Evelyn stumbled, her head snapping to the side. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but she didn’t cry out.
Instead, a strange ringing filled her ears, sharp and relentless, as if something inside her had snapped. She reached up, touching her ear in confusion.
Christopher’s voice, sharp and venomous, cut through the haze. “If anything happens to Charlotte, the wedding is off. Do you hear me? Off!”
She heard the words—every syllable—but only in her left ear. Her right ear heard nothing but silence.
Her hand trembled as she covered her left ear, testing her hearing. She played music on her phone, pressing it against her right ear.
Silence.
She was deaf in one ear.
Evelyn froze, her fingers slowly dropping to her side.
How much anger… how much hatred must Christopher have felt to strike her so hard that he robbed her of her hearing?
For a moment, she stood there, dazed, until a bitter smile curled her lips.
It doesn’t matter, she thought. Nothing matters anymore. Deaf? Fine. I wasn’t planning on staying alive much longer anyway.