Chapter 1 Uncovering Lies

I always had a unique kind of mind-reading ability—I could hear the thoughts of people who didn't truly love me.

Thanks to this ability, I could effortlessly tell whether someone's feelings for me were real or not.

It allowed me to quickly pull away from fake friends and remain completely unaffected, even when someone I had a crush on for years confessed his love.

It even came in handy for mundane things—like choosing pumpkins. Hearing a vendor's silent grumbles about which ones were overripe or hollow meant I always left with the best pick.

I could hear every word people thought with complete clarity.

Therefore, I avoided eye contact with strangers in daily life to keep the noise to a minimum.

But when I met Shawn Bacon for the first time, the whole world went quiet. All I could hear was our voices, clear as crystal.

"Hello, would it be all right if we got to know each other?"

I hesitated, waiting for the inevitable murmur of his inner thoughts. But there was nothing.

When our eyes met, I couldn't read his thoughts.

"Hello."

During the time he pursued me, my world stayed beautifully simple and free of distractions.

I had a notion that he truly loved me.

We fell in love, dated, and began planning our wedding. For two whole years, I never once heard his thoughts.

But just the day before our wedding, I suddenly overheard his thoughts.

Because of all the wedding preparations, Shawn had been especially busy lately.

He came from a well-off family and had recently taken over his father's position, now running the Bacon Family's Finance Group.

With the wedding drawing near, there were so many details for us to handle, especially over the past couple of months.

Between work and wedding preparations, there had been little time for us to spend together over the past few months. But today, as we finalized our wedding outfits, I felt a flutter of excitement.

…

When I arrived at the studio, he was already there, trying on a pair of shoes.

He turned briefly to give the staff some instructions before stepping outside to take a call. His tone was low, full of reassurance, as though soothing the person on the other end of the line.

I understood his busy schedule. Managing a company wasn't simple, especially with him being one of the main heirs to the Bacon Family empire.

We shared a brief look, a moment of unspoken understanding.

But then, his thoughts broke through in my mind.

'Wendy said she will show up unexpectedly to disrupt the wedding tomorrow, so I think it would be more convenient to wear a pair of sneakers to escape.'

'Wendy? Show up unexpectedly to disrupt the wedding?' Hearing this, I froze in place, staring intently at his mouth. After confirming that this was indeed his thoughts, I was momentarily at a loss as to how to react.

A sudden chill gripped me, piercing through the summer heat outside. For the first time in two years, I could hear his mind. And that could only mean one thing.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as the staff, following his earlier instructions, slipped a pair of lightweight sneakers into his wedding suit bag.

Shawn caught my gaze, gave me a quick nod, and headed toward the exit.

It was a silent understanding between us. He probably had urgent business to handle.

But the words I had just heard weren't a mistake. I was sure that I had never been wrong about them before.

Almost without realizing it, I found myself following him, my disbelief swelling as I called out, "Shawn?"

I was desperate to catch more of his thoughts, to understand what was running through the mind of the man I was supposed to marry.

Why, of all times, would he change his heart on the day before our wedding?

At the sound of my voice, he paused just as he was about to slip into the back seat of his car, but only for a moment. He turned briefly, offering me a hurried explanation before instructing the driver to speed off.

"Sorry, there's an emergency with a client. I need to head over right away."

He was lying.

But his thoughts told a different story.

'I can tell Wendy's upset just by hearing her voice on the phone. If I don't smooth things over, she won't let me come home tonight.'

I have never been the type to sit and stew in anger. Instead of agonizing over unanswered questions, I would rather take action.

So, I found a reason to meet privately with Shawn's secretary, all while using my mind-reading ability to uncover more of the truth.