At the party, my son, Hughie Peters, deliberately raised his voice and said to my wife, Penelope Peters, "Mommy, you're pregnant with Darren's baby. Are we gonna live with him from now on?"

Penelope set the sliced steak down in front of me and said softly, "I made a promise with your daddy. Whoever betrayed the other first would disappear from the other person's world forever. I can't afford for that to happen, so this must stay a secret. After the baby is born, it'll still be your daddy's child."

After saying that, Penelope signed to me that she would love me forever.

But she didn't notice my reddened eyes.

She didn't know I had gotten my hearing back a week ago, nor did she know I had already discovered their affair.

And she definitely didn't know I had quietly bought a plane ticket to Lumora for a teaching volunteer program.

I was just waiting for the paperwork to be approved in seven days.

Then, I would disappear for good.

I pushed the steak away. I didn't want to keep acting along with them.

When I stood up, my wife, Penelope Peters, hurried to her feet too and signed to ask what was wrong.

I shook my head and said quietly, "It's late. I'm going back to rest."

Penelope tried to leave with me, but several of her close friends stopped her together.

"Milton's health isn't great. He needs more rest. Why are you in such a rush to leave?"

"Exactly. Darren will be here any minute. You haven't seen him all day. Don't you miss him at all?"

My son, Hughie Peters, tugged on Penelope's sleeve. "Mommy, I miss Darren. Can we not go home with Daddy?"

Panic flashed across Penelope's face.

Seeing that I showed no reaction, she frowned and said, "Don't mention Darren's name in front of your dad."

"Why are you so worried? Daddy's deaf. He can't hear," Hughie said.

After hearing that, I pressed Penelope back into her chair.

"I can go back by myself. You all stay."

As soon as I finished speaking, I turned and left. I didn't even give her a chance to stop me.

I hadn't gone far outside when I saw Darren Valdez striding into the hall. He slammed into my shoulder, making me stumble.

I wasn't sure if he had done it on purpose.

Darren walked into the private room and smoothly scooped Hughie up into his arms.

"Hughie, it's been a day. Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I did."

Darren chuckled softly. "Then you deserve a reward."

Hughie immediately wrapped his arms around Darren's face and kissed his cheek.

Watching how natural they were, you would think they were the real father and son.

Darren set Hughie down, then pulled Penelope into his arms, his eyes full of affection.

A shyness I had never seen before flickered in Penelope's eyes. Before she could say anything, Darren lowered his head and kissed her, intense and deep.

"Alright, alright. It's been months already. You two are still this clingy," someone teased.

Penelope's friends didn't care at all. Hughie looked on with interest, completely used to it.

I watched them, my heart going ice cold.

So everyone knew they had been together for a long time. I was the only one kept in the dark.

As Darren listened to the teasing around him, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

As if things weren't messy enough, everyone started egging them on, asking when Penelope and Darren had last slept together.

Penelope lowered her head shyly, while Darren looked openly proud.

"The day before yesterday. The room next to the master bedroom at home."

I murmured the same words at the same time Darren said them. The room instantly erupted, faces lighting up with excitement.

"Hahaha! Penelope, you finally get it now."

"People like us don't have to pretend to be pure and loyal."

"As long as you hide it well, you can live happily forever. Milton's deaf. He won't notice."

When they mentioned my name, the smile on Penelope's face froze. Her expression turned icy in an instant.

"Don't talk about this in front of Milton."

No one cared. They just burst out laughing.

Hughie shouted, "Mommy, don't worry. Daddy won't notice. He can't hear!"

The laughter inside kept going, while I stood frozen outside, unable to move.

Right then, a server tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Sir, anything I can help you with?"

The moment he spoke, the noise inside the private room stopped dead, and everyone turned to look at me.

Penelope's face went pale with panic. She quickly pulled her hand away from Darren's waist, her eyes darting around.

She signed to ask why I had come back and explained that Darren was just a close friend.

But she didn't notice that her lipstick had already smeared all over Darren's lips, and Darren's hand was still resting on her waist.

He looked at me, his eyes carrying a faint trace of mockery and arrogance.

Even though I had already decided to leave, seeing this still hurt so badly that I could barely breathe.

I forced a smile and said, "I came back to drop off your keys. Have fun."

I set the keys on the table. Without paying attention to the voices behind me, I walked straight out.

Walking down the street, watching the constant flow of cars and the flashing lights along the road, I only felt cold.

I couldn't see where I was headed, and I couldn't hear a thing around me.

It felt just like five years ago, when Penelope and I had just gotten together and gone on a trip to Redstone Flats.

We got lost out there and walked for a full day and night.

It was completely silent, not a sound anywhere.

