I was working three jobs a day, all to buy my boyfriend a hearing aid. When my stepbrother, Rick, found out, his gaze turned dark. “Killing yourself working for some guy? Are you planning on moving in with him?” I shot back a cold laugh. “None of your business.” Later, I overheard my boyfriend talking to his roommate. “Faking being deaf is a hilarious way to mess with that idiot. Who gives a shit about the pocket change he makes?” “Yeah, he’s definitely pretty, but I’m not even into guys.” The room erupted in laughter. Someone asked him, “What if Evan finds out?” Liam answered, a lazy drawl in his voice. “He won’t. And even if he does, I’ll just sweet-talk him a little.” “Besides, this ear of mine? I lost my hearing saving his ass. A few nice words and he’ll melt.” Turns out, I was the only idiot. I tried to leave, but my stepbrother grabbed me by the throat and crushed his lips against mine. My voice trembled as I demanded, “...What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was a low growl. “I’m thinking about having you.” 1 I stood frozen outside Liam’s dorm room, my hand hovering in the air, a knock dying before it was ever made. The voices inside continued, sharp and clear. “It’s just for fun, faking the deaf thing to mess with the moron.” “Besides, being with a guy? Not exactly my thing.” A sudden burst of laughter echoed from the room. After it died down, someone else piped up. “What if Evan finds out?” I heard the flick of a lighter, then Liam’s voice, nonchalant and coated in smoke. “He won’t. And even if he does, a little sweet-talking is all it takes. This ear of mine? I lost my hearing saving his ass, remember? A few apologies and he’ll be eating out of my hand.” Liam’s ear. He’d been deafened in a fight, shielding me from a couple of guys who had it out for me. The guilt had been eating me alive, a debt I felt I had to repay. That’s why I’d been working myself to the bone, taking every shift I could get. I’d lost over fifteen pounds in a month, all to save up for the best hearing aid money could buy. I never imagined I was the only fool in this story. And now, the money was finally saved up. But Liam’s deafness was a lie. His poverty was a lie. He’d been playing me like a fiddle. “Seriously, Liam,” another voice chimed in, “if you’re not into guys, why’d you even get with him? I mean, the kid’s got that pretty-boy look, sure, but the second I remember he’s a dude, I go limp.” “Is being gay really that much fun?” Liam’s laugh was a low rumble. “Oh, it’s a blast. Haven’t you guys noticed how ridiculously obedient Evan is?” His roommates howled with laughter. “That’s just ‘cause you’ve got him trained, man! Hey, didn’t you ask him to move in with you last week? He shot you down, right?” He had. Last week, Liam had suddenly brought up the idea of getting a place together. I wasn’t ready, so I said no. He’d been pissed, giving me the silent treatment for three whole days before I could coax him back to normal. At the mention of it, Liam took a long drag from his cigarette. “Yeah,” he grunted, his voice muffled. “Said he wasn’t ready.” 2 Someone snickered. “You’re looking at it all wrong, man. Guys like that play hard to get. They’re all about the chase. Just keep asking. He’ll crack eventually.” A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Like hell I will. I kicked the door open. The room fell silent in an instant. Liam, a cigarette still dangling from his lips, froze when he saw me. The guy who’d been mocking me was the first to recover, plastering a grin on his face. “Evan! Hey, man. Here to see Liam? You two are inseparable.” Liam finally snapped out of it. He stubbed out his cigarette and softened his voice into that familiar, gentle tone. “What’s up? I wasn’t expecting you.” I took the wad of cash from my pocket and slammed it into his face. Then, I balled my fist and swung. Liam stumbled back, stunned. His two roommates just stared, their jaws hanging open. They never thought I’d be the one to throw a punch. “Evan, what the fuck is wrong with you?” the one closest to Liam yelled. I ignored him, my eyes locked on Liam. I might be skinny, but I’m still a guy. My punch had connected hard. Liam staggered, clutching his cheek, his eyes wide with disbelief. I let out a soft, sharp laugh. “Must’ve been so hard for you, Liam. Faking deafness just to play with an idiot like me.” “You can stop pretending now.” Liam’s face went pale. He opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out. His eyes darted to the cash scattered across the floor. “Consider this your compensation,” I said, my voice dripping with ice. “After all, I know being with a guy must’ve been such a drag.” “You poor thing.” 