Chapter 1

"Samuel, did you really bring your adopted sister back to the country? Aren't you worried that Nerissa might get mad?" one of Samuel Judd's friends asked.

Standing outside the private room of the club, Nerissa Reese, who had finally regained her hearing after being deaf for a year, froze in place, the smile on her face stiffening.

Sasha Judd had returned to the country?

"As long as none of you bring it up, Nerissa won't find out." Samuel's voice was cool and detached. "Besides, it's been over a year. Sasha misses home too."

"I don't think it's home that she misses. I think she misses you."

The others in the room began to chuckle knowingly.

"Don't be ridiculous. Sasha is just a little sister to me," Samuel said.

"Come on, Samuel. I saw Sasha kiss you just now, so don't tell me she's your sister. She looked more like your lover to me!"

Frowning, Samuel explained, "She leaned in while I was distracted, so I couldn't avoid her in time. She's just a young woman who doesn't know any better. I can't exactly hold it against her."

A thought crossed his mind, and he swiftly added warningly, "You guys had better not let that get out, you hear me? Make sure none of you bring it up when Nerissa gets here. I don't want to hear a word about it!"

Someone cleared his throat before asking with a serious expression, "Samuel, have you seriously forgiven Sasha for hiring someone to crash into Nerissa back then? She nearly died in that crash, you know, and she lost her hearing because of it."

"Sasha was only 19 years old at the time," Samuel said indifferently. "She was just being impulsive. Now that she has had to suffer living abroad for a year, she's grown a lot more mature, so why should I still harp on that issue?"

Just being impulsive, huh?

Nerissa felt like something had exploded in her head. Being struck by lightning would've probably felt less painful than this. She couldn't believe the outrageousness she'd just heard, one that threatened to devour her whole.

A year ago, Samuel's adopted younger sister, Sasha, had made a fervent attempt to win his heart. After her efforts ended in failure, she hired someone to run Nerissa down with a car, and the incident left Nerissa deaf.

Samuel had been livid then, even going as far as to beat her up badly. It was his parents, Fergus Judd and Bonnie Malone, who intervened and hastily sent her abroad.

For the past year, Samuel had spared no expense searching for specialists both home and abroad, hoping to find someone who could cure Nerissa of her condition. He had even set aside his work just to accompany her through her rehabilitation treatments.

Alas, the treatment process was a long and arduous one. Whenever she broke down because of it, he would tear up and hug her tenderly before saying he wished he could kill Sasha.

Nerissa had been consumed by hatred and anger as well. Nevertheless, after seeing the way he'd devoted himself to seeking out doctors for her and accompanying her at all times, she couldn't help thinking that she'd at least met a man who loved her with his whole heart.

Without knowing it, she rubbed her fingers against the velvet box in her pocket. Inside was a custom-made men's ring she had secretly commissioned.

Their wedding had been postponed because of the preposterous accident that had befallen her. Now that she'd regained her hearing, she thought she could finally fulfill her dream of marrying Samuel. Who would've thought…

Not only did Samuel allow Sasha to come back to the country, but he'd breezily forgiven Sasha on her behalf.

What a mockery it was.

As Nerissa's heart chilled at the thought, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

It took her some time to compose herself before checking her phone. She'd received a message from her mother, Phoebe Harris. The long spiel had been written for one sole purpose—to beg her to return to Shorehaven and marry Lincoln Hamilton on behalf of her older stepsister, Jennifer Reese.

Just an hour ago, Phoebe had called Nerissa.

The Reeses and the Hamiltons were supposed to enter into a marriage alliance, but for some unknown reason, Jennifer had decided to bail on the wedding.

The Hamilton family held enormous power in Shorehaven, and Lincoln, the second son of the family, was rumored to be a ruthless and terrifying man. If he found out that the Reeses had dared to make a fool of him by reneging on the marriage, the family would be wiped out in a flash.

Phoebe had no choice but to call Nerissa for help.

"Nerissa, Michael and I are really out of options. Please just come back and help us out, okay?"

It was the first time Phoebe had ever asked her for a favor, ever since moving in with the Reeses with her.

Throughout these years, Michael Reese, Nerissa's stepfather, had treated her and Phoebe quite well. Nevertheless, Nerissa knew how hard it was for Phoebe to gain a firm foothold in the Reese family. As it was, from the day she married into the family, Phoebe had devoted all of her time to Michael and Jennifer.

Therefore, Nerissa had always been a thoughtful and mature daughter, going out of her way not to cause any trouble for her mother.

