Part 1I Don’t Want This Love on Silent Mode Anymore

Because of the habits he’d developed in the operating room, Ethan Shaw demanded silence at all times.

How many words he was willing to hear from me each day depended entirely on how tired he was.

All I could do was wait for his intern to send me my daily word limit.

'Dr. Shaw performed two surgeries back-to-back today. He’s exhausted. You can only say ten words to him.'

'He has meetings tomorrow, so he’ll make an exception and give you fifty words.'

Then one day, I got into a car accident.

That was how I found out I was pregnant.

The doctor told me the baby was in danger and asked me to contact a family member.

But the moment Ethan answered my call, Chloe Lane cut off my cry for help.

“You’ve already used up your word quota for today.”

Then she deliberately put the call on speaker and asked him in a sweet voice,

“Dr. Shaw, I talk to you so much every day. Don’t you ever get tired of listening to me?”

Ethan’s indulgent voice came through the phone.

“You’re different.

“We’re discussing medicine. There’s no limit on that.

“I’ve stayed up all night with you choosing research topics for the past year. When have I ever complained that you talk too much?”

The entire department burst into teasing laughter.

I hung up.

Half an hour later, a message from Ethan popped up on my screen.

He had sent me a penalty notice for breaking his rules.

It read:

'Called during work hours without a valid reason. From now on, you may speak ten words to me per day.'

I stared at the ultrasound report as a dull cramp tightened low in my abdomen.

A few minutes later, I pressed the call button beside my hospital bed.

When the nurse came in, I asked her to bring me the consent form for a termination.

This time, I wouldn’t say another word to him.

* * *

As the anesthesia gradually wore off, the dull ache in my lower abdomen returned.

Pale and weak, I finished the discharge paperwork on my own.

I was almost at the hospital entrance when I saw Ethan.

Chloe, walking behind him, spotted me immediately.

She hurried over and linked her arm through mine.

“Vivian, you really did come all the way here to see Dr. Shaw?

“Everyone in the department was teasing him yesterday. We even told him off for not knowing how to treat you better!”

Ethan walked over and glanced at me.

“Why are you so pale?”

But almost immediately, his brows drew together.

“So now you know how to come to the hospital when you want to find me?”

I was in too much pain to speak.

When I saw his car parked by the curb, I opened the passenger door and got in.

After Ethan got behind the wheel, he didn’t start the car right away.

Instead, he watched the rearview mirror.

Only after he saw Chloe disappear through the hospital entrance did he slowly pull away.

“Don’t call me while I’m supervising interns again.”

Ethan kept his eyes on the road as he laid down another rule.

I leaned against the window, my back soaked in cold sweat.

I picked up my phone and saw a post Chloe had just uploaded.

'Thank you, Dr. Shaw, for spending two whole hours helping me work through my research proposal!'

Suddenly, I almost wanted to laugh.

I looked up at him.

“I thought you hated listening to people talk.”

Ethan glanced at me while we were stopped at a red light.

“Vivian, she’s discussing medicine that can save lives.

“You only want to complain about trivial things. Those two things don’t have the same value.

“Besides, her father asked me to look after her before he went overseas. I gave him my word.”

I looked out the window and said quietly,

“How noble of you, Dr. Shaw.”

Ethan’s brows tightened again.

“Are you sure you want to waste your word count arguing about this?”

I said nothing.

My phone chimed.

It was a message from an old friend from my voice-acting days, someone I hadn’t spoken to in years.

'Vivian, we said we’d start an independent studio together someday. I’m finally here to make good on that promise.'

Ethan tugged at his tie.

“Turn off your notification sound.”

I lowered my eyes and put my phone on silent.

The next morning, Mrs. Baker, who came by to cook for us, took one look at me and froze.

“Mrs. Shaw, what happened? You don’t have any color in your face.”

She hurried over to steady me, her expression full of concern.

“Your mom came all the way here to see you yesterday. She couldn’t reach you, so she called Dr. Shaw instead. But he just said he was busy and hung up.”

That had been the day of my abortion.

I hadn’t even known Mom had come.

My chest tightened, and tears welled in my eyes.

“Where is she now?”

Mrs. Baker took out a packet of glucose powder Mom had left behind and pressed it into my hand.

“She said she’d been dreaming about you lately and had this awful feeling something was wrong, so she wanted to come see you.”

“But she was afraid she’d be a burden, so she took the overnight bus home.”

I swallowed the ache in my throat and sent Mom a message.

'Mom, I’m doing fine. Please don’t worry about me.'

I drank the warm glucose drink she had brought me.

Tears fell into the cup.

All I could taste was bitterness.

Not long after Mrs. Baker finished cooking and left, I heard the electronic lock beep at the front door.

I turned around.

Chloe was standing there in Ethan’s jacket.

Without the slightest hesitation, she slipped into my house slippers and walked inside as naturally as if she were coming home.