BOOK 1

Chapter 1

I lost my twins in a car crash and woke up deaf and blind, only to feel my husband's warm hands tracing promises into my palm—he'd never leave me. I believed him. Until the day I regained my senses and saw him kissing his mistress, whispering that he'd been poisoning me to keep me silent and broken. The child I raised as mine? Their secret son. The love I fought for? A carefully crafted lie. They thought I'd stay quiet forever—but I came back stronger, sharper, and ready to bring it all down. Now, it's their turn to beg.

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The day after my due date, I got into a car accident and lost the twin babies I was carrying.

My devastated husband went to Tianfo Temple, bowing with every step, begging Buddha to let me wake up safe.

I did wake up eventually—but I couldn't see or hear anymore.

He wrote words in my palm, telling me no matter what I became, he'd never leave me.

But when my hearing and sight finally returned, and I ran to share the news with him…

I caught him kissing a popular actress.

"Lincoln, what if she gets her sight and hearing back and finds out about us? What if she hurts Corey and me?"

"She won't," he said, tapping her nose like he was spoiling a child. "I've been putting stuff in her food. Nothing lethal, but there's no way she'll ever fully recover."

I had imagined so many times how he'd react when he found out I was okay again. Maybe he'd be shocked speechless. Or overwhelmed with joy, spinning me around in his arms. Maybe even burst into happy tears…

But never… not once had I imagined that he was the one who made me blind and deaf.

"Lincoln, are we really doing the right thing?" Betsy asked quietly, eyes down, voice soft. "Even if she recovers… I don't mind being wronged a little, as long as you love me."

He gently kissed the corner of her lips, replying, "How could I let you suffer even a little? She's blind and deaf—nobody but me would ever want her. The fact that I stayed with her? That's already a huge favor. We don't owe her a thing."

As he spoke, his hand gently rested on Betsy's slightly rounded belly.

"Don't go soft. She has to stay like this. We're building a perfect little family—the four of us. There's no room for her to mess that up."

His gentle look—it was just like the way he used to look at me. But now, it sent a chill straight down my spine.

We had promised each other before marriage: if the love was gone, we'd be honest and say it out loud.

So why… why did he still choose to hurt me?

My heart felt like it was sinking, heavy and cold. I was ready to turn and leave, when a soft jingle suddenly rang out.

I snapped my head up, stunned.

Lincoln had taken out two gold-and-jade longevity locks.

Betsy beamed as she caught them. "Are these for Corey?"

Lincoln nodded with a smile. "One for Corey, one for the baby we haven't met yet."

The tenderness in his eyes was a punch to my gut.

Those locks… we had gotten them together at Tianfo Temple when I first found out I was pregnant with twins.

He had knelt before the Buddha statue with such sincerity, accepting the locks from the abbot. I'd teased him for being superstitious, and he'd just smiled at me softly.

"They're for our kids, our little miracles," he had said. "I just want them to be safe and happy their whole lives."

I could still hear his voice echoing in my ears.

But now, he could give them away to someone else, just like that—without an ounce of guilt or grief.

The pain cut through me like a blade, spreading from my belly to every inch of me.

My hand trembled as I touched my still, flat stomach. That's where my babies were supposed to be.

Tears hit the floor one by one. Clutching my aching chest, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I barely kept myself from collapsing… only to knock over a vase nearby.

"Who's there?" Lincoln's face darkened as he stormed toward me.

Seeing it was me, Lincoln quickly let go of the trembling Betsy in his arms, his eyes flashing with guilt. "Thea? What are you doing upstairs?"

A second later, like he just remembered I couldn't hear, he stepped forward and gently grabbed my hand.

Behind him, Betsy shot me a suspicious look. "Lincoln… does she know about us?"

Lincoln's brows drew together slightly. He waved a hand in front of my eyes, and only when I didn't react did he breathe out. "No way."

Then, he took my hand, turned my palm upward, and traced two words on it: don't worry.

Ever since I lost my sight and hearing, I've been anxious all the time. If I wake up and can't find him nearby, I panic and cry without warning.

He just assumed that's what was happening now—that I was freaking out simply because he wasn't there when I woke up.

While he kept trying to comfort me, Betsy grew impatient. She twisted up beside him, snaking her arm around his, her voice dripping with sugar. "Lincoln, it's not like I get to be here every day…"

My eyes locked onto them, that perfect couple—so close, so casual, like I wasn't even standing right there. Was this what they got away with while I was lost in my silent, dark world?

I had to take a few deep breaths just to stop myself from crying again.

Lincoln was already half lost in Betsy's touch, his breathing roughening. He turned to me, placed my hand gently on the handrail nearby.

Then he traced another word on my skin: room.

I bit my bottom lip, silently staring at the shattered pieces of ceramic on the floor, my body frozen.

He paused for a moment, then stirred his finger again on my palm: Corey.

That said, he let go of me completely—like that one word explained everything—and wrapped his arms around Betsy again.

Behind me, Betsy's giggle slipped out, soft and breathy.

"Lincoln, not so fast… Thea's *still* here, remember?"

Lincoln's voice was hoarse, breath messy. "Forget her. Blind and deaf—she could be standing right here and still wouldn't know what we're doing."

I had my back to them, fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. It hurt, but it felt distant, like I was numb.

Corey... he wasn't mine by blood. Lincoln adopted him after I lost the baby.

He told me to love him like my own.