Chapter 2

"Get out. All of you!"

I closed my eyes and ignored my former coworkers' attempts to comfort me, whether they meant it or not.

I asked the doctor to call security and have them all thrown out.

[I don't want you to keep being lied to.]

It was when I returned home after recovering from my injuries, still feeling groggy, that I received this text.

It was from Joyce Culver, whom I hadn't spoken to in years. She suddenly sent me the entire recording from back then.

The recording captured Joey's deep, affectionate laughter, along with Sylvia's incoherent murmurs, which I knew better than anyone.

"Sylvia, I'll accept your gift if you stay with Shane. We grew up together, and he likes you so much. Can you do me this favor? It's not like you'll lose anything."

"Okay. I'll do it."

My heart sank as I listened to that gentle, feminine voice. At some point, tears had begun streaming down my face.

For eight years, Sylvia hadn't spoken a single word, all because Joey had asked her to.

As the recording continued, I felt worse and worse. It hurt even more than when Sylvia had left me behind in that fire.

So she had been lying from the very start when she told me she loved me.

I looked at our wedding photo hanging on the wall and remembered the vows we had made.

Then I turned and hurled my phone at the frame, smashing it to pieces.

Sylvia was startled when she walked in and saw what happened. Still, she kept her expression composed, thinking I'd come and comfort her like I always had.

I sat silently on the couch without saying a word.

"What happened today was an accident. I really did want to see you. Is your hand okay now?"

She finally seemed unable to hold back and began signing to me, but I kept my head down and refused to look at her.

Sylvia kept signing, even though I wasn't watching. Even as her arms grew sore, she didn't dare lower them.

Instead, she looked at me with that same pitiful expression she always gave me.

"If you can't speak, then don't make those awful noises either. They're grating on my nerves," I said harshly, leaving Sylvia frozen in place.

She had been about to bandage my wound, but she pulled her hand back in shock.

I had never mocked her for being unable to speak before. This was the first time.

Thinking about the woman I had loved for over a decade only made me feel more disgusted with her.

Fed up with her, I closed my eyes and refused to look at her again.

-

"Martin, I'm coming back to the studio. As for Sylvia, I'm done with her," I said.

"Shane, you're finally back! You've finally decided to let Sylvia go?"

Martin Lowe hurried over to me. There were dark circles under his eyes, but he looked eager to vent.

When he heard me mention Joey, his expression darkened, too.

I looked at the trophies and design plans in the studio, feeling as if I had stepped into a life I had left behind long ago.

I had spent all these years focused on Sylvia and completely forgotten who I used to be.

Joey and I grew up together, but we had never gotten along. I couldn't stand the way he kept picking on Sylvia because she couldn't speak.

One day, he deliberately sent her out to buy something for him in the pouring rain.

Furious, I rushed over and grabbed her hand.

"Are you stupid or something? Why would you do anything he tells you to? Can't you speak up?"

But when I looked into Sylvia's tearful eyes, my heart suddenly skipped a beat.

I wiped the rain from my face, feeling a little guilty. I had forgotten that she really couldn't speak.

Sylvia just stared at me blankly, never showing the slightest impatience. She simply nodded meekly and gave me a warm, gentle smile.

Even after we got together and had been married for years, I never forgot that moment.

I had given up my own dreams and devoted myself to helping Sylvia achieve hers.

Now, I knew it had been all a lie from the start. Joey had simply used her to get back at me.

At that thought, I sighed and exchanged a smile with Martin. "I'm not leaving again. This time, I'll stand by all of you."

Getting back to work was exhausting, but it also made me feel fulfilled again. I would have been even happier if I hadn't seen Sylvia again.

"Why haven't you come home yet?" Sylvia looked worn out. She seemed genuinely worried about me and signed to me in a hurry.

I ignored her, just as others had deliberately ignored her before. I left her standing there while I chatted with the others at the studio.