Save Your Breath, I'm Done Drowning - Chapter 1: Chapter 1
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The moment the doctor confirmed my hearing was fully restored, my heart nearly burst with joy. After five long years of silence, I couldn't wait to hear Dillon's voice properly for the first time. He'd been my rock through everything - my partner, my cheerleader, the man who made me believe in love again.
I rushed home through the winter chill, barely noticing the snowflakes dusting my coat. My fingers trembled with excitement as I reached for the door - only to freeze when I heard voices inside.
"Even after all this time," came Dillon's unmistakable tone, thick with emotion, "I still love Alyssa. I'm thinking of signing over Knight Holdings to her."
My breath caught in my throat.
His friend Remy let out a disbelieving laugh. "If your wife ever finds out you only married her to keep her away from Gabriel - to protect Alyssa's happiness - it'll destroy her."
What came next turned my blood to ice. "Relax," Dillon said casually. "She's deaf. Couldn't hear us if she tried."
The world tilted beneath me. Five years of marriage. Five years of tender gestures and whispered promises (or so I'd imagined). All of it - one elaborate lie to shield his precious Alyssa.
I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms, the physical pain nothing compared to the knife twisting in my chest. What kind of fool stays in a life built on betrayal? Not this one. If Dillon wanted Alyssa so badly, he could have her - without me in the picture.
Through the cracked door, I watched Dillon lounge on our gray sectional, the picture of casual confidence. Remy sat across from him, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"You'd really give up everything for her?" Remy demanded. "Your company? Your status? What about Mia? She's a Cole heir - you can't expect her to live like some middle-class housewife."
Dillon leaned forward, intensity burning in his eyes. "Alyssa chose Gabriel over me, but I never stopped loving her. This is how I prove that." His voice dropped. "Mia told me she'd stand by me no matter what. She'll adjust."
Each word landed like a punch to the gut. I gripped the doorframe, my knees threatening to buckle.
Remy suddenly paled, his gaze snapping to me in the doorway. "M-Mia! You're home!"
Dillon turned slowly. For a heartbeat, I saw panic flash across his face before his usual mask of calm slid back into place.
"Chill," he told Remy with a dismissive wave. "She's deaf, remember?" The casual cruelty in his voice made me physically recoil.
As Remy awkwardly signed a greeting, Dillon crossed to me with that familiar concerned expression. He draped a shawl around my shoulders, his fingers lingering just a second too long.
Why go out in this cold without proper clothes? he signed, his brow furrowing in that way I used to find endearing.
I remembered how touched I'd been when he learned sign language after our wedding. Now every gesture felt like part of some sick charade, each tender moment just another thread in the web of lies he'd spun around me.
I rushed home through the winter chill, barely noticing the snowflakes dusting my coat. My fingers trembled with excitement as I reached for the door - only to freeze when I heard voices inside.
"Even after all this time," came Dillon's unmistakable tone, thick with emotion, "I still love Alyssa. I'm thinking of signing over Knight Holdings to her."
My breath caught in my throat.
His friend Remy let out a disbelieving laugh. "If your wife ever finds out you only married her to keep her away from Gabriel - to protect Alyssa's happiness - it'll destroy her."
What came next turned my blood to ice. "Relax," Dillon said casually. "She's deaf. Couldn't hear us if she tried."
The world tilted beneath me. Five years of marriage. Five years of tender gestures and whispered promises (or so I'd imagined). All of it - one elaborate lie to shield his precious Alyssa.
I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms, the physical pain nothing compared to the knife twisting in my chest. What kind of fool stays in a life built on betrayal? Not this one. If Dillon wanted Alyssa so badly, he could have her - without me in the picture.
Through the cracked door, I watched Dillon lounge on our gray sectional, the picture of casual confidence. Remy sat across from him, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"You'd really give up everything for her?" Remy demanded. "Your company? Your status? What about Mia? She's a Cole heir - you can't expect her to live like some middle-class housewife."
Dillon leaned forward, intensity burning in his eyes. "Alyssa chose Gabriel over me, but I never stopped loving her. This is how I prove that." His voice dropped. "Mia told me she'd stand by me no matter what. She'll adjust."
Each word landed like a punch to the gut. I gripped the doorframe, my knees threatening to buckle.
Remy suddenly paled, his gaze snapping to me in the doorway. "M-Mia! You're home!"
Dillon turned slowly. For a heartbeat, I saw panic flash across his face before his usual mask of calm slid back into place.
"Chill," he told Remy with a dismissive wave. "She's deaf, remember?" The casual cruelty in his voice made me physically recoil.
As Remy awkwardly signed a greeting, Dillon crossed to me with that familiar concerned expression. He draped a shawl around my shoulders, his fingers lingering just a second too long.
Why go out in this cold without proper clothes? he signed, his brow furrowing in that way I used to find endearing.
I remembered how touched I'd been when he learned sign language after our wedding. Now every gesture felt like part of some sick charade, each tender moment just another thread in the web of lies he'd spun around me.
End of Save Your Breath, I'm Done Drowning Chapter 1. Continue reading Chapter 2 or return to Save Your Breath, I'm Done Drowning book page.