Chapter 15
I gave a quiet “mm” my eyes filled with disappointment as I looked at him.
Elijah, panicked, grabbed my wrist and said urgently.
“Please, let me explain.”
I pulled my hand away from his grasp and asked coldly, “Explain what?”
I gave a cold smile.
“Are you saying I misunderstood because of my hearing impairment?”
He hesitated, clearly unsure how to explain.
“Elijah.”
As soon as I called his name, tears began to fall uncontrollably.
“I never imagined how unwilling you were to marry me. When I saved you, it was done willingly, without expecting anything in return.”
“It wasn’t meant to be a bargaining chip to force you into marriage…”
By the end, my voice choked with emotion.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
“Ashie..”
He interrupted me before I could finish.
Seeing him reach out to hug me, I quickly stepped back.
He missed.
It was the first time he had failed to hold me.
In that moment, I felt utterly disheveled.
I needed to leave.
But Hallie ran in front of me and stopped me:
“Ashie, it’s been six years. How about we find a place to catch up?”
“How have you been?”
“I really miss the days we spent together as kids.”
“We shared the same dream.”
“By the way, I have a performance tomorrow. Let me save you a front–row seat, okay?”
gave
Hallie a faint smile and then turned on my heel, walking quickly away.
Elijah was calling after me.
I removed my cochlear implant and, moving as fast as I could, ran to the street and jumped into a taxi. Only when I saw Elijah stop did I put the cochlear implant back on.
“Driver, take me anywhere.””