Chapter 4

Ernest was not sure how long he had been unconscious. All he knew was that when he woke up, the room was still empty and Milana was nowhere to be seen.

He realized it was dark again outside when he looked out. He felt a deep, oppressive void in his heart.

Then, his phone vibrated. It was a text from Milana.

[Ernest, I know you’ve been upset lately. If you come over, I have a surprise for you.]

Ernest stared at the address, hesitated for a long time, then got into his car and drove there anyway.

He reasoned to himself that he might as well put a proper full stop to their five-year-long relationship.

Stepping into a private room, he was struck by the sharp smell of champagne. Before he could even react, a cork popped from a bottle and struck him square in the eye.

The impact blurred his vision in an instant. He keeled over by the doorway in a disoriented state while frantically wiping away the champagne spilled all over him with his sleeves.

At the same time, he was overwhelmed by a group of people crying out, “You're late! Drink up! Drink up!”

While straining to open his eyes, he saw Miles holding a bottle of champagne with a smug look in his eyes.

Soon, Milana stepped forward and handed him a napkin while saying in sign language: [Don’t be upset. Miles didn’t do it intentionally.]

Then, the others in the room began to make comments that made Ernest uncomfortable.

“Drinking with a deaf guy is such a mood killer. You don’t expect us to sign every time we want to have a toast, do you?”

One man even made a crass comment, “Milana, can he even hear you when you scream in bed?”

“You’d be better off marrying Miles over here! He’ll make sure you have a good time in bed if you know what I mean.”

Ernest had to suffer as he listened to their derisive comments with his fists clenched the entire time.

Meanwhile, Miles was laughing wildly and announced boastfully, “I’ll confess. Milana and I already got legally married overseas! All of you are invited to celebrate our baby’s birth!”

The room erupted in laughter.

Ernest was the only one who wore a glacial look in his eyes.

With that, he turned around to leave.

Miles reached for his phone and typed, [Ernest, you’re late, and that means you have to drink as punishment! You have to drink out of respect for Milana!]

Then, he turned to the others and jeered openly, “It sure is convenient that you can insult a deaf guy all you want without him knowing about it!”

The group erupted in laughter again.

Meanwhile, Ernest marched onward while ignoring Miles.

That was when Milana reached out and took him by his sleeve while faintly shaking her head.

When Ernest looked at her, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

She, of all people, would know about his stomach condition and understand that he could not drink alcohol.

The complete lack of attention and care hurt him more than anything else.

With that, he snatched the champagne bottle from Miles’s hand and downed it in one swift motion, emptying its contents until the final drop trickled down his chin and shirt.

When the liquor made its way through his system and into his stomach, he felt torn apart by pain.

It was the kind of pain that made him scowl and took the color out of his complexion.

With the same stony expression, he shoved the empty bottle back into Miles’s hands, then strode toward the exit.

He barely managed to reach the threshold before his stomach churned violently again and started to spasm uncontrollably. It was agonizing.

His condition had flared up again.

He hobbled his way forward before slamming his back against the door. He was sweating so much at that point that his shirt was drenched.

He had both hands clutched over his stomach when he passed out right by the door, producing a loud thud.

Meanwhile, the group inside the room continued to taunt him without reserve.

“This deaf bloke must be delusional if he thinks he can win over Miles’s girl!”

“Exactly! He thinks too highly of himself!”

“Congratulations, Miles! You finally managed to win her over after all these years!”

“The deaf bloke can give her as much as he wants, but it still won’t mean anything compared to how much you mean to Milana!”

The only thing Ernest could hear was a persistent, droning sound while his consciousness slowly faded away.

Moments before he shut his eyes, he saw Milana’s face surfacing in front of him like a mirage.

In that dreamy state somewhere between reality and fantasy, he heard a familiar voice calling out, “Ernest!”