Seven Years of Silence

I was the secret girlfriend of America’s biggest pop star for seven years. On my birthday, he brought a group of friends along, but he called me by the wrong name. "Happy Birthday, Hannah!" Hannah was not me. She was his high school sweetheart, his first love. One of his friends asked: "Now that Hannah is back, aren't you bored of using a disabled girl as a placeholder? Isn't that getting old?" Leo pinched my ear, his voice lazy and careless. "The little deaf girl is fun. I’ll keep her around for now. I’ll string her along until I’m ready to propose to Hannah." He had no idea. My hearing had just been restored. 01 The smile on my face froze as I listened to Leo continue. "Today is my birthday, but consider it a makeup gift I owe Hannah." His friends started cheering, calling him a "hopeless romantic." Finally, one of them stared directly at me and asked: "Aren't you afraid she’ll find out?" Leo tilted his head arrogantly. "Afraid of what? That she won't let go?" A wave of laughter erupted around us. "Honestly, a deaf girl hanging onto Leo for seven years—she’s already hit the jackpot." "If she didn't look thirty percent like Hannah, she’d never have stood a chance." Amidst the mocking, Leo looked down and placed a party hat on my head. His face was inches from mine—the same high-fashion, aloof face that the world adored. Someone asked: "But she has been with you for seven years, and she is beautiful. If she actually leaves... could you really let her go?" Leo’s hand jerked, and the hat tilted. A moment later, he let out a cold, cynical laugh. "Run? Who said she was allowed to run?" The room went dead silent. No one took it as a joke. Considering the power of the Sterling family, and how wild and reckless Leo was, he was entirely capable of forcing me to stay. But why bother? Leo patiently adjusted my hat, his expression gentle, but his words were like icy blades. "I waited seven years for Hannah to come back to me. "I can't wait to cherish her every single day. I could never bring myself to say a harsh word to her. "But with a substitute around, I have a place to vent my frustrations when I’m feeling frustrated, don't I?" Everyone laughed. They laughed at how protective he was of Hannah, and they laughed at how pitiable and ridiculous I was. My nails dug into my palms. I was trembling all over from the pain. Leo pulled me into his arms and held his phone in front of me. He had typed: Be a good girl. It’s time to make a wish. Everyone is wishing you a Happy Birthday :D I covered my ears to block out their voices and blew out the candles. Everyone shouted in unison again: "Happy Birthday, Hannah!" Someone, I don't know who, added: "And good luck on the proposal, Leo!" Leo sneered, "Didn't you guys eat? Why are you so quiet?" The next second, my phone vibrated with a text from him: You little dummy, what did you wish for? Don't wish for my album to sell well again. I’m already so famous I can't handle it. I went rigid, forcing myself to hold back the tears. 02 Later, I opened old videos I had recorded. The brutal truth was revealed. Our entire seven-year relationship was nothing but a complete joke. There had never been a single birthday that Leo celebrated for me. I even remembered his first big performance. I had worked tirelessly day and night promoting him, eventually fainting from exhaustion. What I got in return was him saying to me: "Hannah, thank you for your hard work." Even in bed, during our most intimate moments, when I was breathless with passion, the name he whispered with obsession was still "Hannah." He never knew when to stop, and when he hurt me, I would desperately use sign language to tell him. It never worked. Afterwards, he would always say with a look of innocence: Honey, your hands are shaking so much. I can't understand you. But lately, he had started asking me in sign language if it hurt. I had never seen him so gentle. Now I understood why. I once overheard him telling a friend: "I’m just practicing with the deaf girl. Hannah is delicate; I can't afford to hurt her when the time comes." A sour sense of betrayal flooded my heart, and tears began to stream down my face. How could anyone be so heartless? When he broke ties with the Sterling family and was penniless, chasing his music dream... The woman who abandoned him and went abroad was Hannah. The woman who stayed by his side, going from nothing to winning countless awards... was me. My phone lit up. It was a text from my doctor. Ms. Davis, are you certain you want to cancel your final round of treatment abroad? You’ve already made it through the painful cochlear implant surgery. Giving