Chapter 3

By the time I got home, the rain was pouring down hard.

I walked into the living room, soaking wet, and my parents, Monica and Hugo, were sitting on the couch waiting for me. The moment Monica saw me, she jumped up and grabbed a towel to dry my hair.

"How did you get this soaked? What happened?"

I took a deep breath and gave them the short version of tonight. When I got to the part about what Adrian said, my voice began to shake.

"I don't like him anymore." I said, "And I don't want to see him again, and I definitely don't want to be with him or marry him."

Monica pulled me into her arms and rubbed my back gently. "Sweetheart, this isn't the end of the world. I'll take you to cancel the engagement tomorrow, and you can apply to any college you want. Your dad and I will always support you."

Hugo came over and placed the cake knife in my hand. The living room lights were warm and soft, unlike the cold, luxurious atmosphere of the private room at the restaurant.

"Let's just have a quiet little birthday with the three of us." He smiled, "Come on, birthday girl, no more crying. Make a wish and blow out the candles."

I laughed through my tears and closed my eyes in the candlelight to make my wish.

But just as I was about to cut the cake, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and Adrian was standing there.

He was completely soaked. But he just stood there like he couldn't feel the cold, smiling as he held out an elegant jewelry box.

The luxury brand logo gleamed under the porch light.

"Look, I picked this out just for you," he said, his voice still gentle. "Stop being upset, okay? Everyone's still waiting for you back at the private room, and let's not talk about breaking up anymore."

I stared at the jewelry box, and something clicked.

Daniela had been wearing a necklace from this exact brand today. Same collection.

I didn't reach for it.

Adrian's arm just hung there in midair. After a long moment, he finally lowered his hand, and the smile vanished from his face. Impatience and annoyance took their place.

"What's wrong with you today? When I asked you out, you cried your eyes out, remember? So what's with the attitude now? Serena, do you even remember how sweet and obedient you used to be?"

His words cut through me like a knife, hitting exactly where it hurt most.

Because I was deaf, I was easily controlled.

He didn't love me. He never had.

To him, I was nothing more than a burden, someone who'd saved his life once when we were kids but couldn't make any real waves now.

"I'm not making a scene," I said, "The breakup is real. Don't contact me again."

Adrian's face twisted with rage.

He hurled the jewelry box to the ground. His eyes blazed with fury. "Serena, what is your problem—"

"Adrian." Hugo's voice cut him off.

Hugo stepped forward and pulled me behind him. His eyes narrowed. "Watch your mouth," he said coolly. "You're soaked. Go home, take a hot shower, and get some rest."

Monica came out of the kitchen with a slice of cake and a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Serena already made her wish, and we don't need any more gifts. You can take this cake home with you. It's getting late, and you should head back—it's not safe for a boy to be out alone at night."

Adrian just stood there, frozen.

He probably never imagined this day would come. Before all this, whenever he showed up at our place, Monica and Serena treated him like he was practically part of the family. They'd never turned him away at the door before.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but before he could get a word out, the door swung shut right in his face.

I leaned against the door and listened to his footsteps fade away outside. For the first time in what felt like forever, that crushing weight on my chest finally lifted.

When I turned around, I saw the half-cut cake still sitting on the coffee table, and the candles were still flickering.

"Come here," Hugo said gently. "Let's get back to celebrating your eighteenth birthday."

I walked over and picked up the cake knife.

Thunder still rumbled outside, but inside, everything felt warm and safe.

This was what home was supposed to feel like.

"Serena, you sure about this?" Monica sat on my bed, worry clear in her voice.

She knew how much I loved Adrian.

I stared at the hearing aid in my hand. The memory came back sharp.

Ten years ago, I was ten years old.

That day, both our families went to check out an illegal weapons factory in the suburbs. Our competitors ambushed us out of nowhere, and the whole place went up in flames in seconds.

Hugo's years of training kicked in, and I instinctively found an escape route. But when I burst out of the warehouse, I saw Adrian just standing there in the middle of the inferno, frozen with fear.

I didn't know where the strength came from.

I ran back in and grabbed Adrian's hand, dragging him toward the exit.

Then the factory exploded, and the shockwave sent me flying.

When I woke up, I couldn't hear anything.

I curled up in my hospital bed and refused to talk to anyone. I couldn't accept that I'd never hear sound again.

Then Adrian showed up.

He skipped class to visit me and brought a bunch of snacks, trying to cheer me up. He even drew an oak tree on them to represent strength, and a wolf, too. He told me he'd protect me like a wolf from now on.

His eyes locked onto mine, and he made a solemn promise. "I'll always protect you, my princess."

I was the only one who remembered his childhood promise.

If ten-year-old Serena heard nineteen-year-old Adrian say, "I wish you'd died in that explosion," she would've cried.

People change.

I saved his life once. The Falcones repaid me—fifty percent of their profits over the years. More than fair.

We were even.

I didn't need to be anyone's accessory. I could survive on my own.

I lifted my head and met Monica's eyes. "I've made up my mind."