian curled up as night fell. He cried for hours in the silence. The loneliness scared him. For the first time in a year, the walls that used to make him feel safe now felt like a prison. He was terrified of being completely alone again.

A bitter wave of resentment mixed with his sorrow. He felt deeply alone, realizing that no one truly understood his side of the story. Everyone seemed to be judging him, leaving him to face everything by himself. Even his own sister had refused to help, and he had no idea what to do next.

Later that night, around 11:00 PM, after crying until his eyes felt empty, a burning thirst forced Adrian to sit up. He reached toward the bedside nightstand for a glass of water.

But the moment he tried to open his eyes properly, a suffocating darkness swallowed the room. Everything went completely black.

For a terrifying second, he thought the electricity had gone out. Panic rising, he quickly reached for his phone to use the touch light, but even that didn’t help. He couldn’t see the glow at all.

Fear gripped him, but he forced himself not to shout. Swallowing hard, he took a slow breath, carefully lay back down on the bed, and closed his eyes, silently praying that sleep would bring his vision back.

The next morning, when he woke up, a wave of relief washed over him, his eyes had returned to normal. Convinced that the terrifying episode was just the result of extreme emotional distress and exhaustion, he got out of bed and got ready for the day. He headed downstairs to the dining room and sat down to eat breakfast.

But right in the middle of his meal, the world vanished again. Everything suddenly plunged into absolute pitch blackness.

Startled and terrified, Adrian slammed his utensils down and shouted at his maid, "Why did you turn off the lights?!"

The maid’s voice came from across the room, laced with instant confusion and worry. "Sir... the lights are still on."

"The lights are on?!" Adrian panicked, his voice rising in pitch. "I can’t see anything! Why are you lying to me?!"

"Sir, I swear the lights are on," the maid insisted, her footsteps hurrying closer to him.

Realizing the horrific truth, Adrian’s chest heaved. "Call Maya," he choked out, his hands gripping the edge of the table as he began to shout in pure agony. "Call Maya for me right now! No... no, I can’t go blind now! Not now!"

Terrified by his outburst, the maid rushed to grab the phone to call his sister.

Minutes ticked by, but Adrian’s sight did not return. Left in the terrifying dark, he forced himself to lean back, tightly closing his eyes. He tried to breathe through the panic, forcing his mind not to think about Matteo, his family, or the blackness. He deliberately held back his tears, knowing that crying would only make it worse.

By the time Maya burst through the front door and rushed into the room, Adrian slowly opened his eyes. His sight returned slightly, but it was dangerously fractured, the world was nothing more than an unrecognizable, blurry haze of shadows and shapes.

Seeing the state he was in, Maya didn’t waste a single second lecturing him. Terrified for her brother, she grabbed his arm, and together they rushed straight to the hospital to find out what was happening to him.

Arriving at the hospital, the medical team immediately took Adrian in.

Maya quickly explained everything, the sudden blackouts, the way his vision kept fading in and out, and how rapidly it seemed to be getting worse. Her voice shook despite her effort to stay calm.

Without wasting time, the doctors began a full set of diagnostic tests.

Lights were flashed into his eyes, scans were ordered, and images were taken one after another. Adrian sat stiffly through it all, his hands clenched tightly together as he tried to stay still.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier with every passing minute.

When the results finally came back, the doctor walked into the room with a grim expression, holding Adrian’s chart.

"Mr. Grayson," the doctor began, his tone heavy and uncompromising. "The corrective surgery you have been repeatedly refusing to undergo can no longer be delayed. It is time. Your condition has officially progressed far beyond standard Nyctalopia.

The damage to your optic nerves and retina from the constant strain and emotional trauma has reached a critical tipping point. If you refuse this procedure any longer, you aren’t just looking at temporary blackouts anymore, you will lose your sight permanently. We need to carry out this surgery immediately."

Fear seized Adrian’s chest, cold and sharp. He shook his head frantically, his hands gripping the hospital bed sheets. "No... no, I’m scared. Isn’t there anything else you can do? Can’t you just prescribe medication? Eyedrops? Anything else, please... I don’t want the surgery. I’m too scared."

