Chapter 4

When Aria saw the coat, a hint of emotion stirred within her, and she instructed the butler to take it for dry cleaning.

But I simply tossed the coat into the trash, along with all the photos Aria and I had taken over the years.

In the future, I wanted nothing to do with her.

Aria stared at me and slowly spoke, "Brandon is kind-hearted for adopting Cupcake. If you dare make him sad, I won't let you off easy."

It was utterly absurd, almost laughable. It seemed Aria had completely forgotten my fear of dogs.

Perhaps Aria had given instructions, as not a single servant offered to help me.

I endured the pain in my wrist and tidied up until evening, finally clearing away everything related to Aria.

This was the first time I had stayed at home in three years. After Aria became a vegetable, I practically lived at the hospital.

At first, people visited, but eventually, the Jiang family gave up on her. Most of the time, it was just her and me in the room.

I was just starting to drift off to sleep when a bucket of cold water doused me awake.

Aria looked down at me. "Leo, you're getting lazier and lazier."

"You're not the master of this house anymore. How dare you sleep in?"

My head felt a bit hazy. I simply nodded to indicate I understood.

I wiped the water from my face and got up to change.

The villa servants were bustling about. The butler glanced at me and instructed me to polish the piano.

It was only then that I remembered it was Brandon's birthday.

My fingers glided over the keys, and a beautiful melody poured out.

Aria once said these hands were made for playing the piano. Yet now, they were used for polishing it.

A self-deprecating smile touched my lips. Sweet words were only true at the moment they were spoken.

Halfway through, I received a message from Dr. Hayes: Tomorrow morning at ten.

I quickly replied with "Okay" and forwarded the message to Maya.

Just the thought of being able to speak again lifted my spirits considerably.

I thought this party had nothing to do with me, but then Aria pulled me into the dressing room. I took the gown she handed me, a little surprised.

Her face was full of impatience. "Hurry and change. If you don't attend, what will people say about Brandon?"

It turned out she was only afraid of people talking about Brandon. I felt the large stains on the gown, my heart long numb.

I remembered an hour ago, Brandon's social media post with a photo: No worries if the outfit gets dirty, Aria will prepare two for me.

Brandon stood by the cake, like an elegant prince, while I felt like a clown for their amusement.

I tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, sitting in a corner.

But the whispers still reached my ears.

"What's on his clothes? So disgusting!"

"He's shameless, stealing Brandon's fiancée."

"I heard he's a mute."

The mockery was relentless. I clutched the hem of my clothes tightly.

Brandon sat down at the piano, the spotlight illuminating him. All eyes were drawn to him.

The music suddenly stopped. He cried out in alarm, "It hurts! How are there razor blades in the piano!"

The butler pointed to me in the corner. "Only Mr. Leo touched the piano!"

Aria glared at me, roughly dragging me to the piano. She slammed my hands onto the keys, and excruciating pain shot through my fingers, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Leo, this is the price for your mistakes."

Without another word, she disregarded my bleeding hands, picked up Brandon, and walked out the door.

I clearly saw Brandon flash me a triumphant smile.

Later, an ambulance took me to the hospital, but all the doctors there had been called to consult on Brandon's case.

Before I passed out from blood loss, I heard a nurse shout angrily, "If his hands don't get immediate treatment, he'll be permanently disabled!"

Tears streamed down my face. I wished I had never met Aria.

Meanwhile, a doctor recognized Aria and greeted her warmly.

"How is your husband? He took care of you for three years; it's about time his hardships ended."