“Milana, have you lost it?
“Did you secretly marry Miles Garrett while abroad? Does Ernest know about this?”
Clarice Rivers’s sharp, accusatory voice erupted from the phone the moment Milana Orr picked up.
Milana had just finished applying her lipstick. She pressed her lips together as she looked at her reflection in the mirror before smiling with satisfaction.
“Relax, princess, you’re on the speaker.”
Clarice’s voice dropped instantly. “Don't tell me Ernest is right next to you.”
Milana glanced back at Ernest Conner, seated on the couch and focused on reading a magazine while waiting for her to finish her makeup.
“Yes, he is. He’s waiting for me to finish my makeup. Don’t worry, he can’t hear you.”
After a faint hesitation on the other end of the line, Clarice continued in a glacial voice, “Milana, we all know how well Ernest has treated you over the years. Don’t you think it’s too heartless of you to do this to him?
“Have you forgotten what happened back then when Miles left to study abroad, and you tried to stop him from leaving, only to get into a car accident?
“When you were paralyzed for five whole years, Ernest was the one who stayed by your side the entire time! He never thought about abandoning you.
“Ernest even lost his hearing from saving you when you tried to take your life by jumping into the sea—”
Before Clarice could finish, Milana cut her off sharply.
“Yes, that’s exactly why I chose to marry Miles abroad! I’m going to stay with Ernest here, and besides, we’re going to have a grand wedding in a week.
“It’s my way of repaying him for taking care of me over the last five years. Why don’t you just drop the subject of my marriage to Miles?”
Meanwhile, Ernest was clutching the edges of the magazine so tightly the paper crumpled.
Milana’s sharp remarks struck into the depths of his heart like terrific claps of thunder. His dignity as a man had been completely shattered.
Clarice was seething on the other end of the line.
“Milana, I’m your friend. I want you to know that a good man like Ernest is hard to come by and that he truly loves you.”
After Milana turned off the speakerphone, her expression darkened.
“I’m pregnant with Miles’s kid. What am I supposed to do other than marry him?”
Ernest, who was sitting on the couch, felt his heart drop. He felt as if he had fallen off a building and his breath had been taken out of him.
Getting married to Miles Garrett and being pregnant with his child…
It felt as if a nail had been driven into his heart.
It hit him so hard that he could barely pay attention to what was said after.
By the time he came to, Milana had already hung up and went toward him to plant a gentle kiss on the corner of his lips.
Suddenly, her phone rang again.
The moment she picked up, Miles’s voice brimmed with excitement. “Milana, you have no idea how happy I am. I’m going to be a father! I just landed. I can’t wait to see you!”
Every word he said cut into Ernest’s heart.
After hanging up, Milana said in sign language, [Ernest, I have something urgent to attend to. Let’s celebrate your birthday later tonight.]
Ernest fell into the pits of despair as Milana strutted off into the distance.
Nobody knew that he had only been pretending to be deaf all this time. He did it so Milana would find the strength to live by having someone who could empathize with her disability.
Therefore, he had heard every single word they said.
Five years ago, when Miles went overseas to study, Milana tried to stop him, only to get in a car accident. The aftermath of the accident was that she came very close to having both her legs amputated.
When it happened, Ernest, who had been nursing a crush on her for years, dedicated himself to taking care of her.
Milana was having a hard time coming to terms with her disability and ended up trying to throw herself into the sea, only to be saved by him.
However, Ernest hit his head when trying to save her, and turned “deaf” because of it.
From then on, their bond grew stronger. During Milana’s rehabilitation sessions, she would often ask if Ernest would shun her if she could not walk anymore.
Every time, he would gaze at her, then respond, "I am deaf and disabled too. Would you cast me aside because of that?"
After 1803 days of rehabilitation, Milana finally stood up.
The moment she stood up, she signed to him, [Ernest, I want to marry you! I want to be your wife!]
He asked, "Now that you’ve recovered, are you sure you don’t mind that I am disabled?"
Milana tiptoed, then kissed him, [Never. I have never loved anyone more than you.]
Now, Ernest wished he was truly deaf. If he were, perhaps he would not have to confront such a cruel reality.
He and Miles were the opposing weights on the scales that were Milana’s heart.
No matter how much he did, he could never measure up to Miles.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the back of his mind.
The voice told him to leave Milana.
With that, he reached for his phone and dialed an international number.
“Professor, I want to talk to you about the sign language interpreter cum broadcaster position you told me about. I’m interested.”
After he lost his hearing, they went to learn sign language to facilitate communication. As a result, he was very interested in sign language and learned it quite well.
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