3 Liam must have thought he could smooth this over like every other time. He didn’t expect me to block his number, his social media, everything. That must have bruised his ego, because he didn’t try to reach out again. Usually, whenever we fought, I was the one who caved first. This time, he was waiting for me to come crawling back, ready to apologize and make things right. Ready for us to go back to how things were. He was dead wrong. My heart had turned to stone. I wasn't going to fix this. After a week of silence, Liam finally broke. He showed up at my dorm, only to be told by my roommate that I’d already moved out. He looked completely floored. Since I wouldn't seek him out, he cornered me instead. The campus diner was packed when he blocked my path. “Move,” I said, my voice flat. Liam just stared at me, his lips pressed into a thin line. After a long moment, he finally stepped aside. I found a table and had barely taken two bites of my food when he sat down across from me. “Evan, I know what I did was wrong, okay? I screwed up, and I’ve already apologized. What more do you want from me?” He was so used to being the pampered prince in our relationship, the one I always coddled. He actually thought a couple of half-assed texts counted as a sincere apology. I looked up, a mocking smile playing on my lips. “Liam, do you really think we’re just having a fight?” He flinched. He thought this was just about the lie. He thought I was just mad, and that all it would take was a little coaxing to win me back. He thought I was easy because I’d always felt guilty, because my heart ached for him. And he was right. In the past, no matter how angry I was, I would have swallowed it down and just said, “Don’t make me mad like that again.” But now, under his pleading gaze, I spelled it out for him, each word a hammer blow. “We’re broken up, you asshole.” 4 Liam and I first met in middle school. I never expected to run into him again at the same university, in the same major. The day he saw me in class, he had to rub his eyes a few times, like he couldn’t believe it was me. Back in middle school, I was an easy target. My looks were… delicate, which made me an outcast. I barely spoke to anyone, an introvert pushed to the extreme. I remember someone once called me an "autistic orphan." After graduation, my mom and I moved away to a different city for my high school years. Seeing me again, Liam acted like he’d found a long-lost friend. He came up to me, eager to talk. Whenever he brought up our middle school days, he’d get this embarrassed look on his face. “Hey, Evan… I was a real jerk back then. Sorry about that.” I never understood what he was apologizing for. He wasn't one of the kids who had bullied me. As we got to know each other again, he started hanging out in my dorm room all the time. One afternoon, my roommates were all out, so I decided to watch a gay film on my laptop. I didn’t hear him come in. When our eyes met, he froze, looking incredibly awkward. “You’re… uh… into guys?” he stammered out. He must have thought he’d been too blunt, because he quickly tried to backtrack. “I mean, not a lot of people watch these kinds of movies, so…” I didn’t see the point in hiding it. “Yeah, I like men.” “Oh,” he said. He didn’t say another word. As he left, he accidentally walked straight into the door. 5 Liam avoided me for a whole month after that. When he finally worked up the nerve to talk to me again, he was incredibly awkward. “It’s not a big deal, you know. Liking guys. It’s all the same,” was the first thing he said, as if he were trying to comfort me. But what was there to be comforted about? Liking men wasn’t some disease. I didn’t owe anyone an explanation. I still don’t. That dinner was doomed from the start. I lost my appetite completely. When I left, Liam followed me. He kept his distance, but he was there. By the time I reached the campus gates, he jogged to catch up. “Why did you suddenly move out?” he asked. From this angle, I could see the small, faded scar on his right ear. It was from before we were together. I’d gotten into a minor scuffle with some guys. They weren’t happy about it and decided to ambush me on my way home to teach me a lesson. Liam had shown up just as they had me pinned to the ground. He’d gone ballistic, throwing himself into the fray. But it was one against many. He was outnumbered and got roughed up badly. When one of them landed a hard blow to his right ear, blood instantly started pouring out. The sight of him on