Chapter 3

Leon's POV

One night, I was out making food deliveries, my back completely drenched in sweat.

Allison and Clarence were going viral on the Internet, where she sang a deeply soulful song in a video. Every lyric felt like a long-distance love confession.

Though she wore a mask, I recognized her at a glance.

The comment section was flooded with praise.

"Clarence is one lucky guy. Someone always has his back, no matter how much he screws up. His wife spent millions of dollars on a massive fireworks display just to make him smile.

"And now, she's singing to him like a devoted queen. What a life."

The atmosphere in the video was vibrant and full of life. Yet for three years, there was nothing but dead silence between us.

Even in bed, she refused to let a single sound escape her lips during our most intimate moments. Our sex life was mechanical, and our daily routine was robotic. I was the only lunatic desperately trying to keep this marriage alive.

Allison had never been one with high self-control. There was a time when a single smile from me could make her burst into laughter and prompt her to talk endlessly about her day. But for Clarence, she brutally suppressed every desire to speak and never said a word to us.

She wouldn't even speak to Noel, her son.

Noel had always felt lonely. There were several times when he tried to talk to Allison, babbling and cooing, but she would only stare at him with cold eyes until he was forced to give up speaking.

As a mother, she might as well have been dead. How could she be so heartless?

While I was lost in thought, the hospital called.

"Mr. Russell, your card was declined, and it seems like your bank account has been frozen. We'll have to stop the treatments once the current balance runs out. You need to look into this at once."

I was stunned. That was when I remembered that over the years, I had handed every dollar I earned over to Allison to manage.

With Noel's life on the line, I dared not delay another second. I quickly called her, but the line was constantly busy. She never replied to my texts either.

I had no choice but to track down the address from the news and rush to the venue.

The ballroom was spectacular, while I looked completely out of place. The judgmental, mocking stares from guests felt like sharp knives, but I didn't have time to care. I grabbed anyone I could find and desperately asked if they knew Allison.

Finally, I found her on the rooftop, dressed in an incredibly expensive outfit.

I grabbed her and demanded, "Where's my money, Allison? Give me back my money and cards! Why the hell did you freeze my account?"

Even behind her mask, I could see the panic in her eyes. She shoved me away to put distance between us.

"I don't know who you are, sir," she said. "You have the wrong person."

That was the final straw. Gritting my teeth, I snapped, "Drop the act! I know it's you, Allison Strong. I know everything! I just want my money back from all these years. Do you have any idea that was Noel's life-saving money?"

The more I spoke, the more I fell apart. Three years of lies and humiliation completely crushed my pride, and now, I only wanted what was rightfully mine. As for the money she had embezzled years ago, I would think of it as a loss.

Still, Allison refused to admit it, so I moved with lightning speed and reached out to rip the mask off her face.

She went deathly pale. "Leon, let me explain."

I slapped her hard across the face. "I don't want to hear any of it! I don't care if you played deaf and dumb for three years, and I don't care that you stole my money. I just want my card back."

Clarence stepped in and feigned a friendly demeanor as he held me back. "This is all my fault, Leon. Allison grabbed the wrong card by mistake, and I accidentally got yours frozen while spending the money.

"And don't blame Allison for not talking to you these past three years. It's all because of a joke both of us made back then. I told her that if she dared to have a baby before I did, she wouldn't be allowed to say a word for three years.

"She gave birth to a baby for you and for three years, kept her mouth shut for me."

A loud ringing filled my ear. It never crossed my mind that something that ridiculous was the reason behind Allison's muteness.