Zach hated me, but he also felt guilty toward me.Both of us lost our parents that night.Since I was mute and deaf and since Zach’s mother said that I was the treasure she protected, Zach did not leave my side.Instead, he took upon himself the responsibility of being my brother and brought me up, but I knew that he still hated me.Over the years, whenever it was his mother’s death anniversary, he would get himself drunk and go alone to visit his mother.I went with him once, but in his drunken state, he kicked me away.He then grabbed my neck, and with a fearsome expression, said, “Stella, you’re not worthy of visiting my mother!”But after he became sober, he hugged me and touched the bruises on my neck while apologizing to me. “I’m sorry, Stella. I just feel… really conflicted.”I knew that.He would even cover my face when he slept with me.Honestly, I felt conflicted too.I wanted to treat him as my brother and stay by his side forever, but things did not go my way.A
Gale started talking up a storm once they got into the car.“Are you missing your little mute lady?”Zach threw his phone away and said coldly, “No. Why would I?”“If you don’t like her, say it clearly to her. She’s mute and is really pitiful, you know?”“She’s pitiful?” Zach yanked his tie off and felt really frustrated. “What about her is pitiful? I brought her up and gave her a good life, and what did she do? She ended up becoming a selfish, ungrateful brat. I just nagged her a little, and she gave me the cold shoulder. She must think she’s a big shot now.”“No matter what, you grew up together. Even if she doesn’t love you romantically, she’ll still treat you as family. Why don’t you call her and mend things with her?”“No need.” Zach cast his phone a glance and spoke even more coldly, “I’m not putting up with her horrible temper!”Even so, after a while, Zach still picked up his phone and sent me a simple message.[I’m coming back home for dinner tomorrow night.]Look. Ev
“Is that so?” Zach massaged the center of his brows again and shut his eyes.I, too, shut my eyes.If Zach had asked a few more questions to get a clearer answer or even called me, even if I could never hear his voice clearly again, my phone would still ring… in the trunk of his car.But he did not do it.Not in the past, and not in the present.He would not do it in the future either.With my kidney, Catherine’s surgery was a success.Zach was really concerned about Catherine. Even if she had not woken up, he never left her side.When she did, he finally felt relieved.“Thanks for saving me, Zach.”“You don’t have to thank me. We’re friends, after all. Besides, you saved my life.”Catherine forced a smile and said nothing else, as if she was weakened by the surgery and did not have the strength to speak.But I was the only one who knew that she was feeling guilty.She knew that the one who saved Zach in the past was not her, but me.Honestly, though, I think that to Zach
Catherine first showed up in our lives when Zach was in university, and he started talking about her a lot.Catherine, Catherine…I went to see her in secret once. She was really pretty and came from a good family. She was like a prideful swan.Compared to me, who could not speak and could not hear clearly, she was like a precious gemstone, and I was dirt.Later on, when Zach went hiking with her, I followed behind them in secret as well.I saw Zach smiling at her in a relaxed fashion. It was a smile he had never shown me.At that moment, I was really worried about losing him.I was like a dull clown who was following behind a couple who were perfect for each other.Then, when I saw them arguing and splitting up, I felt relieved.But their argument that time nearly cost Zach his life.He slipped and fell off the cliff.I did not really know how I managed to find him, nor did I know how I managed to carry someone who weighed more than 140 pounds back to the hiking track when
Once he was certain that all of Catherine’s vital signs were normal, Zach was satisfied, and he went back home.He had sent a message to me and told me that he was coming back for dinner tonight. So, he thought that I would welcome him with an apron around my waist and a table full of food, like a dog who would foolishly wag my tail at him while I waited for my master to come home.But he never thought that he would be welcomed by cold silence.When he could not find me in any of the rooms in the house, he took his phone out and finally called me.It was on the third day of my death.Just as I expected, Zach was told that my phone was turned off.Frustrated, Zach threw his phone away.“Stella! You think you’re hot sh*t now, huh?! Fine! It’s not as if you can throw a tantrum forever, anyway!”Then, he picked up his phone and typed a message.[If you don’t come home today, don’t ever come back again!]Once done, he threw the phone on the sofa. After some thought, he added anoth
That night, Zach occasionally checked his phone like a trapped beast.He did not even go back to his bed to sleep. He just kept waiting on the sofa, just like what I did all these years.When the sun rose, he finally opened his bloodshot eyes.“Well, well, Stella, you’ve got guts. When I find you, I’m going to skin you alive!”But you have already skinned me, Zach.I sighed, but no one knew about it.The wind blew past the curtains.After a night of not sleeping and me not picking up when he called me, Zach finally thought about going to my work studio.But before he reached my work studio, he got a call from the hospital.It was Catherine. She was kicking up a fuss and saying that she felt sick.He hesitated for only one second before he turned around and left.My heart was already as calm as still water a long time ago.Of course, he would do this. This was not the first time Zach cast me aside because of Catherine.Naturally, it would not be the last.When Zach was s
With great yearning, I cast a glance at my work studio. I had died too soon. I had an incomplete statue in my work studio.Oh well. It did not matter anymore.Zach rushed back to the hospital, and Catherine was crying up a storm.“Zach, I feel sick. Is it because there’s something wrong with the kidney? It really hurts…”Zach gave her a thorough examination. Once he noticed that there was nothing wrong with her, he placated her with a gentle voice. “Don’t worry, Catherine. It’s all in your head. It’s just a kidney transplant, so it’s fine. Look at me. I’ve had a kidney transplant for years now, and I’m fine, aren’t I?”“Really?” Catherine asked with teary eyes.“Yes. Speaking of which, we’re both suffering from the same fate. You got a kidney transplant, and I got one as well. We also have a rare blood type. If I didn’t have kidney problems of my own, I would have given you one of mine.”As Zach spoke, he seemed to have thought of something, and his expression soured.Catheri
For some reason, Zach did not stay long in Catherine’s ward.Instead, he called someone who was an upperclassman of his in university.“Sam, is it really impossible to figure out who my kidney donor is?”“Zach, don’t make this hard for me.” Sam sighed on the other end of the phone and said, “You’re about to marry Stella. Life has been hard for her, so be kind to her.”When Zach’s mother passed away, he blamed me for it, but I also knew that he felt guilty about it.That day, he should have been the one who came to my house.But he threw a tantrum, and his mother came over to give me a cupcake.Over the years, he always felt guilty for his mother’s death.Honestly, he was a gentle and kind person.That was why I had begged Sam not to tell Zach that his kidney donor was me before the surgery.I did not want him to live on with guilt toward me.Sam had always kept this a secret.Zach’s expression turned dark, and he charged home like a madman.Despite us keeping this a secret