Chapter 1
Trevor Archer couldn’t get over his first love, so I ended up being her replacement for seven years.
On my birthday. Trevor deliberately called out his first love’s name.
“Caroline, happy birthday!”
His buddy asked, “Caroline is back with you now. Aren’t you over using a deaf girl as a stand–in?”
Trevor pinched my ear and drawled, “She’s fun. I’ll keep her around until I propose to Caroline.”
He didn’t know that my ears had just been fixed.
***
The smile froze on my lips. Trevor continued, “This birthday is a way to make up for what I owe Caroline.”
Everyone started teasingly calling him the romantic.
Then, someone looked right at me and asked, “Aren’t you worried she’ll find out?”
Trevor leaned his head to the side with a lazy smile. “About what? That she’ll latch on and never let go?”
The crowd burst into laughter.
“Seriously, a deaf girl sticking with Trevor for seven years? She has really
Chapter 1
hit the jackpot.”
“If she didn’t look a bit like Caroline, she wouldn’t even be in the picture.”
Amid the jeers, Trevor bent down and put the birthday hat on me.
His face was right there, with the same cool, aloof look.
Someone piped up, “But she’s been with you for seven years. Would you let such a pretty girl go?”
Trevor’s hand trembled, and the hat went askew.
After a moment, he gave a cold, thin smile. “I’ll keep her locked up. Who says she can leave?”
It got quiet all of a sudden.
Nobody was joking around anymore. The Archer family had a lot of power, and Trevor was known for being both crazy and ruthless.
But what was he trying to get out of it?
Trevor fixed the hat patiently, looking gentle, but his words were like a sharp, cold knife.
“I waited seven years for Caroline to come back to me.
“I’d hold her close every day and never say a mean word to her.
“Having a stand–in around gives me a place to let off some steam, right?”
Everybody laughed.
They thought Trevor was such a sweetheart, and I was pitiful and silly.
My nails dug into my palms, and it hurt so much that I was shaking all
95 15%
over.
Trevor put his arm around my shoulder and held his phone in front of me. “Good girl, it’s time to make a wish. We’re wishing you a happy birthday.”
I covered my ears and blew out the candles.
The group shouted, “Happy birthday, Caroline!”
Then someone butted in. “Hope Trevor’s proposal goes smoothly!”
Trevor snickered. “Did you guys forget to eat? Your voices are so quiet.”
The next second, I got a message from him.
“Silly girl, what did you wish for?
“Don’t wish for the album to be a huge hit again. I’m already very popular.”
I forced back the tears, bit by bit,
