Chapter 3

Julian stood frozen, as if he couldn't process my words.

Or rather, he refused to.

He reached out again, trying to grab my wrist, but I lightly stepped back, avoiding his touch.

The whispers around us grew louder.

"What did she just say? She can hear?"

"How is that possible? Hasn't she been deaf for years?"

"Did Julian pressure her too hard? Is she having a breakdown?"

Julian’s mother, Eleanor Vance, stepped forward, her brow furrowed. She looked down at me with her usual haughty condescension.

"Iris, stop throwing a tantrum. Julian is being completely sincere. With your condition, marrying a man like Julian is a miracle. You should be grateful."

In everyone’s eyes, a disfigured, deaf girl marrying a brilliant doctor like Julian Vance was like winning the lottery.

If this were my past life, I would have lowered my head in shame and meekly accepted their "charity."

But now, I just looked at her and said, "I’m not throwing a tantrum."

"I just don't want to marry him anymore."

Julian snapped his head up, his eyes instantly turning red.

He snatched the microphone from the coordinator's hand. Even though he knew I couldn't hear him, he screamed into it, his voice shaking.

"Iris! I know what you’re worried about! I swear, I will never abandon you!"

"I don't care about your face! I don't care about your ears!"

"Let me take care of you! I owe you my life!"

He practically roared that last sentence.

The entire venue fell dead silent.

"You owe me..." I softly repeated the words, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

Yes, he owed me.

For five years, he tried to pay that debt day after day.

He did it so carefully, so exhaustingly.

Until eventually, even looking at my face took more courage than he had.

I raised my hand, my fingertips tracing the uneven, jagged scar on my left cheek.

Julian’s gaze followed my fingers. His eyes were a chaotic mess of pity, guilt... and a tiny, almost imperceptible flinch of disgust.

I knew exactly what he was thinking. He was thinking of Chloe Bennett, the new intern.

He was thinking of her flawless, smooth skin. Her bright, sweet voice.

He was thinking of the way she looked at him—with pure, unadulterated admiration, free of any burden or guilt.

In my past life, it was Chloe’s arrival that made Julian come home later and later. She was the reason his pity turned into terror.

I remembered the time Chloe came to our apartment to help Julian retrieve some medical files.

When she saw me, a flash of shock crossed her face, quickly replaced by a patronizing pity.

"You must be Iris," she had said. I couldn't hear her, but I read her lips. "Julian talks about you all the time. He says you’re so brave."

She offered her hand.

Because I was focusing so hard on her lips, my reaction was delayed by a few seconds.

Her hand hung in the air, and she pulled it back with an awkward, fake chuckle.

Julian quickly tried to smooth things over, signing to me: "Chloe says you are very brave."

I just nodded.

Chloe looked at my face, let out a soft sigh, and whispered something to Julian.

Julian’s expression stiffened. He avoided my eyes and mumbled a response.

But I had read Chloe’s lips.

She had said, "What a shame..."

What was a shame?

My ruined face?

Or was it a shame that Julian, a man with such a bright future, was shackled to a broken woman like me?

In that moment, I saw the flash of agreement in Julian’s eyes.

From that day on, he rarely brought colleagues home. And he stopped looking at my face.

"Julian," I said, making sure my lip movements were clear. "You don't owe me anything anymore."

"I ran into that fire of my own free will."

"Getting hurt was my own choice."

"You don't need to spend the rest of your life paying me back."

Without waiting for his response, I turned my back on his pale face, pushed through the crowd, and walked out.

Behind me, I could hear Julian’s choked-up cries and his mother's sharp voice trying to stop him.

I didn't look back. I reached up and touched my cheek. It was wet and cold.

I was crying after all.

I cried for the Julian who had once treated me like his entire world.

And I cried for the old me, who had loved him so much she died for him.