He Thought I Couldn’t Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 03

He Thought I Couldn’t Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 03

Early the next morning, maybe because he sensed that something about me had changed, or maybe because of the guilt buried deep in his heart, Gavin said he wanted to take our daughter and me out for the day.

“We’ve wanted to go to the amusement park forever. We just never had the time,” he said. “Autumn, will you come with me and Lily?”

He rubbed his hands together and put on a pitiful expression, hoping I would give him some kind of response.

For once, my daughter didn’t look impatient with me. Her eyes were simply full of excitement at the thought of going to the amusement park.

What Gavin didn’t know was that his collar had come loose, exposing the marks Sophie had left all over his neck. Looking at him now, all I felt was revulsion.

Lily moved fast. Before I could even react, she had already packed everything she wanted to bring.

At the amusement park, she held my hand the whole time, while Gavin hovered around us, taking care of everything. If I so much as pressed my lips together, he would thoughtfully lift a bottle of water to my mouth.

If I looked at something for even a second longer, he insisted on buying it. He even went on every ride I used to love but they had never dared try before.

By the end of it, Gavin looked exhausted, but he still held my hand tightly and refused to let go. Curled against me, Lily looked happier than ever.

At the very end, Gavin bought three matching wish bracelets and tied them around our wrists. “This way, our family will never be separated.”

I said nothing, but Gavin took my hand and pressed it against his chest. “Autumn, can you feel it? My heart is filled with love for you. It will always belong to you.”

Lily chimed in happily from the side, “A family is supposed to stay together forever. I’m so happy.”

I looked at the longing on their faces, and the rage inside me nearly broke loose.

You kept saying you loved me, yet the two of you betrayed me together. You’d already gotten another woman pregnant, so why were you still promising me forever?

What had I ever done to deserve being punished like this?

Seeing me sit there in silence, my face grim, Gavin slowly lost his smile and signed the same thing he had just said out loud. He still had no idea my hearing had come back.

I looked at him expressionlessly, my voice cold to the bone. “Are you sure your heart belongs only to me?”

Panic flickered across Gavin’s face, but he quickly forced out a smile. “Of course it belongs to our daughter too. My heart belongs only to the two of you.”

Lily immediately chimed in, “Mom, you’re not jealous of me, are you?”

Before she could finish, a ringtone cut her off. Gavin stepped aside to answer it, and when he came back a moment later, his face was full of apology.

“Autumn, I’m sorry. Something came up at the office and I need to go deal with it.”

Then he looked at Lily, and she quickly said, “Daddy, I’m going with you.”

With that, Gavin took our daughter’s hand and hurried off. In the instant he turned around, I caught the caller ID on his phone.

Sophie.

I stood up, expressionless, slipped the wish bracelet off my wrist, tossed it into the trash, and walked away.

Since the two of you care so much about Sophie, then I’ll make room for her. From now on, the four of you can live your lives together.

Over the next few days, neither Gavin nor Lily really showed up. They only came home once in a while, looking worn out and tired.

They moved around like thieves, clearly hoping I wouldn’t notice. I had no intention of asking any questions, so I simply acted like I was truly deaf.

What never stopped, however, were Sophie’s updates. Sometimes it was Lily riding around with her in a brand-new car. Sometimes it was a meal Gavin had cooked for her himself.

Every last thing made it obvious how much extra love they were pouring onto Sophie. And in the comments under her posts, all I saw was teasing and congratulations.

As for me, I stayed home, busy erasing everything that had anything to do with me.

On the first day, Sophie posted a photo on Instagram of Gavin taking her and Lily to watch fireworks at the amusement park. I took out every photo of the three of us in the house, tore them to pieces, and burned them all.

On the second day, Sophie posted pictures on Instagram of Gavin and Lily arranging a sea of flowers for her with their own hands. I hired workers and had the greenhouse they built for me behind the house torn down completely.

On the last day, Sophie posted a photo of herself holding Lily while Lily pressed her ear against Gavin’s stomach. I finished packing everything and was just about to leave when Gavin, who hadn’t been home in ages, appeared at the door holding Lily’s hand.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he had a document clutched tightly in one hand. He looked tense as he asked, “Autumn, this paperwork says you’re going to take a volunteer teaching post on a reservation in Montana. Is that true?”