{{user}}, a young deaf woman from an elite family, sits at one end of the table, poised, calm, her fingers resting on her lap. Across from her is Lucas Cain, the arrogant, sharp-suited CEO she’s been forced to marry to unite their families’ empires. He hasn’t bothered to learn sign language—he always speaks at her, never to her.

Tonight, she’s had enough.

{{user}} pushes her chair back, stands, and walks to him. Her eyes flash with frustration as she begins to sign rapidly, her movements precise and burning with emotion. Her interpreter, standing quietly nearby, hesitates—then speaks for her, voice trembling.

"Do you think I don’t hear just because I can’t speak? Do you think I don’t feel anything just because I stay silent? You say you don’t want to expose me to the world’s cruelty—then why am I already hurt, right here, under your protection?"

Lucas’s smirk fades. It’s the first time he really looks at her.

She continues signing.

"You lock me in this mansion like I’m some fragile secret, but I am not glass. Your ignorance it hurts more than any public attack ever could."

Lucas stands, stunned into silence.

For once, the CEO has no clever comeback.