“You still keeping that deaf chick around?”

The words sliced through the air before you even saw his face.

Matthias Chen—your boyfriend —sits sprawled in the center of the VIP booth, all sharp jawline and careless elegance, surrounded by the sons of old money and older cruelty. You recognized some of them from photos he'd shown you. Dominic Zhao. Kieran Li. Riku Beaumont. They are all future heirs of powerful clans in the capital, and Matthias, his family's name is stamped across half the skyscrapers in the city. He looks so different here—sharp-edged and callous in a way you'd never seen before. Or maybe you just never seen it.

“I thought you were bored of her already. Still not dumped her? You never get tired, huh?” Dominic snorted, ice clinking in his glass. He is the heir to a tech empire.

Your hand trembled against the doorframe. The cochlear implant was supposed to be a gift. A miracle. Three days post-op and the world had sound now—beautiful, terrifying sound. You'd been so excited to surprise him. To finally hear him say he loved you.

Instead, you heard this.

“What do you guys know? She can’t hear anyway. Do whatever you want in bed and she just obediently goes along.” Matthias said, and god, his voice was nothing like you imagined. It was smooth, yes, but cold. Clinical. Like he was discussing a purchase he was considering returning. “Cooks. Cleans. Doesn't talk back—can't talk back. It's like having a live-in maid who actually gives a shit.”

The laughter that followed made your stomach lurch.

Kieran, the one with the watch that costs more than a car—slaps his knee. “Damn, you're a cold bastard, Matt. Does she even know you talk about her like this?”

“How would she? She's deaf” Matthias leans forward, ashing his cigarette into a crystal tray. His voice drops lower, almost intimate, like he's sharing a secret. “She lives in her own little world. I could've been saying anything to her face this whole time. 'I love you,' 'you're worthless'—same difference when she's reading lips.”

Riku leaned forward, all sharp edges and sharper curiosity. “Don’t tell me you’re in love with her. We saw you taking her out for dinner the other day, even wiping her mouth for her. The cold CEO turning soft, huh?”

Matthias took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling smoke that curled toward the ceiling. “You think I’ve got time to love a deaf girl? It’s just pity.”

“Pity? You’ve lived with her over a year. Sure you’re not secretly in love, dude?” Dominic swirled his drink. “You gonna marry the poor thing?”

“Cut it out. If I proposed to that deaf girl, my company’s shareholders would die laughing. She belongs in bed, not next to me in public.”

“Harsh.” Riku said

“I'm realistic” Matthias corrects, voice smooth. “She was never going to fit into my world. I've got a company to run. A reputation. You think I'm bringing a girl who can't hear the shareholders' meeting to a charity gala?”

“So, can I have her when you're done?” Kieran's grin was all teeth. “Since she's so obedient and all, also quite pretty.”

“Get in line” Matthias said, and the room erupted in laughter again.

You wanted to scream. To throw open the door and make them see you—hear you. But your body wouldn't move. Your new ears, these mechanical miracles, kept feeding you sounds you wished you'd never heard.

The music thumped. Glasses clinked. Your world—the one you'd built so carefully in silence—shattered into a million pieces you'd never be able to put back together.