Chapter 1
One week before the trial for the drunk-driving crash that killed my mother, thugs stabbed out my eyes, cut my throat, and pierced my eardrums.
The evidence and testimony I’d prepared became useless overnight.
I was on the edge of a breakdown.
My boyfriend, Mick, stayed by my side. Over and over, he taught me braille in the palm of my hand.
In one week, I could express my entire testimony in braille.
I won that case.
And I married him.
After that day, Mick flew me all over the world for treatment.
It wasn’t until my ninth clinical trial that vision returned to my left eye.
My ears could hear sound again. My voice was ugly, but I could speak.
The first thing I wanted to do was tell Mick the news.
But when I stood outside the private room at the hotel restaurant, I froze.
“Mick, it was bad enough that you protected Gianna and had Elena turned blind.”
“But you also taught her that the braille for ‘recommend leniency’ meant ‘I will never forgive.’”
“We were sitting in the back row on the day of the trial. We almost laughed out loud.”
Someone else chimed in. “She still doesn’t know, does she?”
“That her mother was killed by her own best friend.”
“And she personally begged the court for mercy for the person who killed her mother.”
...
Mick sat in the middle of the couch, his arms wrapped around my best friend, Gianna Vale.
“That night, I found Elena the best medical team to save her. I don’t owe her anything.”
“But Gianna has been with me for five years without a title. I owe her this.”
“I should give the woman I love some kind of compensation.”
The sweet confession inside the room hit me like five years’ worth of slaps across the face.
Just then, a server pushed the door open from the inside.
The moment the door opened, everyone in the private room went stiff.
“Why is she here? She didn’t hear what we just said, did she?”
“What are you afraid of? Elena is deaf and blind, and she can’t talk. Mick can go home and smooth it over with one braille sentence, and she’ll believe him.”
Everyone in the room let out a breath.
The look they gave me was full of contempt they couldn’t hide.
Mick let go of Gianna and stood from the couch.
“All right. That’s enough for tonight.”
He walked over to me and reached for my wrist.
His touch was still so familiar.
Light pressure, then firm.
It was the rule he had set for me.
A tight grip meant there were steps ahead.
A lighter touch meant we were near the door.
After we walked out of the bar, a cold wind blew over us. Mick took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
He carefully opened the car door and helped me into the back seat.
For one second, I almost believed everything I’d heard had been fake.
But the dream shattered in less than five seconds.
Mick opened the passenger door and carried Gianna inside.
He fastened her seat belt, then took a cashmere blanket from the back seat and spread it over her legs.
The car drove to Gianna’s apartment first.
But the dream shattered in less than five seconds.
Mick opened the passenger door and carried Gianna inside.
He fastened her seat belt, then took a cashmere blanket from the back seat and spread it over her legs.
The car drove to Gianna’s apartment first.
Mick got out and carried her into the building.
Twenty minutes later, Mick came back.
There was a hickey on his neck, lipstick at the corner of his mouth, and the scent of perfume all over him.
By the time we returned to the estate, it was close to midnight.
I felt my way to the desk, picked up a sheet of braille paper, and pressed out each word.
“Mick, on the day of my mother’s trial, was the braille you taught me correct?”
Mick froze for a second.
Then he wrote in my palm.
“Of course, darling.”
“Why did you suddenly come to the bar tonight? I told you I was discussing business. I was going to celebrate our anniversary with you afterward.”
I lifted my eyes and looked at him.
Mick smiled naturally and turned into the study.
Soon, he returned with a document.
“It’s our fifth wedding anniversary.”
“I’m transferring fifty percent of Mick Jewelry’s shares to you. Baby, this is my gift to you. Sign it.”
I lowered my head and looked at the paper.
My vision was still blurry, but the bold title was clear.
Agreement for Transfer of All Design Works and Copyrights Under Elena’s Name
Transferee: Gianna Vale.
He sat beside me and took my hand.
“Do you remember how I taught you to sign? You need to write, I voluntarily accept the share transfer.”
But what he guided my hand to write was something else.
“I voluntarily transfer all jewelry designs, sketches, copyrights, and archives under my name to Gianna Vale.”