Chapter 4
My body went rigid, and I whipped my head towards Jack beside me.
He was literally holding my hand, yet under a sky exploding with fireworks, he was professing his love to Sarah at the top of his lungs.
Watching Sarah on his other side, blushing and bashful, and seeing the teasing, knowing glances from our friends all around, it finally hit me why Jack hadn't let me wear my hearing aids today. And I finally understood what he meant by the 'big show' he’d mentioned on the phone this morning.
He was doing this on purpose. This, on top of him whispering in my ear about his bedroom exploits with other women.
Today, he’d actually used my 'deafness' as cover to confess to another woman, right in front of my goddamn face!
Sarah playfully tapped Jack's arm with a little laugh. Once their cute little back-and-forth was over, Jack turned to me, expertly signing his explanation.
"I just confessed my feelings to you under the fireworks, and now they're all teasing me about it."
Staring at Jack’s familiar face, and at Sarah looking so damn smug behind him, I suddenly couldn't take it anymore.
I knew I’d already lost, completely and utterly. But even if it was just a little, I wanted to fight for a tiny piece of dignity that had long since vanished.
I stood on my tiptoes, planting a soft kiss on Jack’s lips.
"Jack, thank you. I'm so happy. I love you too, and I'll be with you forever."
Jack's signs hadn't said 'I love you,' nor 'I'll be with you forever.' But I answered like that anyway.After all, Sarah couldn't understand Jack's sign language, but she could damn well understand what I was saying.
Sure enough, the moment the words left my lips, the smug look on Sarah’s face twisted into rage. She stomped her foot hard and stormed out of the crowd.
Jack froze, then blurted out anxiously,
"Emma, I'm just gonna hit the restroom, be right back."
Jack didn't even wait for my reply; he just took off after Sarah without a backward glance.
In his panic, he'd even forgotten that, in his eyes, I was 'deaf' today.
The fireworks show ended, the crowd dispersed, and I was left all alone by the river. Jack and Sarah never came back.
I walked to the underground parking garage where Jack had parked. Just as I reached the entrance, I saw his car rocking rhythmically.
The car's back door was ajar, a pale, slender leg dangling outside, searing my eyes.
The underground garage was vast and empty, making the sounds of their lovemaking shockingly clear.
"Sarah, baby, don't be mad anymore. I love you the most. How could that deaf girl even compare to you? It’s just that her family seems pretty well-off, and she’s got some spending money. Otherwise, I would’ve dumped her a long time ago."
"Okay, okay, hasn't my body already told you who I choose? God, I could just die in your arms right now..."The conversation that followed got increasingly X-rated, to the point it was unbearable, but I just stood there, punishing myself, staring blankly at the man I’d loved for nine whole years.
I don’t know how long I watched, then my dad called.
“Your ride will be here in half an hour.”
I fiercely wiped away my tears and left the parking lot without looking back.
Back home, I didn’t pack a thing; I just grabbed my ID and bank card.
It wasn’t until I was in the car my father had sent that I finally broke down, sobbing my heart out—not for Jack, but for myself, for my three years of crushing on him in secret and the six years we’d been together.
I cried until I was exhausted, then finally drifted off into a deep sleep in the back seat.
Meanwhile, Jack, who had just finished sleeping with Sarah, got a call from the hospital.
“Hello, is this Mr. Jack? Is Ms. Emma with you right now? We haven’t been able to get in touch with her.”
“It’s been over 24 hours since her cochlear implant was activated. Has she experienced any discomfort? If she’s feeling off at all, she needs to come in for a follow-up immediately…”
The doctor wasn’t even finished speaking when Jack, trembling, cut him off.
“W-what… what did you say?”
“Are you saying… Emma… she can hear now?”