Part 3When I found out I could talk, I ran away.

The next day, Chloe came home and angrily threw her expensive bag at my face.

"Why did you fire Tyler?"

My cheek stung, but I didn't move as I rubbed it.

Yesterday, I'd told Dylan to fire that college guy. He certainly worked fast.

Chloe panicked. "He’s just an intern, he doesn’t earn much. How’s he going to survive if you fire him?"

Every word, every phrase, she made no effort to hide her obvious favoritism and affection for Tyler.

[Do you care about him that much?]

Seeing my words, Chloe paused for a moment before speaking again, "No, I just… I just pity him. His family is struggling."

I said nothing more. Seeing my grim expression, Chloe patiently tried to appease me.

"There are only a few days left until the wedding. Can we please not fight? You always listen to me, don't you?"

Fight? I hadn't even said a harsh word. This wasn't a fight, it was her unilateral outburst.

I did listen to her. I listened until I ended up wearing a cuckold’s crown.

[I checked his resume. His major doesn't match, he's not suitable for our company.]

Chloe completely snapped, her sharp voice echoing through the room.

"I have 34% of the company's shares! I have absolute authority! What right do *you*, a mute, have to judge him?!"

*You, a mute.*

Her words brutally pierced my heart.

Did I *want* to be mute? Did I *choose* to be mute?

For all these years, I'd endured countless slights and disdain, yet I always acted as if I didn't notice.

Chloe's words had always been this sharp and venomous. Why was it only now that I truly saw her?

She called HR, demanding they keep Tyler's job, but was regretfully informed that it was ordered by President Dylan.

I took out the stock transfer agreement I’d signed with Dylan and showed it to her. One look, and she understood everything.

"Why did you transfer the shares to him?! I've been talking about the shares for so long, and you never agreed to give them to me!" Her voice was tinged with tears.

I just watched her, unmoved.

[Chloe, if you despise me for being mute, we don't have to get married. I'm not forcing you.]

Chloe saw the words I’d typed, snatched the phone, and threw it to the floor.

"How am I supposed to explain it if we don't get married?! Liam, you don't really love me!"

I loved her, but did she love me?

She was so utterly disregardful of my feelings and dignity, brazenly saying "explain" to humiliate me.

Chloe was still crying when she received a call from Tyler.

Over the phone, I heard Tyler's pitiful voice, "Sister, my stomach hurts so much."

Tyler sounded like he'd been drinking with clients at a bar and was forced to down several bottles.

Chloe's heart ached for him. She completely ignored me, panicked, and rushed out the door.

It made me feel even more like a clown.

I used to always put Chloe first, everything revolved around her. In school, when she was bullied, I stepped in for her and ended up with a broken shin.

But the very next day, she was laughing and talking with the boy who had bullied her. I tried to warn her to stay away from bad guys like him.

She stubbornly refused, blaming me for messing up the face of the guy she had a crush on during the fight.

I'll never forget Chloe's cold face, her watery eyes glaring at me, calling me a busybody.

Thinking about my past foolish self, I just felt utterly ridiculous. How could I have endured so much, clinging to her despite her endless humiliations?

Had I lost my damn mind back then?

Shaking off those memories, I calmly entrusted the expensive wedding house to a real estate agent to sell at a low price.

I never wanted to step foot in that house again. It was supposed to be my dream wedding home, chosen in the best location, with every detail of the renovation personally supervised. Every piece of furniture, every pot and pan, even every flower was something I’d carefully picked out and brought in myself.

But now, it no longer mattered.

I wanted to sell it, and along with it, cast out all the dirty memories it held from my life.

Three days before the wedding, Chloe came to see me.

"I won't argue with you about the shares. You can ask Dylan to give them back after we get married."

Before I could say anything, she linked her arm through mine intimately, blinking her eyes. "The wedding venue is all set up! Want to go see it?"

I was curious to see how the wedding venue I’d trashed could be restored so quickly.

Stepping into the familiar wedding hall again, everything felt… unfamiliar.

Chloe, however, seemed very pleased. She’d brought a man with her.

"Liam, Tyler personally decorated our wedding venue. Look at his hands!"

I lowered my gaze, seeing his bloodied fingers.

"He got his hands completely pricked by thorns, all for this flower sea."

Tyler ruffled his hair, smiling brightly, like a dog trying to please. "As long as Sister Chloe and Brother Liam are happy, I don't care what happens to me."

Chloe looked at Tyler's hands, her heart aching, and couldn't help but gently take them.

I thought of my own hands. During the wedding preparations, Chloe had never once visited, so she naturally hadn’t seen my battered hands, scarred from wood splinters, pricked by thorns, healing and then getting injured again, a mess.

Yet, when I’d taken Chloe’s hand, she’d recoiled in disgust. She’d scornfully looked at my scarred hands, complaining they felt rough against her delicate skin.

Tyler was young, sunny, and knew how to charm. Seeing Chloe's sympathy, he pouted and whined, sweetly calling her "Sister."

Chloe told me to rest while she went to discuss the wedding flow with the planner. She probably figured, since I was mute anyway, there was no need for me to go.

Watching Tyler and Chloe walk into the same hotel floor, one after the other, I let out a cold laugh.

In the hallway, urgent gasps echoed.

Before they even entered the room, their lips were already passionately entangled.

Chloe was pinned against the wall by Tyler, her eyes hazy from his kisses. I heard Tyler say, "Sister, it really breaks my heart that you're marrying him."

"Decorating your wedding venue nearly killed me, Sister. Do you want to kill me?"

Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and chuckled, "I'll only kill you in bed."

They entered the room, and intimate sounds poured out.

Going downstairs, I called the police and reported prostitution at the hotel.

The police arrived. Chloe claimed they were boyfriend and girlfriend. After some proof, the police left.

Seeing Chloe’s flushed face, I walked over.

She panicked. "Liam... how did you get up here?"