"Mom, I’m ready to go home now and take over our business."

That was the text message I sent before tossing my phone onto the bed. My fingers trembled slightly as I exhaled. I leaned against the headboard, staring at the city lights through the window… remembering the moment that led me to this decision—leaving my husband Keith.

It was yesterday, Keith’s birthday. I had been so excited. I wanted to tell him the good news—that after three years of silence and immobility, I could finally talk. I could finally walk. I had spent months in therapy, regaining my strength, and I thought Keith would be proud.

But before I could speak, the conversation shifted. His friends switched to Italian. They didn’t know I understood them because I secretly learned Italian when I learned that Keith was fluent. I wasn’t just able to speak it with him because I became deaf after an accident.

I thought I could speak it with them, only that I heard the words that shattered me.

"Sasha just came back. What are you gonna do now?" one of Keith’s friends asked.

Sasha. The name I had come to hate. The woman Keith had once loved. The one who left him.

Keith chuckled, swirling the wine in his glass. "What else? I’ll take her back. Even if she left and hurt me, it was always her."

My stomach twisted. My grip on my dress tightened.

His friend hesitated. "And Katherine?"

Keith scoffed. "My deaf, paralyzed, useless wife?" He let out a humorless laugh. "She was just convenient. I kept her around because I pitied her. She’s an orphan, after all. Convenient while Sasha was away. I’ll dispose of her soon."

The words sliced through me like a knife. I should have walked away. I should have left right then.

But then—

"Are you sure about that?" his friend pressed. "What if she learns the truth about the accident? You were drunk that night, remember? You lost control of the car. You crashed into her, and that’s why she was paralyzed. That’s why she lost everything."

Keith sighed. "And? It’s not like she ever found out, so shut your mouth."

The world around me spun. My ears rang.

Keith… caused my accident? For three years, I had believed that he saved me. That he was the reason I was alive. I had been grateful to him. I had married him. I had loved him.

And all this time, he had been the one who destroyed me.

I shut my eyes, willing away the memory, but it clawed at me relentlessly.

My phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen. Mom.

"Oh, that’s great news! What about Keith? Did you tell him about how your real identity now?"

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. A month ago, my entire world had shifted. I wasn’t an orphan. I wasn’t just some abandoned child from the streets.

I was Katherine Covey, daughter of the billionaire Covey family. For years, my parents had searched for me. When they finally found me, my mother begged me to come home. I had hesitated. I thought I still had Keith. I thought he loved me.

So instead of leaving with her, I agreed to therapy. She paid for my treatments. She helped me stand on my own again.

But now?

I typed my reply. "No, Mom. I’m divorcing him. So you can arrange a marriage for me." I pressed send.

Then, I scrolled through my contacts to text the divorce lawyer.

“I want the divorce finalized as soon as possible,” I typed.

He replied after a second, “Understood. Given your prenuptial agreement, this should be fairly quick. We’ll ensure that Mr. Johnson doesn’t get a single cent from you knowing you are now a Covey.”

“I don’t care about the money. I just want out,” I typed again.

He replied. “Consider it done. I’ll send the papers tomorrow.”

I dropped my phone onto the nightstand, inhaling deeply.

The air in this house felt suffocating, then I heard footsteps.

I stiffened. They stopped right outside my bedroom door.

A voice. Low, familiar.

Keith. My pulse spiked as I heard another voice—hers.

Sasha.

“Are you sure about this?” she murmured.

Keith chuckled darkly. “Yes, of course. She wouldn’t hear us. Even if we moan harder…plus, she is paralyzed so she wouldn’t be able to move on her own. She’s probably sleeping now.”

My breath hitched. My entire body went cold.

Moments later, I could hear the other room filled with their moans while I silently cried inside my room.

I woke up to Keith pressing his lips against mine. Disgust churned in my stomach, but I forced myself to stay still, unwilling to argue. He carried me to the bed before heading to the dining area, where breakfast was already prepared.

There was a time I saw this as love. A sweet gesture from a devoted husband. Now, I know better.

Keith was always the kindest when he had something to feel guilty about. He would shower me with gifts—designer bags, expensive jewelry, things I once thought were tokens of his affection. I used to believe I was spoiled, cherished.

But l just learned upon checking his things that those gifts were freebies. Promotional items from brands he actually spent his money on—for Sasha. The real luxuries, the truly expensive things, were never meant for me.

I had been nothing but an afterthought.

“I’ll be gone for a week. Business meetings,” he signed, setting a plate in front of me.

There was one time where I was over the moon when I had learned he worked so hard on learning sign language just so he could talk to me. But it turned out to be just a plan, so he could hide what he had done to me.

“I feel bad leaving you alone," he signed again.

I nodded, pretending to believe his concern. Pretended not to notice. Keith thought I was still deaf and paralyzed. Let him think that... until I was gone.

I picked at my food as he kissed my forehead, then he signed again, “Be good while I’m gone.”

I forced a smile. He left. The moment the door shut, I stood from my wheelchair. On the seat, I left the divorce papers then I packed. My clothes. My jewelry. The things that mattered. Everything else? He could burn with it.

Finally, I heard a knock. The limousine had arrived. I didn’t look back as I walked out of that house for the last time

My mother was waiting at the entrance of the Covey estate.

The moment I stepped out of the car, she embraced me tightly. “Welcome home, my dear.”

Home. I didn’t know if I could call it that yet.

Inside, everything had already been arranged. The staff moved swiftly, following my mother’s every command. A new wardrobe, a team of stylists, a detailed program for the next week banquet where the world was going to know me as Covey.

Later that evening, I scrolled through my phone, mindlessly checking updates. A notification popped up—Live Now: Fireworks by the Beach.

