He Took Off His Hearing Aid And My Love Died Chapter 03
Julian crashed into me as he rushed inside. I hit the ground hard, pain jolting through my bones. He didn’t even glance down — just tossed a quick apology over his shoulder and walked into the store.
“Did my gift box come in? I saw the missed call.”
The shop assistant brought the gift box back out. No questions this time. None at all.
He was halfway to the door when the shop assistant called after him.
“Mr. Vance, no strawberry tarts today? You always grab a box of those whenever you pick up a gift.”
Julian stopped at the door. He nodded.
“Just the smallest box, same as always.”
I leaned against the wall outside and laughed — the kind of laugh that turns into crying halfway through. So that’s why Julian, who couldn’t remember a single thing about me, always knew about the strawberry tarts.
I was never the point. I’d been Audrey’s afterthought from the start.
I watched him leave. I didn’t follow.
I found an empty bench and sat down, tipping my head back to stare at the sky. Julian and I were happy once, for a little while.
He’d draw me a bath after a long day and rub the knots out of my shoulders. He’d remember some offhand thing I’d mentioned weeks earlier and show up with it wrapped, grinning like he’d cracked a code.
When did it change? Probably when Audrey moved back.
They’d grown up together. They were both hearing-impaired. They never ran out of things to say to each other.
Half their conversations happened in a language I didn’t understand. Sometimes I couldn’t stop the thought from creeping in.
If Audrey hadn’t left the country for treatment, maybe she’d be the one wearing his ring.
At some point the sky had gone dark without me noticing. My phone sat silent in my hand. Not a single notification.
I felt my mouth twist into something that wasn’t quite a smile. I knew better. I knew he wasn’t coming. But some part of me kept waiting anyway.
I was about to lock the screen when the phone buzzed in my hand. Husband flashed across the screen, and my heart kicked against my ribs.
I picked up, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I’m on my way back, you don’t have to—”
“Clara, did you do this? What’s trending right now?”
I went cold.
“What are you talking about?”
Julian scoffed.
“Drop the act. You make me sick.”
I pulled up the app with shaking hands.
[Cancel Audrey Mercer: The Design World’s New Outcast]
It was the number one trending topic. I tapped on it.
The first photo was Audrey and Julian at a restaurant — sitting close, laughing together, completely at ease. From certain angles, it looked like they were kissing.
The headlines were even worse.
[Celebrity Designer Audrey Mercer Exposed as the Other Woman]
[Audrey Mercer Caught With Married Man on His Wife’s Birthday — Candlelight Dinner Photos Leaked]
“It wasn’t me,” I said, the words spilling out.
Audrey’s voice came through the speaker, thin and wounded.
“Clara, I know you don’t like me, but you can’t destroy my career over it. Nobody else knew about tonight — just you, me, and Julian.”
“If it wasn’t you, then what — I leaked my own photos? Why would I do that to myself?”
My throat locked up. I opened my mouth and nothing came — no defense, no explanation, nothing.
No matter what I said, I was the obvious suspect.
I heard Julian take the phone from Audrey.
His voice was the last thing I heard before the line went dead.
“Audrey, don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”
I didn’t know what strings he pulled. But within the hour, the posts about Audrey were disappearing from the trending list in real time.
I was still staring at my phone when a message came in from a friend.
“Clara, why did you put that out there? We swore we’d never tell anyone.”
My whole body went cold. I swiped out of Audrey’s thread, fingers shaking.
I scrolled to the very top of the trending list.
The moment I saw what was sitting at number one, my legs nearly gave out.
