Bonnie lay snuggled in my arms, looking happier than I had seen her in a long time. In the end, Jackson bought three lucky charm bracelets and put them around our wrists.
He said softly, "With these, our family will never be separated."
I stayed silent. He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. "Quinn, do you feel it? My heart is filled with nothing but love for you. It'll always belong to you alone."
Bonnie chimed in joyfully, "A family should always stay together! I'm so happy!"
I looked at their hopeful faces, and the anger I had been forcing down nearly tore through my calm.
They said they loved me, yet they teamed up to betray me. He was having a baby with another woman, yet he was promising me an eternity. What did I ever do to deserve being punished like this?
Noticing my silence and darkened expression, Jackson dropped his smile and signed the same words he had just said aloud. For a moment, I had forgotten he didn't know I wasn't deaf anymore.
I looked at him with a blank expression, my voice freezing. "Are you sure your heart belongs only to me?"
His face flickered with a trace of panic before he forced a smile. "And to our daughter, of course. My heart belongs to you two."
Bonnie piped up from the side, "Mommy, you're not jealous of me, are you?"
Before she could say more, a ringtone cut her off. Jackson stepped aside. When he returned a moment later, he seemed apologetic. "Sorry, Quinn. Something urgent came up at work. I need to handle it."
He turned to Bonnie, who quickly said, "I'll come with you, Daddy."
With that, he grabbed her hand and hurried out, urgency written all over his face. Unbeknownst to him, I had seen the caller ID when his phone rang earlier—Cassidy.
Expressionless, I rose to my feet, took off the bracelet around my wrist, and tossed it into the trash can. Then, I headed to the exit.
If they cared so much about Cassidy, fine. They could have her. From now on, they could make it a family of four and live a happy life.
For the next few days, Jackson and Bonnie barely showed up. When they did, he looked tired and worn down, like life had been weighing on him. They moved around quietly, like they didn't want me to notice.
I didn't bother exposing them. I simply pretended to be the deaf fool like they wanted me to be.
Cassidy, on the other hand, never stayed silent. She would post about rides in her new car with Bonnie and how Jackson personally cooked for her. She was showing off the love they lavished on her.
Beneath her posts, the comments were all teasing or celebrating her. Meanwhile, I stayed home, silently erasing every trace of myself from their world.
The first day, Cassidy posted a photo of Jackson and Bonnie watching fireworks with her at the amusement park on her social media feed.
I went through the house, gathering every single photo of them with me, and tore them to pieces just so I could burn every scrap until nothing remained.
The second day, she posted another photo, this time of Jackson and Bonnie arranging a sea of flowers just for her.
I called in some workers and demolished the greenhouse at the back of the villa—the one they had built for me—leaving nothing standing.
On the final day, she posted a photo of her holding Bonnie while she pressed her ear against Jackson's chest.
I had finished packing and was ready to leave when I saw the long-absent Jackson standing in the doorway, holding Bonnie's hand.
His eyes were bloodshot. He gripped a folder, looking visibly tense. He signed to me, "Is it true, Quinn? This says you're going to teach in the Seru Plateau."
