Chapter 1
The day I regained my hearing, I didn't tell anyone.
I wanted to surprise my best friend of fifteen years.
We were on a video call later that day when I noticed a man moving around her apartment. But she always swore she'd stay single forever.
"Keeping a secret relationship from me?" I signed, teasing her.
"Actually, we're planning to get married," she replied, an unconscious, sweet smile spreading across her face.
My eyes drifted to the man bustling in the background.
His height, build, and silhouette looked increasingly familiar.
Then he leaned into the frame to kiss her.
As he reached to block the camera, the tattoo on his left ring finger was briefly exposed.
My smile froze completely.
My boyfriend of four years, Eric Shaw, had an identical tattoo in exactly the same place.
*****
The café was buzzing with noise.
To keep my newfound hearing a secret, I deliberately left my headphones off.
My heart was pounding in my chest, the thumping so loud it felt like it was echoing in my ears.
I felt like I couldn't breathe, so I leaned closer to the screen, desperate to see more clearly.
I only caught a glimpse of that tattoo before it disappeared.
When Emily showed up on screen again, the guy was already gone.
Emily signed, "He's so attached to me. He can't leave me alone for even a moment."
Emily was beaming, her happiness impossible to hide.
I searched her face, trying to spot anything unusual.
But there was nothing.
I tried to reassure myself.
Maybe I saw it wrong?
After all, getting a tattoo on one's left ring finger wasn't exactly rare.
Besides, Emily couldn't stand my boyfriend, Eric.
All three of us worked at the same company.
Eric was Emily's direct boss, and he'd always make her work overtime till dawn over the smallest slip-up.
Even after Emily pulled several all-nighters and revised her proposals over and over, he'd just ignore all her hard work and go back to the very first draft.
Emily had cursed him out in front of me more times than I could count.
She'd sign, "Eric is such a psycho.
"I've never met a boss as disgusting as him.
"If he were the last man on earth, I'd rather stay single forever."
Even after four years with Eric, Emily's dislike for him never got any better. If anything, it only got worse.
Every time they crossed paths, it was guaranteed to turn into a fight.
Eric had told me more than once, "Your friend is way too stubborn, and she never follows instructions at work.
"If it weren't for how close you two are, I would've fired her ages ago."
I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in my chest and looked at Emily's beaming face. I couldn't help but feel happy for her, too.
Besides my mom, Emily was the person I was closest to.
She was closer than Eric ever was.
Her happiness was contagious. I couldn't help but feel happy when she was.
I hung up with Emily and immediately video-called Eric.
Eric's phone rang forever, but he never picked up before it disconnected.
My heart dropped, dread creeping in.
Thankfully, Eric called me back right away.
"What's up, baby?" Eric signed, his long fingers moving with practiced ease.
Thank God he was just chilling at a roadside rest stop.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where are you right now?" I signed.
"Just outside a café. Met with some clients, now waiting to have lunch with them," he replied.
"Miss me, Sophia?" he teased, his eyes soft with affection.
There was so much warmth in Eric's eyes.
I nodded, feeling a little bashful.
He signed, "Be good. I'll come back to you as soon as I'm done.
"I've got a surprise for you tonight."
He pulled out a velvet jewelry box from his pocket and gave me a cheeky wink, trying to make me laugh.
I finally couldn't hold back a smile.
Eric was always an open book. He just couldn't hide his feelings.
After four years together, he'd always go out of his way to plan little surprises, just to make me happy.
Whenever I felt insecure about being deaf, Eric'd gently but firmly turn me to face him, his expression serious.
He'd sign, "Sophia, even if you're different, I want the whole world to know you're mine.
"As long as I'm with you, you'll be the happiest woman alive."
Thinking back to that moment, I saw on the video call with Emily that I couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt.
Maybe I was wrong to question what Eric and I have.
If it wasn't true love, why would he have stayed by my side for four years, even with all my flaws?
"Baby, my clients are here. I gotta go," Eric signed.
On the screen, Eric's smiling eyes shifted away from the camera, ready to hang up.
But my smile froze in an instant.
As Eric turned his head, the café window behind him came into view.
And there, reflected in the glass, was I, right in the middle of our video call.