The Daughter Allowed Only 10 Seconds of Voice Chapter 08

The Daughter Allowed Only 10 Seconds of Voice Chapter 08

In my second month at Northreach, Corinne recommended me for a major Northern Pack Council project.

That afternoon, I’d just finished a six–hour testing session.

Back in my dorm, I found more missed calls and messages on my phone.

When I opened it, Mom’s messages had shifted from “When are you coming home?” to “Mom wants to hear you talk.”

The newest message was a long paragraph.

Mom said she’d gone to the market today, and Mabel Arden, who runs the used–book stall, asked why I hadn’t been around in so long.

Mabel said her eldest daughter was wonderful, and that she’d never gotten the chance to thank me for tutoring her granddaughter in physics last time.

Mom said Mabel had gone on and on praising me.

But she’d just stood there, unable to say a word.

On the way home, she bought a bag of tomatoes and made tomato pasta.

For some reason, she thought I liked tomatoes.

I’m actually allergic to them.

I didn’t reply. I scrolled down to the family group chat and tagged everyone.

“Stop messaging me. It’s exhausting.”

I switched off my phone.

That evening, Corinne stopped me before she left the online meeting.

“Tessa, you’re the strongest communicator in this cohort. Clear, precise, and logical. You’ll present the project.”

I agreed, stunned.

After closing my laptop, I sat on my bed for a long time. The tears came out of nowhere.

I touched my face. The back of my hand came away wet.

I made no sound, no sobs, just tears falling on their own, like a valve that had broken and wouldn’t close.

Out there, I always seemed fine. No one knew I’d been resented at home for talking.

No one knew I’d been put on pause.

No one knew my voice only got ten seconds in the family archive.

Corinne’s words weren’t a compliment. They were a key.

It opened a room I’d always pretended didn’t exist, one filled with every sentence I’d swallowed over

eighteen years.

I sat in that room for a long time, then went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.

My eyes were a little red in the mirror, but my face was calm.

Deep inside, my wolf watched me quietly too.

I told my reflection, “You’ve got this.”

No one interrupted.