Chapter 4
When I was 17, my mom dated Caroline’s dad, and I started to live in her
shadow.
If a guy liked my new song, she’d tear up the sheet music as soon as he turned around.
“Deaf freak, if you write another song, I’ll slap your face till it’s mush!”
Caroline hated me. She’d stomp on my hearing aids with her friends, mock the way I talked, and even spread rumors about me.
But she was still the perfect student in the teachers‘ eyes.
So when I got accused of stealing a bracelet, she cried to the teacher, talking fast.
And me? With my hearing loss, I spoke slowly and weirdly.
With the teacher looking at me in disgust, I shut my mouth.
I felt so wronged that it was like a lump in my throat, and tears were starting to out.
Come
Trevor, who had been studying nearby, suddenly snickered.
He signed smoothly, “Silly girl, nobody gets what you’re saying. Why don’t you just write it down?”
He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and slapped it in front of me. Then, he looked down and said slowly to the teacher, “I believe Vanessa. Let her write down what she wants to say.”
Chapter 4
Behind him, sunlight streamed through the ivy hanging from the window, reflecting in the pupils beneath his fine bangs.
After I was proven innocent, Trevor took my hand and led me away.
Under Caroline’s fiery gaze, he took off the earring from his left ear and put it on me.
The voice by my ear was loud enough for Caroline to hear too.
“My grandma is deaf too. Don’t be scared. If she bullies you again, press the button on the earring. The other one will sense it, and I’ll come.”
That flutter in my heart lasted for ten years.
When I came to, I saw the ivy swaying outside the hospital window, as green as that summer.
Suddenly, the arguing jolted me back to my senses.
My agent Nick Taylor yelled, “Are you out of your mind? Vanessa was hurt badly, and yet you protected Caroline! Did you forget how she went to competitions with you, helped with publicity, and even begged people to boost your stats?”
Trevor, who was 27, said coldly, “Did I ask her to do any of that?”
Nick asked, “Can’t you just let her go? Stop making things hard for her.”
“Why should I? She came to me first. I’m not letting her go.”
“Hey, you’re about to propose to Caroline!”
“I know that! I only love Caroline. Now that she’s back in my life, other girls are all the same to me. But I need a bit of time. When I get tired of our little game, I’ll let Vanessa go.”
Chapter 4
Trevor ran his hand through his hair and said irritably, “Oh, don’t tell her about the proposal, or she may flip out..
“She actually tried to kill Caroline today. She must be out of her mind. Who the hell does she think she is?
“Does she really think that a singer like me will marry a deaf girl?”
With that, he started to walk away.
From behind, Nick raised his voice, questioning, “Who’s she? She’s the genius girl who won the New Voice Award at 13! And she’s your girlfriend who has been with you through thick and thin for ten years!
“Did you forget? Your biggest wish used to be for her to hear you sing.
“With how fast medical stuff is advancing, what if she can hear again one day? Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
Trevor didn’t turn back. His voice was cold. “I’m off to make the
engagement ring myself. Tell her I don’t want to see her on any shows. anymore.”
***
Nick let out a sigh and turned around, locking eyes with me.
He looked flustered for a second, then exhaled in relief. “Thank goodness. you can’t hear. Otherwise, you’d be crying your heart out.
“Tsk, silly girl, you’re still smiling.”
Yeah, I was smiling at how foolish I’d been.
In just five days, I’d be out of Trevor’s control.
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Chapter 4
I didn’t want his cheap, fake, and one–sided love anymore.