up treatment now would be a terrible shame. I wiped away my tears and replied: I’m going. I didn't want Leo anymore. My flight was scheduled for a week from now. Coincidentally, that was also the night of Leo’s massive concert, where he planned to propose. That night, Leo didn't come home. I received a text from Hannah: [Sister, don't bother waiting up. Leo is playing the piano to lul me to sleep. I told him my insomnia is cured, but he just couldn't relax. He insisted on seeing me fall asleep before leaving.] [You tell me, it’s been seven years. How does he still remember everything so perfectly?] Attached to the text was a photo. Taken over Hannah’s bare shoulder in a tank top. A man was playing the piano. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a vintage silver necklace. That high-fashion, aloof face was impossibly gentle under the warm light of the floor lamp. His long fingers danced across the black and white keys, as if he were caressing a lover's body. Hannah continued to gloat: [I have to go. He caught me on my phone and he's getting upset.] After all these years, she still couldn't stand to see me happy. But I didn't want to fight her for him. Leo was tainted. I didn't want him. 03 The next day. On a reality TV show, Hannah lost a game and had to take a penalty. She was wearing a white, off-the-shoulder dress, lying on the ground, her eyes red. An overweight male celebrity was on top of her, doing push-ups as part of the penalty. To the side, Leo leaned casually against a railing, twirling his bone ring on his index finger. When the male celebrity stumbled, Leo finally lost his patience. He muttered a curse, walked over, and kicked the man away. With a dark face, Leo took his place to complete the penalty, having Hannah sit on his back instead, causing the fans to erupt in screams. Hannah, appearing frightened, wrapped both arms tightly around Leo’s veiny neck. The person sitting next to me was baffled. "This is weird. Leo is an A-lister; why would he even agree to be on this show?" "Even weirder, that guy is usually so cold and doesn't tolerate anyone, but he's willingly letting her sit on him..." I curled my lips into a bitter smile. Because she was Hannah, his high school sweetheart. The next game involved randomly selecting audience members to guess song titles. The moment he saw me, Leo froze while adjusting his earpiece, a frown crossing his face. But he quickly looked down and continued helping Hannah adjust hers. The music started. Leo’s vocals were incredible, and his stage presence was effortlessly cool. The spotlight hit his perfect face, eliciting screams from the crowd. When the host asked for the answer, I replied plainly: "I’m sorry, I don't recognize it." The entire stadium went into an uproar. This was Leo Sterling’s recent global hit, a song that had won countless awards. The fans were furious: "Is something wrong with her ears?! How could she not know this song?!" "Replace her! Get her off the stage! Get out! Get out!" Only Leo remained utterly cold. He kept one hand in his pocket, lifting his eyelids to glare at me with those almond-shaped eyes. He was angry because I had forgotten that I was his "secret" girlfriend, meant to be kept in the dark. He was even angrier that a substitute was flaunting herself in front of the real thing. Suddenly, glow sticks were thrown at me. A sharp plastic one hit me near the corner of my eye, drawing blood. For an instant, Leo’s brows knitted together, and he started walking toward me. But Hannah grabbed the edge of his jacket. She didn't say anything, just bit her lower lip, and that was enough to make him stop in his tracks. He forgot about the girl huddled in a ball amidst the falling glow sticks, clutching herself in pain. He softly comforted Hannah: "Don't be afraid, I’m here." After the fiasco, Hannah took the stage and won the game. I had to take the penalty—being pushed into the pool. By the poolside. Hannah, with her back to the camera, smiled triumphantly: "Seven years wasn't enough, was it? His heart still belongs to me. I heard Leo has been calling you Hannah for seven years?" I looked at her calmly, pulled out my phone, and typed: I’ve done what you wanted. Give me my necklace back. The song you just sang is one I wrote in high school. I have no problem exposing you. Hannah’s face went pale. She let out a cold, resentful laugh through gritted teeth. