Chapter 1

My grandmother found me in a snowdrift when I was just a baby, completely deaf.

After Grandma Nora passed away, everyone in our factory housing complex treated me like an unwanted burden. Only Cole Vance was willing to marry me.

He didn't care about my disability. He even learned sign language just for me.

Not wanting to be a dead weight, I secretly spent months learning how to read lips.

The day I finally mastered it, I went to the local butcher shop and bought two pounds of prime pork belly, wanting to make Cole a hearty, warm dinner.

The moment I pushed the front door open, I froze.

Cole was holding Susie Bell, the local elementary school teacher, tightly against his chest. His lips were barely an inch from hers:

"Susie, the Vance family is sending a car for me in three days to claim my inheritance. As soon as I'm back in the city, I'm taking you with me to live like royalty."

Susie glanced over and saw me. The color instantly drained from her face. "Cole! The deaf girl is back! Did she see—"

Cole glanced over his shoulder at me and smirked, completely unfazed.

"What are you scared of? She can't hear a damn thing. She's the easiest fool in the world to trick."

A heartbeat later, Cole walked up to me with a warm, doting smile, his hands moving gracefully in sign language:

[Daisy, I missed you so much.]

Yet his lips were coldly spitting out the words:

"Useless deaf bitch. I'm finally done with you."

I stood there, paralyzed.

The fresh pork slipped from my fingers and hit the dusty floor. Tears burned behind my eyes.

Cole picked up the meat, brushing off the dirt as his hands moved gently:

[Why are you crying? Were you that moved when I said I missed you?]

I couldn't respond. The tears just kept spilling silently down my cheeks.

Seeing this, Cole felt even more smug. He turned back to Susie.

"See? Told you she's brainless. She hasn't got a clue."

With that, he shoved the dirty meat back into my hands and pushed me toward the kitchen.

[Go cook. I'm starving.]

[Ms. Bell happens to be here, so let's have her stay for dinner.]

I stood beside the stove, washing the dirty meat under cold running water, completely numb.

I refused to believe this was the same Cole who had promised to protect me.

Still, my eyes kept drifting toward the living room, locked onto their lips moving in quiet conversation.

"Cole, if you never loved that deaf girl, why did you marry her in the first place?"

Cole curled his lip in disgust.

"I had no choice. Old Man Vance refused to acknowledge me, so I was stuck working as a low-level factory mechanic here. Then I heard that Grandma Nora had saved up a fortune for her orphan girl. I figured marrying her would make my life a hell of a lot easier."

"Who knew luck would be on my side? The old woman dropped dead, and now my real father wants me back in the city to split the estate."

Cole paused, catching me looking at him.

His hands instantly flew up, signing with practiced sweetness:

[I love you, Daisy.]

Then, without missing a beat, he turned back to Susie's heavily powdered face and sneered:

"Who the hell would actually want a deaf cripple for a wife?"

"Just wait three more days, Susie. I'll take you to the city and spoil you rotten."

I somehow managed to finish cooking the meal in a complete daze.

A table full of hot food was laid out, but my stomach twisted in knots. I picked up my fork to take a piece of meat, but Susie's fork stabbed down first, snatching it away.

She looked at me, fluttering her eyelashes in open mockery.

I didn't want to cause a scene.

I reached for another slice, but Susie deliberately pinned my fork against the rim of the bowl.

I glared at her. Just as I was about to shove her fork away, Cole reached over.

He casually transferred the meat onto Susie's plate.

His hands signed a half-hearted excuse:

[Susie is fragile. Be nice and let her have it.]

While his mouth said out loud:

"Eat up, Susie. Wasting good meat on a deaf girl is pointless anyway."

I lost every ounce of appetite. I set my fork down and walked into the bedroom.

In the past, whenever I felt down, Cole would always follow me inside and hold me until I smiled. But tonight, he only shot a cold glance toward the door before continuing to laugh and chat with Susie.

It wasn't until dusk fell that he finally stepped into the bedroom, signing a brief sentence:

[It's dark outside. I'm walking Susie home.]

From the front yard, Susie's shrill voice drifted in:

"Hurry up, Cole! The movie starts in fifteen minutes!"

Cole didn't wait to see if I understood, nor did he care that my eyes were swollen from crying. He turned and walked out.

A suffocating weight crushed my chest.

In three years of marriage, Cole had never once taken me to the movies. Because I was deaf, he always said going to a theater was a waste of time.

The moment the front gate clicked shut, I collapsed onto the bed.

Unable to hold it in any longer, I pulled the blanket over my head and wept until I couldn't breathe. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine he had married me not out of love, but for the modest inheritance Grandma Nora left behind.

A long time later, a knock came at the door.

Thinking Cole had come back to check on me, I rushed to open it.

Standing on my porch was an elegantly dressed middle-aged couple. Parked right behind them was a sleek, polished black sedan—far grander than anything the plant manager ever drove.

The woman took one look at me.

She broke down, lunging forward to pull me into a fierce embrace:

"My baby! Mom finally found you!"

"Come home with us. We're taking you back to the city to live the life you deserve!"