Chapter 1

Emily's POV

When Mom stepped out of the room and saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. Ever since I was little, she had barely spoken to me. So, I had learned every change in her expression.

Before my mind could even process it, I blurted out, "I didn't hear anything."

Mom merely nodded. She didn't say anything to me.

My younger sister, Zara Bardot, also came out of the room. She asked, "Emily, what are you doing here?" She signed. "Tomorrow, our fiances are coming over. Mom doesn't speak, so I don't know if she'll approve of them."

I smiled derisively. If I hadn't heard Mom spend the entire night giving her advice, I might actually have believed her. Come to think of it, Zara always managed to have good luck whenever something important happened.

She hadn't done well on the college entrance exam, but she somehow managed to get into the university I had dreamed of attending. She hadn't even maintained an impressive academic record, yet she somehow landed an offer from a foreign company. Just how much of this luck of hers was actually Mom's doing?

Not long after, my fiance, Timothy Graham, and Zara's fiance, Evan Stewart, arrived together. They brought a generous amount of gifts.

Timothy smiled and greeted Mom when he saw her. "Hello, Ms. Wesley!"

Mom glanced sideways at Timothy, then ignored him. I had already told him about Mom's habit of not speaking. So, he wasn't hurt by her silence. Instead, he smiled even more. He poured her coffee and brought it to her, eager to make a good impression.

Unexpectedly, when it was Evan's turn to greet Mom, she immediately smiled. She said affectionately, "Evan, right? You're such a good man. You and Zara are sure to be happy together."

Mom's words were precious and special. Everything she said was destined to come true.

When Evan heard that, he immediately gave Mom a solemn nod. "With your blessing, Zara and I are sure to be happy together! Thank you, Ms. Wesley!"

Zara smiled shyly at that.

Mom smiled and teased him, "Still calling me that? Don't call me that anymore."

Evan was quick to catch on. He immediately smiled and said, "Okay, Jennifer."

"Good!" At that moment, Mom was just like any other mother. For more than a decade, she had followed her rule of speaking only one sentence a month. Yet, at that moment, it was as if that rule had never existed.

Timothy was still holding the coffee. When he saw what had happened, he suddenly felt flustered. He didn't even realize that the coffee had burned his hand.

He quietly walked over to me, a hint of confusion and insecurity in his eyes. He asked, "Emily, does your mom not like me?"

I clenched my fingers tightly and forced back my tears. It wasn't that she didn't like him. She just didn't like me.

Timothy gritted his teeth. "Maybe she just didn't hear me when I talked to her!" With that, he picked up the coffee again and offered it to Mom. "Ms. Weston, please have a drink!"

The moment Mom heard his voice, she stopped smiling and snapped her lips shut. In an instant, she was once again the woman I remembered so well.

A long silence filled the air. Even when Timothy could barely hold the drink, Mom still didn't take the coffee from him or say a single word in response.

Zara stepped in to smooth things over, smiling as she took the coffee from Mom. "This is top-quality coffee—"

Before she could finish, she suddenly let out a scream. "It's hot!"

The cup slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, mirroring my and Timothy's hearts.

Yet, Mom didn't spare Timothy a glance. She turned around, took Zara's hand, and brought her to the sink to run cold water over the burn. "How could you be so careless?" she asked.

I listened as Mom fussed over Zara in the kitchen so her injury would heal quickly.

Beside me, Timothy lowered his head and walked over to me with a bitter smile. "Looks like your mom really doesn't like me."

I tightly grasped his scalded hand as I fought back my tears. I said, "Nothing can change the fact that we're getting married in three days. Timothy, after the wedding, we won't come home again. Alright?"

Timothy seemed to understand what I meant. He looked at me tenderly and sadly. "Okay."