Tears welled up in my eyes.
The man who once claimed to love me and promised to protect me for a lifetime was now holding another woman, mocking my old illness.
I buried myself under the blanket, sobbing uncontrollably. At some point, Jeremy came to the bedside.
He pulled back the blanket and upon seeing my tear-streaked face, he looked guilty and quickly gestured, "What’s wrong?"
I shook my head, telling him it was just that I was too tired lately. Jeremy picked up the milk, ready to feed it to me.
"Drink it, you’ll feel better and sleep well."
The milk had sleeping pills in it and once I fell asleep, they could have their fun without restraint in the house.
I hesitated, pushed his hand away and gestured, "I don’t want to drink it."
Worried he might suspect me, I rubbed my stomach and pretended to feel unwell.
Vanessa walked in, her face full of concern, but what she said was, "Gracie, you’re really being difficult. Is it so hard to just sleep quietly? All these years, Jeremy has really been suffering."
Jeremy gestured, "Vanessa told you to have a good rest."
Then he flirtatiously asked Vanessa, "I'll coax her to drink the milk first; you wait outside for a while."
Vanessa was displeased but still pretended to say goodbye to me. "Jeremy, hurry up, I can't wait any longer."
Vanessa's voice was soft and seductive, stirring Jeremy's emotions.
He began to grow impatient, muttering complaints under his breath.
"So annoying. Why can’t you just drink the milk in one go? You’re being so pretentious and ruining things between Vanessa and me."
His words pierced my ears and shattered my heart.
Jeremy and I had been together since university. After graduation, he proposed to me in front of the entire class.
He promised to cherish me and take care of me. He said that even if I couldn’t wear a hearing aid, he would be my ears.
Even without sound, his love was something I could always see. But ever since he took Vanessa as his foster sister, I never saw that love in his eyes again.
Lost in memories of the happiness we once shared, I didn’t notice Jeremy’s suspicious gaze. "Gracie, can you hear now?"
He didn’t use gestures and my heart jolted in shock. I couldn’t let him discover that I had regained my hearing. At least, not now.
I quickly suppressed all my emotions, lowered my head and rubbed my stomach.