"Adrian, you really brought your foster sister back to the country? Aren't you scared Nora Whitfield will lose it?"

Nora Whitfield had only just gotten her hearing back after a full year of silence. Standing outside the private club room, the smile on her face froze bit by bit, and her whole body locked in place.

Serena Rivers... actually came back?

"As long as none of you say anything, she won't know a thing..." Adrian Rivers's voice was cool and flat, no real emotion in it. "Besides, it's been over a year. Serena misses home too..."

"I doubt she misses home. More like she misses you."

The room instantly burst into that kind of knowing laughter everybody understood without saying out loud.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I only see her as my sister."

"Come on, Adrian. I literally just saw Serena Rivers kiss you. Seriously... what sister? More like your 'special' little sister, huh?"

Adrian Rivers frowned slightly. "I was distracted, and she suddenly leaned in. I didn't dodge in time... she's young and immature. It's not like I can really argue with her over that."

Then, like something crossed his mind, his tone turned sharp with warning. "Keep this under wraps, all of you. Nora's coming in later, and nobody says a word. Don't let anything slip."

At that moment, someone gave a light cough and said more seriously, "Adrian, real talk. Back then, Serena Rivers had someone run Nora Whitfield down. You're really just letting that go? Nora nearly died. She still can't hear."

Adrian replied lightly, "Serena was only nineteen then. She was just being reckless. She's suffered abroad for a year now, and she's grown up a lot. Why keep dragging it out?"

Just... reckless?

Nora felt like something blew up inside her head. Getting hit by lightning probably wouldn't have felt worse.

A huge wave of absurdity crashed down on her from all sides, almost swallowing her whole.

A year ago, Adrian Rivers's foster sister, Serena Rivers, went crazy after failing to win him over. She hired someone to ram a car into Nora and left her deaf.

Adrian had been furious then. He'd almost beaten Serena half to death under the family rules, and in the end, only because Mr. and Mrs. Rivers stepped in was she rushed out of the country.

Over the past year, Adrian had spent insane amounts of money trying to fix Nora's ears, searching for specialists both at home and overseas. At one point, he even dropped everything at work just to stay by her side during rehab.

But recovery was brutally long. Every time she broke down, Adrian would always be the first one with red eyes, holding her tight, saying he wished he could kill Serena Rivers.

It wasn't like Nora had never hated Serena.

But seeing Adrian run everywhere for her, begging doctors for help, guarding her day and night without a break...

Deep down, she couldn't help thinking that at least she had met a man who loved her down to the bone.

Her fingers unconsciously brushed over the velvet box in her pocket.

Inside was a men's ring she had secretly custom-made.

Back then, because of that disaster out of nowhere, their wedding had been postponed again and again.

Now that her hearing had returned, she'd thought she could finally get her wish and marry Adrian Rivers.

But who would've guessed...

Not only had Adrian let Serena Rivers come back, he had even forgiven her for it so casually?

Seriously...

What a joke.

Just as Nora's heart was turning cold, the phone in her pocket suddenly buzzed.

She stood there for a long while before finally lowering her eyes to look.

It was a message from her mother. A long one. Same old meaning: begging her to return to Xiangjiang and marry into the Blackwell family in place of her stepsister.

An hour ago, her mother had already messaged her once.

The Whitfield and Blackwell families were supposed to join by marriage, but somehow her stepsister Jasmine Whitfield had run off from the engagement.

The Blackwells held enormous power in Xiangjiang. And especially the man Jasmine was supposed to marry, Ethan Blackwell, the Blackwell family's second master. Rumor said he was ruthless, vicious, not someone anybody wanted to cross.

If he found out the Whitfields dared break the marriage arrangement and make a fool of him, the Whitfield family would be wiped out in no time.

Her mother had truly run out of options. That's why she called Nora for help.

"Nora, your Uncle Whitfield and I really have no other way left. Please, can you come back and help us?"

This was the first time her mother had ever begged her since marrying into the Whitfield family with Nora as baggage in tow.

Over the years, her stepfather had treated them decently, but Nora knew exactly how hard her mother had struggled to secure her footing in the Whitfield household. Almost all her energy had gone into her husband and her stepdaughter.

So all these years, Nora had been obedient and sensible, never causing her mother any trouble.

The only two times she'd ever really rebelled were both because of Adrian Rivers...

The first was when she left Xiangjiang alone for him.

The second was just now, when she refused the substitute marriage for him.

