I woke up freezing.
The hospital room was quiet, sterile, unfamiliar. My limbs felt heavy, my throat raw. I blinked against the harsh light, trying to piece together where I was.
Then it hit me. The party. The pool.
Jeremy.
He didn’t save me. Of course, he didn’t.
I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the stiffness in my body. The clock on the wall read 4:17 p.m. My heart lurched. The banquet.
I had been out for days.
I pressed the call button, and a nurse rushed in moments later. "You're awake," she said, surprised.
"My things," I rasped. "I need my things."
She hesitated but nodded, returning with a plastic bag. My phone was buzzing the moment I turned it on. All messages came from Jeremy.
You ruined everything.
The party was a disaster.
Amber is traumatized. I have to stay with her for now.
Jack is furious.
You’re on your own. Just come home when you’re ready or don’t even come unless you’d learn from your mistakes! You’re deaf and even more useless!
I stared at the messages, then laughed. Was he serious? Trying to pin everything on me when he hadn’t even known the truth! Amber pushed me! But it didn’t matter now.
I almost died, and all he cared about was Amber. He didn’t even save me first. Was he even the one who saved me? But this for the better. I would not have any guilt once I ruined all of them.
They just made things easy for me.
I pulled off the IV, ignoring the sting, and stood up. My legs wobbled, but I steadied myself. I wasn’t staying here a second longer. I walked out of the hospital, flagged a cab, and gave the driver my hotel address.
As the car sped through the streets, I typed out a message to my lawyer.
Send the divorce papers. Immediately.
Then, another call.
"Get everything ready," I told the agency. "It’s time."
No hesitation. No second thoughts. I was leaving tonight. At the hotel, I grabbed my bags, my documents, my new identity. Hours from now, Cornelia Jones would no longer exist.
I reached the airport, checked in, and sat near my gate. My flight wasn’t for another hour. I scrolled through my phone, checking updates on the banquet.
A notification popped up—one of my deaf friends was live-streaming.
I almost ignored it. Almost scrolled past. But then I saw him.
Jeremy. Smiling. Laughing. Flirting with Amber like nothing had happened.
My stomach twisted, but I didn’t look away. A staff member approached him. I couldn’t hear what was said, but Jeremy’s expression darkened. His smile vanished.
Then another staff member rushed in. I turned up the volume, listening closely.
"...Miss Cornelia hasn’t been seen for a while now."
Jeremy stiffened, reaching for his phone—probably to call me.
Then another worker hurried over, breathless. "Sir, we just received legal documents from Miss Cornelia."
I watched as Jeremy took the envelope. His face paled—just like what I have been wanting.
"The divorce papers, sir," the staff member continued. "And… there’s something else."
Jeremy’s hands shook as he pulled out the attached file. His lips parted slightly as he read.
"According to the report," the staff went on carefully, "Miss Cornelia had gotten her hearing back two weeks ago."
The blood drained from Jeremy’s face. He must have remembered all those words he had told me for the last weeks.
I smirked. That’s right, darling. I heard everything.
The murmurs in the banquet grew louder. The camera caught the confusion in the guests’ eyes, the way Jeremy visibly panicked.
And then— Another staff member rushed in, voice urgent.
"Sir, we just got a report…" A pause. Then, "Miss Cornelia is dead."
The entire room fell silent.
The staff member swallowed. "It… seems to be suicide. The reports say she found out you were the reason for the accident where her parents died and had made her deaf!”
