Chapter 2

My phone rang.

I stared at the caller ID: "Dad."

Like a curse, it rang relentlessly.

As soon as I picked up, my father's voice came through, filled with tears.

"Chloe! They came to the door again today! They broke Austin's jaw! His face is swollen beyond recognition!"

"When is your boyfriend's money coming through? Didn't he say he'd send monthly payments once you sign the marriage license? Have you signed it yet?"

In the background, my mother's sobbing and my brother's cursing erupted all at once.

I stood there in silence.

"...Tomorrow."

The crying and cursing stopped instantly. A sigh of relief came from the other end.

"Good, good. We won't bother you guys on your big day tomorrow. Just remember to remind our son-in-law to send the first payment tomorrow."

The call clicked off.

At some point, my face had become wet and cold.

I cleaned myself up, went back to the VIP room, grabbed my bag, and prepared to leave.

The people who had been laughing loudly earlier tried to block me.

Seeing that I ignored them, their expressions turned sour.

"A piece of used goods dares to throw a tantrum? She really thinks marrying Mason makes her high society."

"What do we do? Call Mason?"

"Call him for what? He's busy 'handling business.' Mason said the deaf girl relies on him to survive now. She can't run away."

I left.

That person was right. I had nowhere to go except Mason's apartment.

Perhaps I should thank him for at least not bringing Sienna to our home.

I took a very long shower.

My mind kept flashing back to that hallway and the ankle grabbed under the table.

Half-asleep, Mason woke me up.

"Did you take your meds? Why are you sleeping in the guest bedroom?"

I caught the scent of a foreign body wash on him and turned over.

"Can't hear. My ears hurt."

He froze, only then remembering that when he first convinced me to move in, I was still undergoing treatment. I often couldn't sleep because of the pain and would hide in the guest room to avoid keeping him awake.

"...Call me next time it hurts. Don't just walk off by yourself."

He bent down to kiss my hair.

"Sleep. Our wedding is at nine tomorrow morning. I'll wake you up."

The next day, just as the car stopped outside City Hall, Mason's phone rang.

"Coco is with you, right? I can't believe you both forgot today is my birthday!"

"I booked a table with some friends next door. We're just waiting on you two. Hurry up!"

Mason hung up and restarted the car.

He complained under his breath, not even looking at me.

"Your best friend is such a pain. If it weren't for you, I..."

"Maybe we shouldn't go."

It was the first time I had ever interrupted him.

Mason paused, but his hands didn't stop turning the steering wheel.

"That wouldn't be nice. She's your friend, after all."

"Anyway, it's still early. We can get married any day, but a birthday only happens once a year. I don't want you guys to ruin your friendship because of me."

At the restaurant, Sienna was wearing a white satin dress.

She was surrounded by a crowd, including some of Mason's friends.

Someone looked at her, then at me.

"Why do I feel like Sienna looks more like the bride than Coco today?"

"Yeah, Coco didn't even dress up for her wedding day. She's completely overshadowed by Sienna."

Sienna flushed, her eyes watery and helpless.

"Should I change out of it and swap with Coco? I just wanted to look pretty for my birthday..."

Mason stopped her as she pretended to stand up. "No need."

I looked at their joined hands and said nothing.

"Is Coco's hearing aid dead again?"

Sienna reached over to take my hearing aid, but her grip slipped.

A crushing sound echoed from beneath the table.

Sienna's face froze, and she shrank back.

As if terrified of being scolded.

Seeing her reaction, Mason instinctively frowned and spoke first.

"It's fine. Sienna didn't mean to."

He picked up the broken pieces, pulled out his phone, and typed for me to see: "Let's eat first."

Actually, pretending to be deaf made things easier.

If I had known this would be the outcome.

On the day I got divorced and ran into Mason on the street, I wondered if I would still have stopped to listen to him tell me, with red eyes, how much he had loved me for years.

The waiter brought out two new cups of pudding.

Mason set one in front of me and pushed the other to Sienna.

"For me?"

"Yeah. Yours was broken. This one is brand new, untouched."

"Oh, brand new."

The people at the table smirked and winked at each other.