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When You Stopped Listening
When You Stopped Listening
Author: Eager Hope

Chapter 1

Author: Eager Hope
"Jaclyn Scott, put these things away." Wilson Lewis pushed the divorce agreement back to the edge of the table, his slender fingers tapping on the surface. He did not even glance at the USB drive.

"Jaclyn, it's already 2:00 am. Sit down first. I have a meeting tomorrow, but I can listen to you tonight." He leaned back in his chair, his tone carrying a hint of forced patience.

I stood across from the table, not moving. My right hand hung at my side. The bruising from my fingernails digging into the wall plaster had already settled. When I pressed down, I felt a sharp ache in my fingertips and wrists.

I heard my voice sounding strangely hoarse. "I'm not making a fuss. You can look at the USB drive first."

"What's so interesting about it?" He closed the laptop, stood up, and walked to me.

His cool fingertips brushed against my collarbone, tucking my disheveled coat collar back into place. The movement was gentle, as if we were just discussing what to have for breakfast tomorrow. "Last time, it was because Noelle Surrey stayed with us for two days. The time before that was because I forgot your physical examination report."

He looked down at me, his gaze so calm that it sent a chill through my heart. "Jaclyn, you put yourself in this situation. Why didn't you come to me first?"

I did not dodge his touch and quietly watched the hands that had just been editing Noelle's resume.

"Wilson, did you eat that cake?"

He paused and nodded. "I took a bite. It was too sweet, so I put the rest in the fridge. Don't eat it on an empty stomach tomorrow morning. I'll have the housekeeper heat some oat milk for you."

He turned and walked toward the bedroom.

As he passed the coffee table, his phone screen lit up. He picked it up casually and glanced at it, slightly smiling.

I knew without asking that it was a message from Noelle.

"Wilson."

He stopped.

"Did you hear anything near the convenience store tonight?"

He frowned slightly. "What could I have heard? I got out of the car to look for you, but the alley was too dark. I thought you'd already gone around to the other side."

He explained naturally, as if he were stating a fact. "I thought you were still sulking and wanted me to wait for you, so I didn't look outside."

"Were you wearing your hearing aid when you came to pick me up?" I looked at his back.

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  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 10

    I looked at him for a long time. Long enough for the dusk to fall and envelop him completely in shadow. Then, I spoke, my voice calm and unlike my usual self."Wilson, you finally told the truth. But telling the truth doesn't mean you'll be compensated for it. Some things are just broken and can't be fixed. Even if you gather all the pieces and place them in front of me, I wouldn't recognize what they used to be."His body shook slightly."Sign the divorce papers and send them to me." I closed the door.The divorce certificate arrived half a month later. Wilson never showed up in Moose County again.He signed the divorce agreement. In the asset division section, he left everything to me—the house, the cars, the company shares, and every cent of his savings.I only took the supplementary card with a 3,000-dollar limit. The balance was still 2,147 dollars. It happened to be the exact change left over from the last time I paid for his hearing aid batteries.The day I received the p

  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 9

    Noelle flung her umbrella aside as she left.The white umbrella rolled to the side of the ditch, but she did not bend over to pick it up. Wearing her high heels, she stepped into the waiting cab at the alley entrance. The engine roared for a moment before it vanished.I leaned against the door frame, looking at Wilson.He stood two steps away from me, his chest heaving heavily. "Jaclyn, what she said...""I don't care about what she said." My voice was flat.He looked up, as if waiting for me to continue speaking."I care about the fact that you spent three years prioritizing her before me. You handed the knife to someone else and asked me why I was bleeding when she stabbed me with it."His lips twitched. "Jaclyn, can I go in and sit down?""No.""I'll speak here, then." He took a deep breath, as if making a major decision. "You're right. I've been taming you."The words came out of his mouth more cruelly than mine."I knew from the beginning you wouldn't leave. Your love f

  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 8

    Wilson remained in Moose County.He did not stay in my old place. Instead, he rented a cottage across from the alley entrance, the window facing my gate.Every morning at 7:00 am, a bag of breakfast would appear at the gate. Milk, buns, and a small box of cut fruits. All were the things I ate, and there was no crab meat.He even checked the dietary restrictions after my surgery and made a list of them to stick on the cottage wall.Martha told me about it. Her tone when she spoke up for him was a mixture of heartache and lament. "Sweetie, that man's eyes are all swollen from crying. Just go and see him."I accepted the breakfast but did not respond to him.On the fifth day, Noelle came. She appeared at the alley entrance, wearing a blue dress and holding a white umbrella. Her makeup was exquisite, and she looked like someone out of a magazine.She saw me sitting at the gate and smiled. "Jaclyn, it's been a long time since we last met."I looked at her. "We have nothing to do wit

  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 7

    Wilson knelt outside for four hours, from dusk till nightfall.The neighbors passed by three times. The first time was out of curiosity, the second time out of sympathy, and the third time, they brought an umbrella.Moose County's rain came quickly, especially at night.I sat by the window and saw through the curtain that he knelt in the rain, his white shirt sticking to his back. He looked like a building that was about to collapse.I did not open the door.Three years ago, he never cared about me when he looked more respectable. There was no reason for me to pity him when he was disheveled.The next morning, he was still at the alley entrance when I went out to buy groceries. He had stopped kneeling and was leaning against the wall, his lips dry and pale. Next to him was a cup of cold milk and two hard-boiled eggs. They were given to him by Martha Lennon from the alley's breakfast shop."You'll faint if you don't eat something." I stopped for a moment as I passed by.He looke

  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 6

    When Wilson arrived in Moose County, it was at 4:00 pm the next day.I was sunbathing on the stone steps out in the yard and saw a black MPV car parked at the entrance of the alley.He got out of the car, and there was a noticeable crease on the knee of his suit pants, as if he had been kneeling on something.When I got closer, I saw that he had dark eye circles and his eyes were red. He was not wearing his hearing aid."Jaclyn." He stopped his steps three steps away, as if unsure if he could get any closer.I remained sitting, peeling an orange in my hand. "What are you doing here?""I'm here to take you home.""That's not my home."His lips parted, but it was as if something had lodged in his throat. "That's our home.""Wilson." I threw the orange peel into the nearby basket. "You don't even remember that I'm allergic to crab meat. What in that house belongs to me?" His gaze momentarily became unfocused. "Crab meat?""Last year. Emergency room. My lips were swollen for th

  • When You Stopped Listening   Chapter 5

    Wilson made 37 phone calls.I stood in the yard of my old house in Moose County, watching the screen of my phone go dark and then light up, over and over again. Only the number appeared on the screen, with no name attached. I had already deleted his contact.When the 38th call came in, I answered it.What came through on the other end was not Wilson's voice but a series of short, almost out-of-control breaths."Jaclyn." He called my name in a hoarse voice, sounding as if it came from somewhere deep underwater. "Where are you?"I did not answer.The apple flowers in the yard were in full bloom, smelling sickeningly sweet. The wind blew, and the wounds beneath my clothes throbbed faintly."Jaclyn, I saw the diagnosis. Is... Is it true?" His voice was shaking.I wanted to laugh and ask him if there had ever been a time in the past three years when he believed what I said from the get-go. My throat tightened, and I managed to utter only two words. "It's true."There was a long sil

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