Chapter 3

The autumn evening breeze carried a hint of chill.

As soon as my phone was fixed, I sent a message to Dr. Miller, [I'd like to try the hypnotherapy you mentioned before.]

Dr. Miller quickly replied, [After hypnosis, you will lose some memories.]

[Also, a family member needs to sign a consent form to ensure someone will take care of you during your recovery period.]

My gaze fell on the words "family member", and I couldn't help but smile bitterly, unable to think of anyone who could sign the consent form for me.

I kept scrolling through my contacts, my finger hovering over one profile picture, hesitating to click on it.

Unexpectedly, the profile picture suddenly shook, and a message popped up, [I'm back in the country today. Would you like to have dinner?]

I quickly replied, agreeing on a place to meet.

Looking out at the scenery, my thoughts drifted far away.

Daniel was the son of my sign language teacher. Because I often went to his house for lessons, we became quite familiar with each other.

Three years ago, when he learned I was going to marry a man in a vegetative state, he angrily smashed the birthday gift he was going to give me, saying his mother teaching me sign language was a waste.

I fought back using sign language, saying all sorts of nasty things.

Later, he went abroad to study, and I thought we would never see each other again.

I didn't expect him to return to the country. After not seeing each other for several years, he had matured a lot, giving off an unapproachable aura when not smiling.

I went straight to the point, using sign language to ask him, [Can you... pretend to be my family member and sign for me?]

His expression froze. After learning the whole story, his hands clenched tightly, as if trying hard to suppress something.

"Are you sure about this?"

I nodded lightly. What use were these memories to me anyway? Besides, after the memories were suppressed, I would be able to speak again.

"Alright."

When I returned to the Jiang family mansion, it was already evening. My things had been carelessly thrown in the hallway of the villa.

Lucas glanced at me coldly, "Emily, don't say I'm not giving you face. From now on, you'll live in the guest room."

I nodded lightly. He hadn't expected me to be so calm and looked me up and down.

I would forget about him soon anyway, so what did it matter where I lived?

Suddenly, a small dog ran out of the house. I froze, instinctively grabbing Lucas's arm.

He frowned in displeasure and shook off my hand roughly.

"Emily, know your place."

His force was so strong that I hadn't reacted in time and fell to the ground, pain shooting through my wrist.

I had been afraid of dogs since childhood, and the boy who once said he would protect me for life had now let go of my hand.

A flash of regret crossed his eyes, and he reached out to help me up.

I pretended not to see it and struggled to my feet, ignoring the pain.

Chloe came out of the room, clinging to Lucas's arm and pouting.

"Little Darling doesn't like being confined. Can we give it a bigger room?"

Lucas fondly ruffled her hair, "Alright, let's give the newly cleaned guest room to Little Darling."

"Emily, you'll move to the basement."

How laughable. In his eyes, I was worth less than a stray dog they had adopted.

While packing my things, I suddenly smelled something strange.

Following the scent, I saw a large yellow stain on a red coat.

This coat was a birthday gift from Lucas. Because my birthday was on the same day as my uncle and aunt's death anniversary, my parents didn't allow me to celebrate.

Lucas had secretly given me the coat, earnestly telling me, "Emily, I'll be with you for every birthday from now on."

Apparently, promises only count when there's love.

I had cherished this coat so much that I never dared to wear it. It seems I'll never get to wear it now.

Lucas saw the coat, felt a twinge of emotion, and told the housekeeper to take it for dry cleaning.

But I threw the coat directly into the trash bin, along with all the photos of Lucas and me from over the years.

I didn't want to have any connection with him in the future.

Lucas stared at me and slowly said, "Chloe has a kind heart and adopted Little Darling. If you dare to make her unhappy, I definitely won't let you off."

People really do laugh when they're at their wit's end. It seems Lucas had completely forgotten that I'm afraid of dogs.

Probably on Lucas's orders, not a single servant helped me.

Ignoring the pain in my wrist, I packed until evening, finally clearing out everything related to Lucas.

This was the first time I had stayed at home in three years. After Lucas became a vegetable, I had practically lived in the hospital.

At first, there were visitors, but later everyone in the Jiang family gave up on him. Most of the time, it was just him and me in the hospital room.

Just as I was falling into a light sleep at dawn, I was awakened by a bucket of cold water.

Lucas looked down at me condescendingly, "Emily, you've really become lazy."

"You're no longer the mistress of the Jiang family. How dare you sleep in?"

My head was a bit fuzzy, and I nodded lightly to show I understood.

I wiped the water off my face and got up to change my clothes.

The servants in the villa were bustling about. The housekeeper glanced at me and told me to go polish the piano.

Only then did I realize today was Chloe's birthday.

My fingers glided over the piano keys, and beautiful music flowed from my fingertips.

Lucas once said my hands were born to play the piano, but now these hands were used to polish the piano.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly at the irony. Sweet words are only sincere in the moment they're spoken.

Halfway through polishing, I received a message from Dr. Miller, [Tomorrow morning at 10 AM.]

I quickly replied "okay" and forwarded the message to Daniel.

Thinking about being able to speak again, my mood improved considerably.

I thought this party had nothing to do with me, but unexpectedly, Lucas pulled me to the dressing room. I was flattered to receive a dress.

But he was full of impatience, "Hurry up and put it on. How will people talk about Chloe if you don't attend?"

So it was only to avoid gossip about Chloe. I felt the large stains on the dress, my heart already numb.

I remembered Chloe's social media post an hour ago: [It doesn't matter if I stained the dress, Lucas will prepare two for me.]

Chloe stood by the cake like an elegant princess, while I was like a clown for people's amusement.

I tried to minimize my presence, sitting in a corner.

But the gossip still reached my ears.

"What's that on her dress? It's disgusting!"

"She's so shameless, stealing her sister's fiancé."

"I heard she's a mute."

The mocking voices were incessant. I clenched my dress tightly.

Chloe sat down at the piano, the spotlight focused on her, attracting everyone's attention.

The music suddenly stopped, and she cried out, "Ouch! How are there razor blades in the piano!"

The housekeeper pointed at me in the corner, "Only Miss Emily touched the piano!"

Lucas glared at me angrily, roughly pulling me to the piano and pressing my hands onto the keys. The pain in my fingers was so intense I could barely breathe.

"Emily, this is the price you pay for doing wrong."

After saying this, he carried Chloe out, ignoring my bloodied hands.

I clearly saw Chloe flash a smug smile at me.

Later, an ambulance took me to the hospital, but all the doctors in the hospital had been called to examine Chloe.

Before I fainted from blood loss, I heard a nurse shout angrily, "If her hands don't get immediate treatment, she'll be permanently disabled!"

Tears slid from the corners of my eyes. I really wished I had never met Lucas.

Meanwhile, the doctor looking at Lucas seemed familiar and greeted him.

"How's your wife? She took care of you for three years. It's finally her time to be happy."

5

Lucas frowned at the word "wife", about to ask what he meant.

Chloe pretended to wipe away non-existent tears, "Lucas, my hand hurts so much. Will I not be able to play the piano anymore?"

Seeing her cry, Lucas immediately panicked, holding her in his arms and comforting her softly.