"Keep quiet, Adrian," Maya interrupted, her voice cracking with a mixture of fear and maternal authority as she placed a firm hand on his shoulder. She turned to face the doctor, her eyes pleading. "Doctor, please tell me, what are the actual success rates for this procedure? What are the chances he will fully recover his sight?"

The doctor let out a slow sigh, looking between the terrified Adrian and his desperate sister.

"In all honesty, I cannot give you a definitive guarantee," the doctor replied seriously.

"Because Adrian delayed the procedure for so long, and because the recent psychological stress has severely exacerbated the nerve damage, the risk factors have increased significantly. There is a strong chance we can save his vision, but there is also a marginal risk that the damage is too far gone. Ifthe surgery is done soon, we are fighting to preserve what is left. If we don’t, absolute blindness is an absolute certainty. The choice is yours, but time is running out."

The doctor stepped out of the room.

Adrian immediately panicked, shaking his head. "I don’t want to do it. Maya, let’s go home. I’ll be fine. I promise I won’t stress myself out anymore, I’ll just rest."

"Can you stop being so stubborn?!" Maya shouted, her voice cracking under the weight of her fear. "This is exactly what you always do! Look where keeping secrets and ignoring problems has gotten you!"

"You don’t understand," Adrian snapped back, his hands trembling against the hospital bed. "What if the surgery doesn’t work? What if I wake up and I can’t see anything at all?"

Maya’s angry expression melted into deep pity. She walked closer to the bed and sat on the edge, gently brushing his hair back from his forehead. "Trust me, Adrian," she said. "The surgery is going to be successful. You don’t have to be scared, okay? I’m right here."

Adrian leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. "I don’t want to go blind, Maya. I’m so scared."

"It’s okay. You’re going to be fine," Maya murmured, holding him close. After a long moment, she gently pulled back. "Lie down and try to rest for a bit. I need to go speak with the doctor. I’ll be right back."

Adrian instantly reached out, trying to catch her sleeve through the blur. "Let’s go together. Don’t leave me here."

"No, just wait here and rest," Maya insisted gently. "I’ll be right back."

She stepped out into the quiet hospital corridor and immediately made a few urgent phone calls, including one to their father to explain the severity of Adrian’s condition. Once she had informed the family, she went straight to the doctor’s office. "Do the surgery," she said. "We’re doing it."

The doctor nodded. "He won’t be going back home. We need to prepare him. The surgery will be scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright. Thank you, doctor."

Maya walked back into the room and sat by Adrian’s side, gently breaking the news. She told him that the procedure was set for tomorrow afternoon and emphasized that he needed to keep his mind completely relaxed and free of panic.

Adrian nodded quietly, forcing himself to hold onto a sudden surge of positive thinking. He couldn’t afford to lose his sight. He still needed to fix things with Matteo, he still needed to paint and work, and he couldn’t do any of that in the dark.

He stayed confined to the hospital bed, and Maya never left his side. She stayed with him throughout the entire night, holding his hand in the sterile quiet of the room. By the time morning arrived, Maya stretched her tired shoulders and stood up. "Adrian, I need to quickly run home and pick up a few things for us."

Adrian’s grip tightened on her hand immediately. "Where are you going? You don’t have to leave. You can just call my maid to bring whatever we need, or tell your own maid to fetch it." He looked toward the sound of her voice, panic bleeding back into his tone. "Maya, don’t leave me. I can’t see anything right now. It’s completely dark."

Maya squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Don’t worry, Adrian. Soon, this will all be over and you’ll see perfectly fine. I’ll be back before you know it."

With that, Maya left the hospital to take care of what she needed to do. But by the time she finally returned to the ward, the clock was ticking down dangerously, they had less than three hours left before Adrian was scheduled to be rolled into the operating room.

When the hospital door swung open, Maya didn’t walk in alone. Frank and Charles followed closely behind her.

Mark was standing there too, and right beside them stood someone else.

Who was that person standing there?