Chapter 1

"Once you sign this contract, you and Nolan will no longer be married. Are you really willing to give up everything you have now?"

Nolan's mother typed the message on her phone and handed it to me, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

I lowered my head, signed my name, and left without looking back.

Everyone knows how difficult these years have been for Nolan and me. I lost my hearing to save him, and he defied his family to marry me.

People envied how deeply Nolan loved me, and even I thought I had found redemption.

But on the day I regained my hearing, I discovered Nolan had another family outside our marriage.

"I wonder if Scarlett would go insane if she knew that instead of sending me to jail, you've been having children with me?"

The woman straddled Nolan's lap, the picture of seduction.

She was Vivienne, the one who had loved Nolan unrequitedly years ago and ran me over with her car, leaving me deaf.

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"Scarlett, Vivienne's children are indeed Nolan's. The oldest daughter is five, and now she's pregnant again."

My best friend's bitter voice came through the phone, making my heart tremble along with it.

Nolan and I have only been married for five years.

Yet he has a five-year-old child with Vivienne, and during these five years, I've been like a golden canary trapped in a cage.

I thought I was being cherished in the palm of his hand, but I didn't realize I was actually in hell.

"Jade, I signed a contract with the Langdon Family agreeing to leave Nolan. Can you help me cancel my ID?"

"I'll never let Nolan find me again in this lifetime."

My best friend sighed on the other end of the line, constantly asking if there was some misunderstanding, or if perhaps Nolan had some unspoken difficulties.

Nolan is so good to me that people around me immediately try to find excuses for him.

Even I do the same.

On the day I discovered the truth, I came up with countless reasons and excuses for Nolan, but in the end, I found I couldn't deceive myself.

Everyone knows how much Nolan loves me, but he clearly knew that because of that car accident, I lost my chance to go to college. My entire body was broken, with seven fractured ribs and complete hearing loss. I nearly died on the operating table.

Yet he still chose to deceive me, not only failing to send Vivienne to prison but even having children with her.

I shook my head as I held the phone, tears streaming down uncontrollably, unable to process a single word.

"Scarlett, why are you crying? Did my mom say something again?"

Nolan signed anxiously, his hands moving in crisp gestures as he questioned me.

After I lost my hearing, he was the first to learn sign language. It was then that I made up my mind to marry him.

The Langdon Family always looked down on me for being an orphan. Even after five years of marriage, I still faced cold stares at the family estate.

Coupled with my two miscarriages, the Langdons repeatedly suggested I take money and leave Nolan.

Because of Nolan's love, I chose to endure.

But now that the love was gone, I had no reason to persist.

My gaze fixed on his phone, which he hadn't hung up. Faint sounds could be heard from the other end.

There was a woman and a child. I heard a baby voice calling out "Daddy."

I sniffled and shook my head. "It's nothing. Maybe it's just emotional instability from the miscarriage."This is the second time Nolan and I have lost a child after five years of marriage.

Nolan silently signs to me, trying to comfort me, just like he did after the previous miscarriage.

Both times I've miscarried, Nolan has canceled everything to take care of me.

He always says he's not in a rush to have kids when it comes to the miscarriages.

But now I know he's not in a rush because someone else is already having his child.

Sitting in the car, I haven't said a word.

Nolan wisely stays quiet, but the constant incoming calls on his phone in his pocket make my ears ache.

I pretend to look out the window, and after carefully testing the waters, Nolan finally answers the phone.

"What's wrong?"

"The kid's sick and you took them to the hospital. What good does calling me do?"

"Scarlett's not doing well lately, I need to watch her. Stop calling me so much!"

...

Nolan doesn't realize I can hear everything, he's not hiding anything from me.

He sounds a bit angry, but there's a hint of compromise in his tone.

I watch my reflection in the glass, tears falling silently.

"Just wait."

My ears explode with a boom, all my thoughts shattered in that moment.