the ground, bleeding, scared them off. They only wanted to rough me up, not kill someone. They ran. And that’s when Liam went deaf. Total silence. Now, seeing that accusatory look in his eyes, I took a step back, putting space between us. “It has nothing to do with you.” 6 When I got back to my apartment, someone was sitting in the living room. My… stepbrother. Rick was still in his work clothes, a tailored suit that looked completely out of place in my tiny, rundown apartment. He’d obviously come straight from the office. I frowned slightly. “What are you doing here?” His calm eyes met mine, unreadable as always. He placed the book he’d been leafing through back on the coffee table and gave me a slow, deliberate once-over. “You’ve lost weight.” He hadn’t answered my question. I dropped my backpack by the door. He handed me a glass of water, and I drank it down. Only then did he speak again. “I came to check on you.” I looked down, sinking onto the worn-out sofa. “There’s nothing to see.” Silence fell between us, punctuated only by the chirping of crickets outside the thin walls. He didn't belong here; he was like a marble statue in a scrapyard. “I bought you an apartment near campus. You can move in this weekend.” I finally noticed the set of keys sitting on the table. My gaze lingered on them for a moment before I looked away. “No, thanks. I’m fine here.” “You’re moving,” he stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. I lifted my head and met his gaze, my own hardening. “I said,” I enunciated each word, “I don’t want to.” 7 “Why?” I didn't want to owe his family anything. I didn’t want to take Rick’s money. I didn’t want to be indebted to them in any way. Most of all, I didn’t want to hear the whispers about how my mom had remarried into wealth, bringing her "baggage" along to fight over the inheritance. That’s why I paid for my own tuition, my own living expenses. Every cent they ever offered me, I returned untouched. My throat felt tight. Before I could figure out what to say, Rick’s voice cut through the silence, unnervingly calm. “Is it because of that boy? Working three jobs a day for him, and now you’ve moved out of the dorm. Are you planning on living with him?” His eyes were locked on me. And beneath that placid surface, I could sense something else—a flicker of an emotion I couldn't quite name. I looked away, unable to meet his stare. “...It’s none of your business.” My relationship with Rick wasn’t exactly warm. We weren’t close, but we weren’t enemies either. We just… coexisted. He didn't press the issue. But then a thought struck me, and I frowned again. “How do you know all that? Are you spying on me?!” A faint smile touched Rick’s lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. “Do I need to?” He was right. Someone like me, the stepson, the outsider—every little thing I did was fodder for gossip. Working part-time jobs would be headline news. The world of the rich was suffocating. So he knew. I didn’t care anymore. “What, are you afraid I’ll embarrass the family name?” The words were sharper than I’d intended, but I couldn’t take them back. When Rick left, the keys to the apartment were still on the table. I stared at them for a long time before finally sweeping them into a drawer and shutting it tight. 8 Now that Liam was out of the picture, I didn’t need to work myself into the ground anymore. Suddenly, I had time on my hands. Liam, however, wasn’t giving up. He tried to talk to me again and again, but it was useless. I had no interest in hearing him out. He was sticking to me like glue. “...Evan, why are you avoiding me?” he asked, blocking my path again. His persistence was grating. “I know I messed up that day… I’m sorry. But you have to at least give me a chance to explain.” Oh, wonderful. The great Liam was gracing me with an apology. Jesus. How had I never realized what a complete tool he was? Or maybe breaking up with someone just gives you a superpower for seeing them for the jackass they truly are. I looked him up and down and couldn’t stop a sneer from escaping. “Liam, people get a chance to explain. Dogs don’t.” He gritted his teeth. “Evan, that’s not fair…” My gaze turned to ice. “Fair? You think this is about fairness? That I’m being unfair by not letting you explain? Liam, do you honestly see yourself as the main character in some drama?” “Watching me work my ass off for your ‘deaf’ ear, putting up with creepy customers just to buy you that hearing aid… did that give you a thrill? Did it feed your ego?” “Seeing me suffer for you, treating you like gold… did it make you feel