Deceiving Her Ears: Ignoring Your Call-Chapter 7: Engagement

She glanced around the private room, deliberately avoiding Isaac.

She stepped inside.

Her slightly pale face was expressionless, like an icy, sculpted beauty.

The whole group seemed inexplicably intimidated; not one of them spoke, just watching silently as she walked over to Nina.

"There’s an issue with my project, my professor said I need to revise it. I have to head back first, you guys go on."

"Huh? Oh, oh, okay." Nina was momentarily confused but quickly nodded once she caught on.

Natalie turned and walked out, but before she’d gone more than a few steps, she heard Scott say, "You came all the way here, what’s the rush to leave? Nat, we were just talking about you."

Natalie heard it all. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

They said she was selling herself at Zenithar.

She turned to look at Scott, her eyes cold and biting.

And before Scott could spit out another ugly remark, she grabbed a bottle from the table and smashed it over his head.

Chaos broke out.

Someone screamed.

Someone yelled to call 911.

"Fuck, you bitch!" Scott clutched his head.

Someone brought a wad of tissues, trying to help him wipe away blood. He shoved them away, stepped onto the coffee table, and reached to grab Natalie.

Fortunately, someone managed to restrain him.

Natalie stood expressionless, back perfectly straight, as if she weren’t the one who’d just attacked.

But the way her hand trembled around the bottle gave her away.

"Leave first."

Along with a low male voice, someone took the bottle from Natalie’s hand.

She turned her head and saw Isaac.

Her nose tingled instantly, warmth rushed to her eyes, but she kept her face blank and left.

Jason was on the phone, arm around a newly hooked-up internet celebrity as he walked into the bar. At a glance, he saw Natalie and thought he was seeing things.

"What’s wrong?" The influencer followed his gaze and saw the striking figure walking away. Jealousy instantly flared, and she grabbed his collar, annoyed: "How could you stare at another woman right in front of me? Who’s prettier, me or her?"

Jason snapped back, kissed her lips, and coaxed softly, "How could she compare to you? She’s just a deaf girl."

"Deaf? How do you know?"

Jason didn’t answer. Into the phone, he asked, "Isaac, I’m here, which room are you all in?"

——

Not long after Natalie returned to her apartment, Isaac called.

"Scott’s fine, just broke the skin."

"Where are you? I’ll come find you."

She heard the sound of a car door closing on the other end.

Natalie gripped her phone, face pale as paper, forcing her voice cold: "What do you want with me? To—sleep together?"

Isaac sighed, helpless, "Can we talk in person?"

Natalie’s body shook, and at last the tears fell.

The Zenithar rumors—Isaac knew.

Maybe it was yesterday when they ran into each other there, maybe even earlier.

He knew all along.

But he didn’t ask her—not once.

Why?

Because it didn’t matter to him whether she was selling herself or not.

Whether it was rumor or reality, it meant nothing to him. It wasn’t his concern.

Natalie hung up, and blocked Isaac again.

——

The next morning when she woke, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller’s name made Natalie’s chest tighten.

She licked her lips, answered, and spoke with respect, "Mother."

"Come home for a bit. The driver will pick you up."

"Okay."

Natalie didn’t ask why her mother suddenly wanted her back in Janton.

As soon as she agreed, Cynthia Kendall hung up.

Natalie didn’t take anything with her, just went straight downstairs.

"Second Miss."

The driver got out and opened the back door for her.

Natalie bent down and got in.

The car quickly left Seaharbor, got on the highway, and entered Janton four hours later.

Another hour passed before they reached the Crystellane villa district.

The housekeeper waited at the door to welcome her, told Natalie that Cynthia Kendall had gone to the prayer room after her nap.

It was just past three o’clock, and the kitchen was already preparing dinner.

Natalie washed her hands and went in, personally making a dish of peony fish fillet.

