Chapter 1

I've taken care of Charles Rivers for eight years and loved him just as long. I thought I'd hidden my feelings well enough.

But after Charles rose to the top of the business world, the very first thing he did was send me to Harmony Institute to "straighten me out." He looked at me coldly, his arm wrapped around his fiancée. "Stay there until you've gotten rid of those filthy thoughts of yours," he said. "Then you can come out."

A year later, I finally forgot about him completely. But Charles came to regret it.

*****

When Charles came to pick me up, I was still in the middle of Henry Blackwell's "training."

Henry gave me a threatening smile and said meaningfully, "Emily, you know what I'm capable of. If you dare breathe a word about what happens here, don't blame me if I get rough."

I shuddered instinctively and blurted out, "I wouldn't dare."

Henry nodded in satisfaction. Then he took me to wash up and change into clean clothes. Only after that did he send me to the gates of the academy.

I squinted at the man leaning against his car, a cigarette between his fingers. For a moment, it felt like another lifetime.

After a long while, I finally gathered the courage and walked toward him carefully.

Only then did Charles notice me. He crushed the cigarette and reached out, trying to take my backpack.

Instinctively, I stepped back and lowered my head. "I can carry it myself," I said quietly.

Charles frowned but didn't say anything.

The car sped down the road. The silence inside felt suffocating, making my chest tighten with unease. All I could do was keep reciting the Harmony Institute code Henry had drilled into me. Only after I'd gone through it three times did I finally start to feel calm again.

To my surprise, Charles broke the silence first. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

When Charles first came to live with my family, he was pretty reserved. I was afraid he might feel out of place, so I was always the one starting conversations.

But that was before. Things were different now. Because one of the first rules at Harmony Institute was to learn to keep your mouth shut.

I still remember when I first got sent to Harmony Institute. I was just curious and asked Henry a few questions. For that, I was starved for three days and three nights.

By the end, I was so hungry I curled up in a corner, too weak to even speak. That was when I learned to keep quiet.

Seeing my silence, Charles frowned in annoyance. "Are you deaf or something?"

I instinctively touched my right ear. He wasn't wrong. I was deaf in that ear. Henry had beaten the hearing right out of me. After the injury, there was a window where surgery could have restored some of my hearing, but Henry said I should stay deaf to "teach me a lesson."

And just like that, I lost the hearing in my right ear forever. All because I had the audacity to flinch when Henry tried to burn me with his cigarette.

When I still didn't respond, Charles scoffed, "So this is what you picked up at Harmony Institute? Doesn't look like much."

I jolted, rushing to explain, "It's not like that. Dr. Blackwell said that only a quiet, composed woman won't get on people's nerves."

Charles scoffed, "So, playing the silent type is just another way to grab my attention?"

I opened my mouth trying to explain, but the words died in my throat. Because Henry had said never, under any circumstances, talk back to a man.

Charles looked at me with disdain and said, "My mother heard you were back and went through the trouble of making a full spread for you. She has no idea how twisted you really are, so you'd better be on your best behavior. Don't ruin her day."

I lowered my eyes and quietly replied, "Okay."

My mother passed away early, leaving just my father and me to look after each other. When I was 16, my father brought home Margaret and her ten-year-old son, Charles. "Emily," he said, "she is Margaret, and he is Charles. From now on, the four of us are a family."

My father was always working late, leaving me alone most of the time. Because of that, I didn't resent him marrying Margaret; in fact, I looked forward to having a real family again.

Margaret was always so caring for me. She went out of her way to cook elaborate meals for me every day. Even if I just mentioned a dish in passing, she would make it from scratch.

I was beyond grateful to have found a stepmother who treated me like her own flesh and blood, so I did everything in my power to return that love to her and Charles. But for some reason, Charles always gave me the cold shoulder.

Margaret told me he was just slow to warm up and that things would get better once we spent more time together. She said not to take it to heart.

After her words, I doubled my efforts. I spent every day trying to engage him, sharing every little interesting thing that happened to me. I truly believed that if I just poured enough heart into it, he'd eventually open up to me.

I never imagined that his "slow to warm up" nature was reserved for me alone. He didn't need time; he simply loathed me.