like I was so desperately in love with you?” “And then talking shit about me behind my back, bragging about how you were just ‘playing’ with me… did that make you feel like a big man?” “Liam, you’re a fucking joke.” With every word I spoke, the color drained from his face. When I finished, he just stood there, speechless. Finally, he choked out two words. “I’m sorry.” Sorry wasn’t going to cut it. I scoffed. A car parked by the curb honked twice. I glanced over instinctively and saw Rick’s stoic face behind the wheel. My heart skipped a beat as he got out and started walking toward me. You’ve got to be kidding me. Is he here to drag me home? “Evan.” Rick stopped beside me. “What took you so long today?” Liam’s eyes were darting back and forth between us, sizing Rick up. I glanced at Liam, and an idea sparked. I decided to play along. “Class ran late.” “I see,” Rick said, his gaze shifting to Liam. He gestured slightly. “And this is…?” Liam seemed to snap out of his daze. Before I could say anything, he blurted out, cutting Rick off. “I’m his boyfriend!” 9 The words hung in the air. Rick turned to me, his voice a low murmur as he repeated, “Boyfriend?” I was so done. This idiot. Under Rick’s intense stare, I forced out a single word. “No.” Seeing me deny it, Liam panicked. He reached for my arm, but I sidestepped him. “Evan, I never agreed to break up! How can you say that?” Liam pleaded, his voice cracking. “We just had a fight! That’s not a breakup!” He really thought he had me on a leash. How did I ever fall for this guy? I stared Liam down while Rick stood beside me, the silent, imposing third party in this pathetic scene. God, this was all so exhausting. Played for a fool, and now haunted by this parasite. My eyes flickered to Rick. Then, I made up my mind. I reached out and took his hand. Rick’s hand went rigid in mine. Liam’s jaw dropped. A triumphant smile spread across my face. “Sorry about that. I’ve got a new boyfriend now.” I paused, letting my eyes rake over Liam from head to toe, finally landing on his dumbstruck face. “I just don’t have a taste for… actors.” “So if you keep bothering me, don’t blame me for what happens next.” With that, I flashed Rick a brilliant smile and pulled him toward his car. The few steps to the car door felt like an eternity, my palm growing hot against his. Rick’s expression was unreadable, but his voice was a low rumble when he spoke. “Evan, you continue to surprise me.” My grip on his hand tightened, but I forced myself to sound casual. “What do you mean?” “Nothing,” he said. Liam’s burning stare followed us all the way. I didn’t let go of Rick’s hand until we were both inside the car. Once we drove away, and it was just the two of us, the weight of what I’d just done crashed down on me. What if Rick was disgusted by holding a guy’s hand? What if I’d just crossed a massive line? The thought was mortifying. 10 I risked a sideways glance at Rick. He was focused on the road, his expression impassive as he drove. The silence was deafening. I had to say something. “So… what brings you out here to pick me up?” Two words. That’s all I got. “Dinner.” Right. Great conversation. I decided it was better to just shut up. After a painfully quiet dinner, he drove me back to my tiny apartment. As usual, he frowned at the sight of the dilapidated building. Rick, who’d had the best of everything his entire life—the best schools, the best homes, never a worry about money—of course he’d find this place pathetic. But he was too well-mannered to say it out loud. He walked me to my door but didn’t linger. He just told me to get some rest and left. That was surprisingly… normal. I took a shower, and when I came out, my phone was buzzing nonstop. It was the group chat with my old dorm mates. Apparently, Liam had gotten drunk and stormed into our old room, screaming my name. They couldn’t get him to leave. He was just sitting at my old desk, staring into space. I typed back a quick reply. “Just throw him out. Don’t worry about being nice about it.” My roommates knew I was dating Liam. My sexuality wasn’t a secret. A moment later, my phone buzzed again. “Don’t worry, we tossed him out.” “Okay, thanks,” I replied. Then, a message popped up from one of Liam’s roommates. It was Mark, the one who’d laughed the loudest that day. The guy was a master of being two-faced—all smiles and buddy-buddy to my face, but I knew he was disgusted by me behind my back. I didn’t even bother reading it. I just blocked him.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394032", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel