The whispers rose quickly, spreading like wildfire.
“She was in a wheelchair just yesterday!”
“I thought the doctors said she would never walk again, two years ago.”
“This is impossible.”
I kept my expression calm as we walked forward together.
Her mother was the first to rush toward us.
“Sonia?” she called out, her voice trembling.
Sonia stopped and faced her.
“Yes, Mother.”
Her mother’s eyes dropped immediately to her legs. She stared openly, as if afraid to blink.
“You’re… standing,” she whispered.
Then, as if needing proof, she reached out and touched Sonia’s arm. “Walk again,” she said quickly. “Take a few steps.”
Sonia hesitated for a second, then slowly walked forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Three.
Her mother covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
“This… this cannot be real,” she said. “The specialists told us your nerves were permanently damaged.”
Her father approached more slowly, his expression controlled.
He looked at Sonia’s legs carefully, then at the crowd gathering around us.
“This is unexpected,” he said thoughtfully. “Very unexpected. How did this happen?”
Sonia looked slightly overwhelmed by the attention.
“I… I don’t know,” she admitted honestly. “I woke up this morning and I could feel my legs again. I stood up, and they supported me.”
Gasps erupted around us.
“A miracle…”
I stood beside her the entire time.
Yet it was as if I did not exist.
Conversations flowed around me, not to me. I was present, but irrelevant.
“What a shame,” someone whispered nearby. “Now that she can walk again, she is still tied to that useless man.”
“She deserves better than him.”
“When she was crippled, he was suitable. Now? Not anymore.”
I smiled faintly to myself.
When she could not walk, they pitied her and mocked her marriage. Now that she could stand again, they were already calculating her value.
Sonia heard the whispers too. I saw her shoulders stiffen slightly, though she tried to maintain her composure.
Before anyone could speak further, the crowd suddenly parted.
A tall man in a perfectly tailored black suit walked confidently into the hall. His posture was filled with pride, and his presence carried weight. Conversations lowered automatically as he passed.
Greg Winchester.
The only son of the powerful Winchester family and heir to their vast business empire.
His name alone carried influence.
Her mother’s eyes immediately brightened.
Greg was the original plan, the man the Davenport family wanted Sonia to marry, but when she became crippled, he walked away with the excuse that he was no longer ready for marriage.
Now… he was back.
“Sonia,” Greg said warmly as he approached, his smile was charming and effortless. “It has been a long time.”
I could almost swear Sonia would ignore him because he walked away from her when she became crippled. But even before the thought fully formed in my mind, I heard Sonia respond to him with a smile, and I was shocked.
“Greg Winchester!” she exclaimed. “We did not know you would be attending tonight. What a pleasant surprise.”
Greg gave a polite nod. “I try not to miss important gatherings.”
His eyes shifted back to Sonia.
“But I must say,” he continued smoothly, “this is the biggest surprise of the night.”
He looked down briefly at her legs, then back up at her face.
“You’re walking.”
Sonia offered a small, polite smile. “Yes.”
“That is incredible,” Greg said. “I remember when the doctors announced that the damage was permanent. No one expected this.”
Neither did you, I thought quietly.
“How did it happen?” Greg asked, stepping slightly closer. “Did you undergo some experimental treatment overseas?”
Sonia shook her head. “No. I honestly don’t know how to explain it.”
Greg laughed softly. “Then it truly is a miracle.”
Her father chuckled approvingly. “Sometimes fate changes without warning.”
I noticed the way her father’s eyes scanned me up and down, and moved to Greg, doing the same thing. He was clearly comparing us.
With Sonia walking again, her value in the social circle had instantly risen.
Greg’s gaze lingered on her longer than necessary.
“You look radiant tonight,” he said. “Even more than before. You look beautiful, Sonia Davenport…”
Sonia shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the intensity of his attention. “Thank you.”
Only then did Greg’s eyes flick toward me.
It was brief and a little dismissive.
As if confirming that I was exactly what he had expected, nobody.
“You should join us at the central table,” Greg suggested casually. “Everyone important is seated there. It would be good for people to see you.”
Sonia instinctively looked at me.
Our eyes met for a brief moment.
I shook my head slowly in disapproval.
Her parents noticed the exchange immediately, and her father’s expression became harsh.
“That is an excellent idea,” he said quickly, smiling at Greg. Then he turned toward me.
“Leonard,” he began in a tone that sounded polite but carried no warmth, “you won’t mind, will you?”
I already knew what he was about to say.
“It’s simply a matter of seating arrangements,” he continued smoothly. “You can take a seat over there.”
He pointed toward the far corner of the hall, where the servants sat.
“That area should suit you better,” he added. “The people there are… more in your category.”
Several guests pretended not to listen while listening very carefully.
“Of course,” someone murmured.
“He should know his place.”
Sonia’s expression changed.
“Father,” she began, clearly uncomfortable.
“It’s fine,” I said calmly, cutting in before she could continue…
Every head turned toward me.
Perhaps they had not expected me to respond so easily.
I met her father’s gaze without looking away.
“I don’t mind,” I repeated.
Relief washed across his face.
Greg finally looked at me properly for the first time. His eyes scanned my suit, my posture, my calm expression. Then he looked away, uninterested.
Sonia looked confused.
There was no hatred in her eyes when she looked at me. Only conflict.
“I’ll be right there,” I said quietly to her.
She hesitated for a second before nodding.
As I walked toward the corner table, I heard someone scoff.
“What a useless husband.”
“Standing there like decoration.”
I took my seat without reacting.
From where I sat, I could see everything clearly.
