Chapter 1
At one in the morning, Robin Nash got up in the middle of the night and accidentally knocked over the water glass on the nightstand.
Waldo Nash was jolted awake from his dream and quickly reached out to steady her.
He asked, "What's wrong?"
He frowned, a flicker of annoyance passing through his dark eyes, and his voice came out low and rough. "You just broke the 10-decibel rule."
Robin's breath caught, her fingers gripping the glass so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
According to the law, noise is only considered a problem if it exceeds 55 decibels during the day and 45 at night.
But Waldo's rules were a whole different story.
During the day, he insisted the noise level at home never go above 45 decibels.
From 8 PM to 7 AM, it had to stay below 10 decibels.
It was because Waldo had a serious noise phobia. Any loud sound would set his heart pounding and make him feel dizzy and sick on the spot.
So for three whole years since they got married, Robin never broke his rules.
There were countless nights when Robin woke up desperate to pee, but she forced herself to hold it in agony until seven in the morning, not even daring to make a peep.
When a fever raged through her body in the dead of night, she couldn't even whisper Waldo's name for help.
Even when they had sex, it could only happen during the day, and Robin had to stay completely silent.
*****
For three whole years, Robin held herself back, all so Waldo could live in peace.
But now, she was done holding herself back.
It turned out that Waldo never suffered from any noise phobia at all.
He set those ridiculous rules just for the housekeeper's daughter, Judy Neel.
A few hours ago, Robin got a call from the hospital.
"Mr. Nash, the sleeping pills you ordered are ready. You can come pick them up anytime," the nurse told her.
"Sleeping pills?" Robin couldn't hide her surprise. She never knew that Waldo had insomnia.
The nurse sounded honestly envious. "You must be Ms. Neel, right? You're seriously living the dream. All the girls in our department wish they could snag a boyfriend like Mr. Nash.
"When he heard you had insomnia, he consulted a whole bunch of experts just for you.
"Just recently, there was this world-class specialist from overseas giving a talk at the hospital. Mr. Nash actually ditched a deal that was worth billions to attend the event, and he took pages of notes.
"I heard Mr. Nash even made up all these house rules just for you. At night, the noise can't go above 10 decibels, so you can sleep soundly..."
Robin felt like she'd just been struck by lightning.
Her ears were ringing, and before she could even hang up the phone, she bolted into the study and dug out Waldo's medical report.
She flipped through the pages, hands shaking, eyes burning red, desperate to find that one line about noise phobia.
However, she found nothing.
The very last page of the report stated that he was overall healthy.
Waldo never had a noise phobia.
Robin wondered what she had kept following the rules for over the past three years.
All those blurry threads of memory suddenly came into sharp focus. Robin dragged them out into the light, one after another.
She realized that Waldo's so-called noise phobia only started in the second month after their wedding.
That was when Judy moved into the villa.
For the past three years, Robin put up with everything for Waldo, all for his so-called health. It turned out that it was all a joke.
With that thought, Robin's breathing grew ragged. She grabbed the water glass and banged it back onto the nightstand, making as much noise as she pleased.
She ignored the trace of anger in Waldo's eyes and slipped on her slippers, making a loud, defiant slapping noise with every step.
But just as she was about to stand up, Waldo couldn't hold back anymore and reached out to grab her wrist.
"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.
This time, Robin wasn't about to hold back anymore. She snapped, her tone flat, "Gotta pee."
Waldo rubbed his brow in irritation, finally letting go. He grumbled, "Just keep it down."
Robin masked the sarcasm in her eyes and let her slippers drag loudly across the wooden floor, the sharp sound echoing through the room.
Waldo's phone buzzed out of nowhere.
In the dead-quiet room, the woman's voice on the phone sounded extra sharp.
Judy's voice sounded weak and exhausted. "Waldo, what are you up to? I've been dealing with insomnia for half a month. Tonight I finally got some real sleep. I was even having a nice dream, and now you guys woke me up.
"Maybe I should just move out..."
Waldo gripped his phone tight, gave Robin a cold glance, and said flatly, "No. I'll take care of it."
Waldo's way of handling it was to seize Robin's wrist to hold her back. "Don't go."
His grip was so tight, pain shot through her wrist.