When Fate Faltered

When I was nine, I was caught in the blast while trying to save Joel Yorks, and the loud wave took away my hearing. Since then, I have had to wear hearing aids.

Joel felt guilty.

He insisted on having my hand in marriage. With his eyes welling up in tears, he swore, “Helen, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

However, when I turned eighteen…

Everything changed because he wanted to please the prettiest girl in the school.

He ripped off my hearing aid in front of her and our classmates and said in disdain, “I’ve had enough of you being a burden. I really wish you hadn’t survived that day when you were nine. It would have been better if you were dead.”

I clutched my audiology report and stayed silent.

When I got home, I quietly revised my college applications and formally broke the engagement along with my parents.

Joel and I would go our separate ways after that.

We would not need to meet again.

“Helen Xanders, I really wish you hadn’t survived that day when you were nine. It would have been better if you were dead.”

The moment Joel finished saying that, everyone in the room was in an uproar.

“Damn, Joel, you’re savage!”

“Next time, say it right into Helen’s ear once her deafness is cured. I’m curious whether she’d cry when she hears it. Maybe she will act all meek and pitiful like an angelic b*tch.”

“So, what if she hears it? Who wants a crippled girl anyway? Only Joel is kind enough to keep her around, right?”

I froze where I stood.

I held onto the hearing test report in my bag, feeling lost.

After the college entrance exam had ended, my parents took me to another city for treatment. My ear condition got better, and I did not need the hearing aid anymore.

Today was my birthday party.

I had a surprise planned for Joel. I wanted to tell him that my ears had healed, and I would not be a burden to him anymore.

Yet, I never imagined that my well-thought-out surprise would reveal a painful truth I wasn't prepared for.

Joel’s words were like a sharp blade, stabbing straight into my heart, twisting it until I could not breathe.

My fingernails dug into my palms, causing pain to overpower me.

I bit my lower lip hard and looked up at Joel, wanting to ask him why.

However, he seemed not to notice me at all.

He hung his head low and casually fiddled with the white hearing aid, a sneering, lazy grin on his face.

“That’s enough.”

“At least Helen saved my life once when we were kids. Watch what you say. This isn’t something to joke about in front of her.”

Everyone immediately understood.

“Alright, we’ll keep our mouths shut.”

“Tsk, tsk. For Helen to get someone like Joel, it’d be worth it even if she stayed deaf her whole life.”

Another round of laughter followed.

“Alright, alright. Helen is a delicate girl, unlike me who can joke casually with you guys. Don’t go too far.”

Mandy Delcon walked over with a smile and announced seriously, “Joel, you’ve passed my test.”

“Now I believe you don’t like Helen anymore. So, we can go on a date tomorrow.”

Joel’s brows curved with a smile, love brimming in his eyes. In a low voice, he replied, “Okay.”

I stared at him, and my mind was blank.

It felt as if the world had frozen.

The mocking laughter and cheering around me rushed into my ears, eventually turning into a sharp, piercing buzz.

“Baby, what are you thinking about?”

While I was still dazed, Joel had already put the hearing aid back on me. A smile curved at the corner of his lips. “Are you so happy that you’re stunned?”

I had been happy.

My eighteenth birthday and my coming-of-age celebration. The boy I liked was about to confess to me, confirming our relationship in front of friends.

It was like something out of a romantic drama.

However, now, I opened my mouth, only to find my throat so dry I could not make a sound.

Others rushed to speak.

“Helen, just now Joel took off your hearing aid and said a whole bunch of mushy love talk. We got goosebumps listening.”

“Tsk, tsk. If only I had a childhood sweetheart too.”

“Not bad, brat,” Mandy said, hooking an arm around Joel’s shoulder and punching his chest with a laugh. “You are so lucky to get such a beauty.”

I said nothing.

I looked at everyone in the private room.

Some smiled as they offered congratulations, some gave a thumbs-up in praise, and some even said they were looking forward to attending our wedding.

No one gave off anything. Everyone’s expressions were too natural.