The admiration surrounding Sonia.
The careful smile she wore to hide her discomfort.
The way Greg leaned slightly closer each time he spoke to her.
The satisfaction in her parents’ expressions as they imagined new possibilities.
They believed this was the beginning of something better.
They believed Sonia had outgrown me the moment she stood up from that wheelchair…
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 10
“Sonia…”My voice was not loud, but it was enough.The sound of her name from my mouth cut through the room like a blade. Sonia froze immediately. Greg’s hands were still on her waist, but the moment she heard me, she stiffened and quickly stepped away from him.Greg turned his head slowly.Our eyes met.Instead of looking surprised or guilty, he smirked. It was the kind of smirk that said he had already won.Sonia turned around fully, and when she saw me standing there, her expression shifted from shock to something complicated.“I… I didn’t expect you back so early,” she said.Her voice was not trembling. That hurt more than if it had been.I stood where I was, my mind still struggling to accept what I had just witnessed.“What exactly were you planning to say?” I asked quietly. “After I just walked in and saw you kissing him?”The room felt unbearably silent.Greg casually adjusted his suit as though nothing inappropriate had happened.Sonia rubbed her forehead as if she were tryin
CHAPTER 9
When I walked out of the banquet hall, it was still morning. The streets were not crowded yet. I walked without direction, my hands buried deep inside my pockets.Sonia’s words kept replaying in my head. “You embarrassed me in front of everyone, and I didn’t expect that from you.”Each time I remembered the look in her eyes when she said it, something inside me broke painfully. I had faced ridicule my entire life without blinking, but hearing it from her felt different.It was not the insult that hurt. It was the dismissal. The way she had looked at me as if I truly was nothing.I stopped at the corner of the street and let out a slow breath.“If only you knew who I truly am,” I muttered to myself quietly. “If you knew what I gave up, what I ran from, you would not have spoken to me that way.”A faint, bitter smile touched my lips.“I healed you,” I whispered under my breath. “And this is how you see me.”Before I could sink deeper into my thoughts, dark clouds suddenly rolled over
CHAPTER 8
For a few long seconds after Greg said the pain was gone, the whole hall felt frozen. No one clapped. No one spoke. They just stared at me like I had done something impossible.Then suddenly, Doctor Han snapped out of his shock.“This is not right,” he said quickly, rushing forward. “There must be a mistake somewhere.”He pushed past two guests and knelt beside Greg again. His movements were hurried now, nothing like the calm and confident doctor from earlier.“There is no logical explanation for salt water healing an unknown lung condition,” he said loudly, almost like he was trying to convince himself. “It does not make medical sense.”I remained where I was. Calm and quiet.Doctor Han grabbed the medical device his assistant had brought earlier. He began checking Greg’s pulse, blood pressure, breathing, all over again…“Check it again,” he told his assistant sharply.“I am checking, Doctor,” the assistant replied nervously. “His vitals are… normal.”“Normal?” Doctor Han repeated.“
CHAPTER 7
Doctor Han lifted his hand and signaled for silence, and gradually the noise in the banquet hall faded into a tense quiet. He turned toward Sonia’s mother, who was still visibly angry and embarrassed by my actions.“Madam,” Doctor Han said in a composed tone, “please allow me to handle him. There is no need for you to concern yourself with this matter.”Sonia’s mother frowned deeply. “Handle him how, Doctor Han? What exactly are you planning to do? This is already shameful enough.”Doctor Han adjusted his glasses slowly and glanced at me with a smile that did not reach his eyes. “Since your son-in-law seems to enjoy talking beyond his ability, I would like to give him the opportunity to prove himself.”A few guests laughed softly at his choice of words.Sonia’s father looked uncomfortable but said nothing.Doctor Han continued speaking, but this time his tone became firmer. “However, if he fails, there must be consequences. We cannot allow people to treat a serious medical emergency
CHAPTER 6
Around Doctor Han, the other physicians straightened their backs instinctively, as though my mere presence was an insult to them.One of them scoffed loudly, making no effort to lower his voice. “Who exactly is this man supposed to be?” he asked, looking me up and down with obvious irritation.“I heard he’s the Davenport family’s live-in son-in-law,” someone in the crowd replied in a mocking but clearly audible tone.“Oh… that one?” another voice sneered from somewhere behind the guests. “The unemployed one who eats off his wife’s family?”The murmurs spread quickly, moving through the hall.Meanwhile, Greg was still sprawled on the floor, gasping for air as though every breath was being squeezed out of him by invisible hands. His fingers clawed desperately at his chest, digging into his suit as if he could physically tear away the pain that gripped him.His mother suddenly rushed toward me, her heels striking the floor sharply with every furious step. Her face was twisted with fea
CHAPTER 5
The silence that followed my words did not last long.Greg stared at me for a moment, then let out a short, dismissive laugh. He shook his head slowly, as if I had just told the most ridiculous joke of the evening.“You speak with a lot of confidence for someone who does not even belong in this room.”A few guests laughed again, grateful that the tension had dissolved back into entertainment.But all of a sudden, to everyone’s shock, Greg’s smile faltered for half a second.His hand, which had been lifting the wine glass again, suddenly froze mid-air.Then his face became pale as he inhaled sharply, gasping for air.“Ah—” The sound escaped him before he could control it.The glass slipped from his fingers and shattered against the floor.For a split second, no one understood what had happened.Greg’s hand flew to his chest, clasping it tightly.“What… what is this?” he muttered hoarsely.His breathing changed immediately. It became shallow and strained, as if an invisible weight had s
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