The dish was labor-intensive—the fish slices had to be thin and cut evenly; cooking required just the right heat to make sure the fish cooked through but stayed tender.

But it was Cynthia Kendall’s favorite.

Her father Matthew Beckett and older brother Julian had work engagements and hadn’t come home, so only Natalie and Cynthia ate together that night.

Natalie had looked forward to it since placing the peony fish fillet on the table, but Cynthia finished her meal without touching it.

When the staff carefully asked Natalie what to do with the dish, she answered softly, "Throw it away."

Only after dinner did Natalie finally learn why Cynthia had called her home.

She was to get engaged to Jason Grant.

The engagement party was in two days.

"Natalie Kendall, this between us is just necessity, let me be up front: even after we’re married, don’t expect me to stop seeing other women."

"But since your hearing’s messed up, you won’t even notice if I’m screwing around with half the world."

"Looks like we’re quite the perfect match, huh."

At her eighteenth birthday, The Grant and Beckett families set her engagement with Jason Grant.

Nobody asked what she wanted.

Her wishes didn’t matter.

——

Before bed, Natalie went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Just as she headed downstairs, she smelled alcohol.

The living room lights were off; through the faint glow from the second floor, she saw a man’s hand hanging over the sofa.

"Dad?"

With a "click," the lamp beside the sofa switched on.

Matthew Beckett sat up, massaging his brow, turned toward her, voice hoarse: "Nat, did I wake you?"

"No." Natalie stayed a few paces away.

She went to the kitchen and made him a cup of honey water.

Matthew drank it all in one go, pointed to a gift box on the side and said, "For you. Wear it for your engagement party."

Natalie’s eyes darkened; she murmured, stepped forward to pick up the box, "Thank you, Dad."

Matthew looked at her serene face, but when his gaze landed on the hearing aid at her ear, he instinctively averted his eyes. "It’s a bit sudden. Did it scare you?"

Natalie stroked the lid of the box and looked up, her pupils as silent as a still lake. "I knew it was coming sooner or later."

Once she reached the legal age, she was to marry Jason Grant—and now, with less than three months to her birthday, the timing of the engagement was perfect.

Matthew stood, came over and squeezed her shoulder: "Once you and Jason are engaged, I’ll personally talk to the Grant family and ask him to end all those messy affairs."

"Doesn’t matter," Natalie said, unmoved.

Looking at her father’s gentle face, she suddenly wanted to confide something else: "Dad, Granny Peterson passed away."

"Is that so." Matthew rubbed his temples, voice flat: "I’ll have someone find a new nanny for you."

Granny Peterson had looked after her since she was eight—twelve full years, more like family than anyone else.

But in her father’s eyes, Granny Peterson was just another easily replaced help.

What was she hoping for?

That a father who didn’t care about her would care about the nanny?

"No need. Dad, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head to bed."

Watching her go up the stairs, Matthew frowned, the faintest flicker of regret passing through his eyes—but it was gone in an instant.

——

Soon, the engagement day arrived.

The car headed for the Grant family home.

Isaac tugged at his collar, only for a hand to smack his wrist.

Vanessa leaned over to straighten the skewed tie. "If you act so sloppy in front of your dad, he’ll really send you to Seaharbor and never let you come back."

"Fine by me. I like Seaharbor." Isaac grinned—then a pretty face flashed through his mind.

Natalie was really stubborn—it’s been three days and she still wouldn’t let him go.

"Baby, today is your uncle’s big day. Do behave for me, alright?"

"Behave what? It’s not my engagement." Isaac almost laughed. "But this engagement is a shocker. My future aunt—what’s her story?"

Vanessa said, "She’s a Beckett girl."

"Miss Beckett, huh." Isaac dismissed it.

"Not Beckett," Vanessa corrected. "She took her mother’s name—Kendall."

"Kendall?" The name made Isaac’s brow twitch.

Another coincidence?

His eyes narrowed. He asked, "What’s her full name? Kendall what?"