Chapter 2

When I woke up, they confirmed I'd gone deaf in my right ear. My parents refused to buy me a hearing aid, afraid of what people would say.

At its worst, when they brought me to their gatherings and someone called my name or spoke to me, I couldn't hear a thing.

So they'd say, "How does the eldest Henson girl have no manners at all? Spend too long in a poor family and you lose all your breeding."

After that, instead of buying me a hearing aid, they simply stopped bringing me to any big event.

As I walked out of my father's study, Millicent Henson sidled up to me, grinning. "Patricia, guess what I wished for."

"I don't know. And I don't want to."

My voice came out raw, my eyes red, my head low. I tried to slip past her, but she blocked my way.

"You don't want to know, but I'm going to tell you anyway."

"Dad actually bought you that junky watch you've been wanting."

I looked up at her, stunned, my throat too tight to speak.

"Want to know why he didn't give it to you?"

"Because I made a wish. I told Mom and Dad they weren't allowed to give it to you early."

"They had to leave you out first, let you feel disappointed, and then let you get it."

"I told them that way your happiness would be so much bigger."

When I didn't react, Millicent frowned, puzzled.

"Patricia, aren't you going to thank me? Why are you still standing there like a fool? Did your ears go deaf again?"

I said nothing, because Millicent knew perfectly well I would never be moved by this let-you-down-then-surprise-you routine.

She'd traded her birthday wish for this surprise on purpose.

Someone who has been conveniently forgotten since childhood carries a stored-up fragility that simply can't take a "surprise" like this.

And this magnified happiness couldn't fill the fissure cracked open inside me either.

I went back to my room, wanting a little quiet to myself, but Millicent wouldn't let up. She followed me in,

chattering on. "Patricia, are you even listening? You found out about the surprise early, so shouldn't you be thanking me?"

I stopped and looked at her, steady. "Stop bothering me, Millicent. From now on I won't need any of these surprises."

"Who are you fooling? You wouldn't dare leave the Henson family."

She shot me a scornful look and went on scanning my room,

hunting for something else to needle me with, when her eyes landed on the watch I'd left on my nightstand.

She darted over and snatched it up, then rounded on me, furious.

"Where did you get this watch?"

"I bought it myself."

"You're lying. There's no way you could afford it."

"Oh, I get it. When you went to the study just now, you must have secretly taken the watch Dad had in there."

"No wonder you didn't react at all after I told you."

As she talked, she held my watch high out of reach.

"Give it back. I bought that myself."

I tried to grab it, but she ran out with the watch. "Mom, Dad, Patricia stole the watch Dad bought!"