I almost ignored it. Then I saw them. Keith and Sasha. Side by side, smiling, wrapped in each other. My grip tightened around the phone. A week-long business trip, huh?

The fireworks burst behind them, painting the night sky in brilliant gold and crimson. The kind of grand, romantic spectacle I had once dreamed of experiencing with Keith.

I had asked before. I remembered it clearly—how I once told him I wanted to watch the fireworks with him, how I imagined sitting by the shore, wrapped in his arms, listening to the waves beneath the bursts of light.

His response had been gentle but firm. It’s not good for your health, Katherine. The crowds, the noise—you wouldn’t enjoy it.

I had believed him. But now? Now, I know better. It wasn’t about my health. It was about who he wanted to do those things with.

And it was never me. I closed the video. This wasn’t my concern anymore.

The next few days passed in a blur. Keith didn’t text. Not even once. I wasn’t surprised. He would when he realized I was missing. But by then, it would be too late.

Instead of waiting, I focused on my transformation.

A new haircut, subtle changes to my features, adjustments to my wardrobe. The goal wasn’t to erase myself completely, just enough to ensure no one could easily connect Katherine Ambrose to Katherine Covey.

Finally, the banquet arrived. Dressed in an elegant evening gown, I stepped into the waiting limousine.

I expected to be alone.

I wasn’t. Sitting inside, relaxed and composed, was Jeron Kavinsky.

Keith’s biggest business rival. The man he had spent years trying to outmaneuver, whose name he cursed whenever another deal slipped through his fingers. Jeron was everything Keith wanted to be—richer, more powerful, untouchable.

And now, he was here. My breath caught as our eyes met. Out of all people, I hadn’t expected him.

Jeron tilted his head slightly, studying me with interest, his piercing blue eyes gleaming under the soft car lights.

Then, he smirked.

“I’m your fiancé,” he said smoothly, his voice low, confident, completely at ease.

I stiffened. My fiancé? What a great timing!

The silence in the car was suffocating. Jeron sat beside me, exuding an effortless confidence, his gaze never leaving my face. I tried to ignore the way his piercing blue eyes studied me, but the weight of his attention was impossible to ignore.

I shifted in my seat. “What?”

Jeron smirked. “You’re gorgeous. Keith really didn’t know what he was wasting, huh?”

I stiffened at his words. My fingers curled into my lap, but before I could think of a response, my phone vibrated. I frowned, pulling it out of my clutch.

Keith.

My heart didn’t race. My hands didn’t shake. Instead, a strange calm settled over me.

Where are you?

Why are you ignoring me?

Katherine, I know about the divorce. Let’s talk.

I let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head. So he finally noticed. After all this time, he finally realized I wasn’t sitting around, waiting for his scraps.

Jeron’s gaze flickered to my phone, then back to me. “Let me guess. The husband?”

“Ex-husband,” I corrected, pressing my finger against the screen. Block.

Jeron hummed in approval. “Smart move.”

“I’m not going to waste my time on someone who only realizes my worth when it’s too late.”

He grinned. “Good. That’s exactly the kind of woman I like.”

I rolled my eyes, but before I could say anything, the car slowed, and I turned toward the window.

The banquet hall loomed before us, a stunning masterpiece of luxury and wealth. The Covey name carried power, and tonight, the world would finally meet the daughter they had hidden for years.

Me.

I still wasn’t sure if I deserved this, if I belonged in this world. But as Jeron stepped out of the car and extended his hand to me, I forced those thoughts aside.

This was my life now.

Taking his hand, I stepped out. The flash of cameras blinded me immediately, the sound of reporters shouting over each other filling the air.

“She’s breathtaking.”

“The lost daughter of the Covey family has finally been revealed!”

“Who is the man by her side? Is that Jeron? Her fiance?”

I kept my face calm, my expression composed as Jeron led me forward. He leaned in slightly, his voice low. “Smile, princess. They’re eating this up.”

I did. My lips curled into a soft, practiced smile, the kind that looked effortless.

Inside the ballroom, everything was golden and grand. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the sound of a string quartet playing softly in the background. The guests, the elite of society, all turned to us, their gazes filled with curiosity.

Then, my mother stepped forward, her eyes shining with pride.

“My daughter, Katherine Covey, has finally come home.”

The applause was deafening.

I stood tall, my fingers still loosely wrapped around Jeron’s arm. Cameras continued flashing, capturing every moment.

At that exact moment, in a penthouse office miles away, Keith sat at his desk, scrolling aimlessly through his phone.

A notification appeared.

Live Now: The Covey Heiress Returns.

At first, he ignored it. It had nothing to do with him. But something about the name ‘Covey’ made him pause. His thumb hovered over the screen before he finally clicked on the livestream.

The video played instantly. A grand ballroom. A glamorous event. A breathtaking woman standing in the center of it all, her presence commanding attention.

Keith’s breath caught in his throat.

Katherine. His Katherine.

But it wasn’t just that. She was walking.

His entire body froze as he watched her move with effortless grace, her hand resting on Jeron Kavinsky’s arm. He barely registered the speech, the announcements, the chatter—his mind only processed one thing.

She could walk. He gripped his desk, his knuckles turning white.

The woman he had pitied. The woman he had mocked. The woman he had abandoned—was standing there, in a world he could never reach.

Then, his office door burst open.

His secretary rushed in, clutching a file. “Sir, I just received some information regarding the reason for the divorce…”

Keith barely turned to look at her, his eyes still locked on the screen.

The secretary hesitated before speaking. “Miss Katherine recovered her hearing… a week ago, and she could speak in Italian so...”

The screen blurred in his vision.

She had been able to hear. All this time. And she had understood everything.