Back then, I held Penelope's hand, and she signed that if we died together, it wouldn't be a bad ending for our love.

She always told me love should last until death.

But now, our love was already dead, and we had finally reached the end.

-

After I got home, my whole body went limp, and I collapsed onto the bed.

My mind was blank as I stared at the ceiling.

When I first met Penelope, it was at a job fair. The moment I saw her, I fell for her completely. From that day on, I pursued her so openly that everyone knew about it.

She was the company's famous ice queen. No matter who confessed, she turned them all down.

Until I came.

I kept approaching her every day, starting conversations, asking her out to eat, sticking it out relentlessly for three years.

No matter how many times she rejected me, my feelings never changed.

Then one night, a fired employee got drunk and caused trouble, blocking her outside the office building.

Everyone scattered, but I stood in front of her. I was beaten until I was bloody and lost consciousness before they finally left.

Because of that, I lost my hearing forever.

That was when Penelope truly fell for me. She held my bloodied body tightly, her voice shaking with fear.

"Milton, let's get married."

After we got together, my love never faded. Hers was even stronger than mine.

But after Hughie was born, he always resented that I was deaf. Penelope had no choice but to teach him sign language day and night so I could communicate with him better.

The sound of the door unlocking pulled me back from my memories. I turned to the side and pretended to be asleep.

Not long after, I felt movement behind me.

Penelope's hands began to wander over me, her warm, damp breath brushing against my neck.

I knew this was how she acted when she wanted intimacy.

A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from responding.

But now, all I felt was nausea and disgust.

A week ago, after my hearing was cured, I went home, ready to share the news with her and Hughie.

Before I even reached the bedroom, I heard Penelope's wild voice coming from the room next door.

My whole body turned ice cold. I even wondered if I was imagining it.

Before I could step any closer, Hughie, who had always disliked me, used checking his homework as an excuse to stop me.

He pushed me away while muttering, "I don't want you going in there and messing up Daddy Darren's good time."

That was when I realized how badly he wanted to replace me as his dad.

They thought I was still deaf. They thought they had covered everything perfectly.

They had no idea I could hear every single thing clearly.

That same day, I applied for the teaching volunteer program in Lumora and booked my ticket there.

Just like we once promised each other, I would disappear completely from her world. I didn't want Penelope or Hughie anymore.

In that moment, the frantic sounds of her and Darren in the next room kept echoing in my ears.

I suddenly sat up and shoved her away, only to hear her scream as she fell to the floor. I froze for a second, instinctively wanting to help her up, but in the end, I didn't move.

Penelope wasn't angry. Instead, worry filled her eyes as she looked at me.

"Milton, what's wrong?"

I was about to answer when it hit me that I was supposed to be deaf.

After a moment, she seemed to realize it too and started signing to me.

"It's nothing. I'm just not feeling very well," I replied.

Penelope suddenly remembered something and panicked, rushing over while signing and explaining nonstop.

"Darren is really just a friend. Please don't misunderstand."

She was always calm, but today, she had lost control again and again because of Darren.

I didn't want to deal with her. I just said flatly, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."

Then, I turned over and lay down.

She froze. After a long moment, I heard her murmur, "Milton, I love you so much. I really, really love you. Please don't leave me. If you do, I'll die."

Tears kept slipping from the corners of my eyes.

If she loved me, then why did she betray me?

We promised each other we would never separate in this lifetime.

But if there was even the slightest betrayal, we would disappear completely from each other's world.

All the beautiful memories from before were shattered by the cruel reality, turning into nothing but an illusion.

-

Early the next morning, perhaps because she sensed how different I was, or maybe it was guilt buried deep inside her, Penelope said she wanted to take Hughie and me out to clear our heads.

"We've wanted to go to an amusement park for so long. We just never had the time. Milton, do you want to come with Hughie and me?"

She rubbed her hands together and put on a pitiful look, trying to get a response from me.

For once, Hughie didn't show impatience. His eyes were full of anticipation about going to the amusement park.

But Penelope didn't notice that her loosely fastened collar revealed her pale skin, covered in marks Darren had left behind.

Right now, all I felt toward her was disgust.

Hughie moved fast. Before I could even react, he had already packed everything he wanted to bring and headed out on his own.

After we arrived at the amusement park, Hughie kept holding my hand, and Penelope took care of us every step of the way.

If I pressed my lips together, she would immediately bring water to my mouth.

If I looked at something for more than a second, she would call out that she wanted to buy it.

They even went on all the rides I liked, but they had never dared to try before.

Penelope was clearly exhausted, yet she held my hand tightly and refused to let go. Meanwhile, Hughie leaned against me, looking genuinely happy.

In the end, Penelope bought three charm bracelets and fastened them around our wrists.