A bitter little smile tugged at Nora's lips.

What had she said then?

That her hearing was back now, that Adrian loved her deeply, that they would be getting married very soon...

That she believed Adrian would definitely help her resolve the Whitfield family's crisis...

Believe him...

Nora closed her eyes. A sharp pain stabbed through her chest. She clenched the ring box in her pocket so tightly that it was the only thing keeping the tremor in her body from bursting out through her throat.

So the love she believed would never change, the love she'd used to hold up her entire world, was nothing more than a mirage built on loose sand. One hit, and it fell apart.

All that tenderness, all that protection—how much of it had been real? How much had been guilt? And how much had just been a show for her?

Nora drew in a deep breath, took out her phone, and typed word by word:

"Mom, I'm willing to marry Second Master Blackwell in my sister's place."

Only after seeing the message successfully sent did Nora suddenly push open the private room door—

In an instant, every laugh and every voice inside cut off dead.

The lighting in the room was dim and hazy, colored and blurred. The air was thick with the mixed smell of smoke, alcohol, and heavy perfume.

Seven or eight well-dressed men and women were either sitting or standing inside, and every pair of eyes turned toward the doorway at once.

Nora stood where light and shadow met. The long dress she wore traced her slim figure perfectly, making her already pale skin look even fairer. Her features were so delicate she looked like she'd been carved out by hand.

But those almond-shaped eyes that were usually bright and lively were now blurred by a faint mist, deep like still water with no bottom in sight.

Adrian Rivers sat on the main sofa directly facing the door, half a cigarette between his fingers. Smoke curled upward, blurring the sharp line of his profile.

He was the first to react. A trace of panic flashed across his eyes. When he saw she wasn't wearing her hearing aid, he seemed to relax a little. Then he stood at once and strode toward her, signing with his hands:

"Nora, why are you so late? Everyone's been waiting for you."

Nora felt her stomach twist violently.

But before she could say anything, a voice sounded from behind her—

"Wow, looks lively in here..."

The voice was soft and syrupy, with a deliberate drag at the end of every word, sticky enough to make people's skin crawl.

Almost everyone turned around on instinct.

There stood Serena Rivers under the warm yellow hallway light, wearing a tight red slip dress with a slit that ran nearly up to her thigh. Her long hair fell in soft curls over her shoulders. Her makeup was flawless, her red lips bright as fire.

She leaned lazily against the doorframe, her gaze drifting over everyone in the room before finally landing on Adrian Rivers. The corner of her mouth lifted into a smile that meant way more than it should have.

Adrian's expression changed slightly. Seeing that Nora hadn't turned around, he became even more certain she couldn't hear, and some of the tension in him eased. He immediately lowered his voice and said to Serena, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay put in the room next door?"

The tension in his tone was crystal clear to Nora.

But Serena just smiled.

"I missed you. I just wanted to stand by the door for a sec. As long as she doesn't see me, we're good, right? Anyway, she can't hear. What's there to be scared of?"

That sentence dropped into the air like a stone into still water, sending ripples everywhere.

Someone chimed in under their breath, "Damn, I almost forgot she can't hear. Scared the hell out of me."

"Right? For a second I thought we were totally screwed..."

No one was even trying to avoid the topic. If anything, there was a hint of mockery in their voices.

Nora's fingers curled at her sides, her nails digging deep into her palm again. Sharp pain shot through her skin.

Every single word stabbed into her ears like a needle.

She could hear.

She heard every word clearly.

Serena's smile turned even sweeter as she deliberately raised her voice. "Right, Nora Whitfield? You can't hear, can you? So pathetic. That car crash back then didn't kill you, but it did turn you into a cripple."

"Enough!" Adrian snapped in a low voice, cutting her off. He glanced down at Nora nervously, like he was afraid she'd notice something.

But Serena didn't care about his anger at all. If anything, she looked more excited.

She simply pushed the door wider and walked in, stopping right behind Nora. Her eyes burned as she looked at Adrian Rivers, but her voice was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Adrian, weren't you worried she'd find out I came back? Relax. She can't hear anything. Even if I called her a cheap little bitch right now, she—"

Slap!

The sharp crack of a palm across a face cut off the rest of Serena's words.

Nora suddenly turned around and slapped Serena Rivers hard across the face.

The entire room dropped into dead silence.

Everyone stared in total shock—

What... what the hell was going on?

Wasn't Nora Whitfield deaf?