Chapter 2

When it seemed like the dinner was taking a turn, Olivia's eyes gleamed, and she spoke up again.

"Today is the first time Matthew's girlfriend is meeting all of us. I was pushy about making her give a toast earlier, and that was inconsiderate of me. I didn't realize Grace had special circumstances," she said.

She continued, "But if she doesn't give a toast at all, it'll seem like we're treating her too differently. I suggest Grace still give us a toast, but given her special situation, she can skip the toast speech. How's that?"

As soon as she said this, the whole table came alive again.

Someone laughed and teased her. "Olivia, you've been like this since we were kids. You never give up until you get what you want."

Others felt sympathetic toward me as a person with disabilities and said with some disapproval, "Maybe we should just drop it. It's not easy for Grace."

But Olivia wouldn't let it go. She smiled and said, "I already said she doesn't need to give a speech. Besides, toasting is just a way for everyone to get to know each other better.

"Grace, don't you agree?" Her eyes were full of provocation.

Then she acted surprised and added, "Oh, I forgot Grace can't hear me. Let me type it out for her."

She quickly typed out everything she'd just said on her phone.

Matthew's hands were clenched tight with tension, and he kept glancing at me nervously.

When he saw I wasn't reacting, he stood up to refuse on my behalf, but I reached out and stopped him.

I used the sign language translation app to express my thoughts to everyone. "Olivia's right. Since this is our first meeting, it's only proper that I toast each of you individually."

With that, I stood up from my seat and picked up the wine bottle and glass, ready to make my rounds.

When Matthew saw what I was doing, he stood up, respectfully took the wine bottle from my hands, and then followed behind me.

I went around the table one by one, toasting each person and signing my greetings with my hands.

As I moved from guest to guest, the faces of those who had just been egging Olivia on gradually turned pink with embarrassment.

Honestly, everyone here was an adult.

They could all hear the spite and jealousy dripping from Olivia's words.

But they'd grown up with her, so naturally they weren't going to side with an outsider like me.

Still, watching a mute woman sign her way through toasts to each of them, anyone with a conscience would feel ashamed.

When I reached Olivia, her face still wore that smug expression.

She hadn't noticed the discomfort rippling through everyone else around the table.

Matthew quickly poured wine into my glass.

Seeing how obedient Matthew was toward me, that familiar resentment flashed in Olivia's eyes again.

"Grace, you really know how to work people, don't you?" she said. "Matthew's the wildest one in our group, but you've got him trained like a little kitten."

I smiled and signed a few gestures as usual, then drained my glass in one go.

Then I looked straight at Olivia.

Olivia swirled the wine in her glass but made no move to drink it.

I kept my expression neutral and gestured again, inviting her to drink.

She curved her lips into a smile.

"Grace, I don't understand sign language," she said. "You weren't cursing me out just now, were you?"

The words hung in the air.

Before I could respond, Matthew cut in. "Olivia, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Why would a toast involve cursing you?"

Olivia froze when she saw Matthew defend me. She bit her lip hard, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

But she recovered quickly and downed her wine in one gulp. Then she grabbed the bottle from the table and drank the entire thing straight from the neck.

When she finished, she looked at Matthew with wounded eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was being petty. Grace, I was just joking with you. I'll punish myself with this bottle. I hope you won't hold it against me."

I smiled and waved my hand to show it was nothing.

As I turned away, my smile grew wider.

Olivia had guessed right.

When I toasted the others, I had signed the proper words.

But for her, I had signed something else entirely. "You're the world's biggest idiot."