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and pushed me into the pool, falling in with me. The icy water submerged my nose and mouth. I panicked, thrashing wildly. Soon, I heard Leo’s desperate voice: "Get the hell out of the way! Dammit, why is the pool so deep?" Hannah cried out: "Leo, save Chloe first!" A strong hand violently yanked my hand away from where I was clutching Hannah. Leo roared: "Chloe Vance! Let go! Are you trying to drown Hannah?!" The icy water pierced my bones, and my heart slowly went numb. This time, he didn't get my name wrong. I suddenly remembered Leo’s very first performance. I was carrying应援 (supporting) materials and got tired. I sat down in a dark corner where the light couldn't reach, just to catch my breath. On stage, Leo was in the spotlight, the center of attention. Below the stage, fans waved glow sticks, screaming their applause. I could neither hear the singing nor the cheering. In my silent world, only Leo’s silhouette existed. He was a light that had illuminated my dark and lonely youth, and now he was still shining brightly. Suddenly, the crowd surged. I was pushed down and couldn't get back up. The man on stage dropped his microphone, jumped off the stage, and stumbled through the crowd. He knelt down and wrapped his arms tightly around me. The blood from his forehead dripped onto my lips. Leo… Is it because you were afraid of damaging her substitute? Then why did you stroke my head over and over, telling me not to be afraid? Then why, when we were seventeen... 04 When I was seventeen, I lived in Hannah’s shadow. After my mother married her father. My stepfather praised a new song I had written. The next minute, Hannah tore up the sheet music. "You deaf freak, if you ever dare to write music again, I’ll punch your mouth in!" She hated me. Along with her friends, she would stomp on my hearing aids, mock the way I spoke, and even spread nasty rumors about me. Yet she was still the perfect, sweet student in the teachers' eyes. So, when I was framed for stealing a bracelet. She cried as she told the teacher, her mouth moving rapidly. And I, due to long-term hearing loss, spoke slowly and strangely. Under the teacher’s disgusted gaze, I slowly closed my mouth. The injustice was suffocating, swelling from my chest all the way to my eyes. A boy who had been reading in the corner suddenly let out a sarcastic laugh. He expertly used sign language to tell me: Dummy, no one understands what you're saying. Don't you know how to write it down? He slapped paper and a pen down in front of me, looked at the teacher, and said slowly: "Teacher, I believe Chloe. Let her write down what she wants to say." Behind the boy, the sunlight streamed through the ivy covering the window, reflecting in the black pupils beneath his fragmented bangs. After I was proven innocent, he pulled me away. Under Hannah’s practically incendiary gaze. Leo personally removed the earring from his left ear and put it on mine. His voice was right by my ear, loud enough for Hannah to hear. He said: "My grandmother was deaf, too. Don't be afraid. If she bullys you again, press the button on the earring, and the other earring will sense it, and I’ll appear." That moment of heartbeat actually stretched over ten years. 05 When I woke up, the window of the hospital was framed with swaying ivy. As if that summer again, vibrant green, until a heated argument cut short the silence. The manager was roaring: "You’re crazy! Hannah was nearly trampled, and you’re still protecting that other woman?! Did you forget she accompanied you through all the competitions, promoted you, begged people to give you data?!" The twenty-seven-year-old Leo coldly spoke up: "Did I ask her to?" The manager asked again: "Then let her go, okay? Stop torturing her." "…Why should I? She was the one who threw herself at me. No." "I have to remind you, you’re about to propose to Hannah, man!" "I know! I only love Hannah. Hannah is back. Whether her name is Chloe Vance, Sarah Smith, or Emily Johnson, it’s all the same to me. I just… need some time. When I’m tired of it, I’ll naturally let her go." Leo suddenly grabbed his forehead, clearly impatient as he continued: "Also, don't tell her about the proposal. I’m afraid she’ll make a scene. "She actually tried to kill Hannah today. She’s completely insane. Who does she think she is?! "She really thinks I’m some kind of music-obsessed idiot who would actually marry a deaf woman?" He got up and strode away. Behind him, the manager raised his voice, asking question after question: "Who does she think she is?! She’s the thirteen-year-old vocal award-winning genius. The girlfriend who sacrificed everything to be with you for ten years." "Did you forget? Your biggest wish used to be for her to hear you sing. "Medical technology is advancing so fast these days, if Chloe actually hears one day, don't regret it!"