The only two times she'd rebelled against Phoebe had been because of Samuel—the first when she left Shorehaven alone for him, and the second was after the call earlier, when she'd texted back to refuse to marry another man because of him.

A bitter smile spread over Nerissa's face as she thought about what she'd written in the text. She'd said Samuel loved her very much, so they would soon be getting married.

She'd also said she believed that Samuel would surely help her resolve the Reese family's situation. She'd said she trusted him.

Closing her eyes, Nerissa felt a sharp stabbing pain in her heart. She had to curl her fingers tightly around the ring box in her pocket to stop the scream that threatened to escape from her.

As it turned out, the unwavering devotion and love that she relied on to keep her going had been nothing more than an illusion built on sand. How fragile it ended up being.

Just how much of the tender affection and protectiveness Samuel had shown her was real? How much of it had been motivated by a sense of guilt? And how much had only been for show?

Taking a deep breath, Nerissa typed out a reply.

"Mom, I'll marry Lincoln Hamilton on Jennifer's behalf."

She waited until the message had been sent before abruptly opening the door to the private room. Instantly, the cheerful conversation died out.

The room was bathed in dim, shifting lights. The air was thick with the mingled scents of alcohol, tobacco, and expensive perfume. Around seven or eight well-dressed men and women were scattered across the room, lounging around. Their gazes snapped toward the doorway in unison.

Nerissa stood in the doorway, her figure partially in the light. Her long dress accentuated her graceful figure and made her skin look radiant. Her features were so exquisite they looked as if they'd been carved into perfection.

But her usually clear and lively eyes were now clouded with a layer of mist that made them unreadable.

Samuel sat on the main couch directly facing the door, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. The smoke curled upward, blurring the sharp lines of his face.

He was the first to react to Nerissa's sudden arrival, a flicker of panic flashing across his eyes. But when he noticed that she wasn't wearing her hearing aids, he relaxed. He got up and hurried over to her, signing with his hands, "What took you so long, Nerissa? Everyone has been waiting for you."

Nerissa felt sick to her stomach. But before she could speak, a voice rang out from behind.

"Oh, my. There's quite the party going on here."

The sweet, alluring voice with a deliberately coquettish tone to it sounded uncomfortably saccharine. Everyone instinctively looked over.

Sasha stood just outside the door, basking in the warm light of the hallway. She was wearing a tight red spaghetti-strap dress with a slit running nearly to the top of her thigh. Her loosely curled hair spilled over her shoulders, and her bright red lipstick was the highlight of her immaculately dolled-up face.

Leaning casually against the doorframe, she swept a lazy gaze across the room before letting it settle on Samuel, her lips curling into a meaningful smile.

Samuel's expression stiffened slightly. When he noticed that Nerissa hadn't turned around, however, he became even more certain she couldn't hear anything still, so he relaxed yet again and muttered to Sasha, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay in the room next door?"

Nerissa heard the nervousness in his voice.

"But I missed you!" Sasha replied with a laugh. "I'll just stand by the door for a bit. As long as she doesn't see me, it's fine, right? Besides, she can't hear a thing anyway. What's there to be afraid of?"

That stirred up a response from the rest of the crowd.

"Well, damn. I almost forgot she couldn't hear anything. That scared the hell out of me just now!" someone chimed in.

"I know, right? Here I was, thinking the cat was out of the bag…"

No one bothered to lower their voices. If anything, their tones carried hints of teasing mockery.

Nerissa's fingers curled, her nails digging into her palms, making the pain shoot through her. Every word out of their mouths stabbed her ears.

She could hear just fine. She heard every word clearly.

Smiling even more sweetly, Sasha raised her voice, "Isn't that right, Nerissa? You can't hear anything, right? How pitiful. Even though you didn't die in that car crash, you still ended up as a disabled invalid."

"That's enough!" Samuel hissed as he glanced nervously at Nerissa, as if afraid she might notice something.

However, Sasha completely ignored his anger and beamed even more smugly. She even pushed the door further open and walked into the room, stopping right behind Nerissa. While her eyes remained fixed on Samuel, she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"Sammy, are you worried that she'll find out that I'm back in the country? Relax. She can't hear a thing anyway. Even if I call her a slutty little bitch now, she—"

The crisp slap to Sasha's face cut off the rest of her sentence. Nerissa had suddenly spun around and slapped Sasha with all her strength.

The entire room fell into dead silence as everyone stared in shock. What was going on? Wasn't Nerissa supposed to be deaf?