Love Dies Silent

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When I was ten, I moved into the Mercer home with my mother after she remarried.

My stepbrother, Ethan Mercer, always mocked me as a parasite, once even pushing me down the stairs.

He watched me lie in a pool of blood with cold eyes: Don't think you can become a Mercer just because you follow your mistress mother. I'll kick you out eventually.

Hed tear up my homework, draw on my dress with markers, deliberately trying to humiliate me.

Even though I was obedient in every way, his malice never ceased.

Until his best friend, Leo Donovan, confessed his feelings for me in college.

From then on, Ethan, surprisingly, stopped tormenting me.

I saw Leo as my salvation, and on my birthday, we became intimate.

But the very next day, I overheard a conversation between him and Ethan.

Ethans voice was steeped in malice: "Did you get her first time on camera?"

Leo chuckled mockingly: "Of course, high-definition, uncensored. If it weren't to get back at you, I wouldn't touch a home-wrecker like her."

I clapped a hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face.

My supposed salvation was nothing more than Ethans tool for revenge.

Only, he didn't know I had submitted my application to study abroad.

I was never coming back.

In the private room.

Ethan took a drag from his cigarette. "Ruin her reputation. Let's see how she clings to living in my house after that."

"What if she can't take it and something happens"

Ethan shot him a glance, scoffing. "So worried about her? Don't tell me you actually fell for her?"

Leo quickly denied it. "No way! I was just messing around with her."

"Chloe is coming back. I don't have time to waste on Elara."

I stood outside the door, my heart a block of ice.

Chloe Harrison was their childhood sweetheart, growing up with them, and Leo's first love.

Ethan always hated me; I knew that.

He believed my mother's appearance caused his mother's suicide, so he transferred all that hatred onto me.

After I started dating Leo, Ethan still didn't care for me, but he didn't torment me as he used to.

I thought he had finally accepted me.

I thought I was finally going to have a brother and eagerly anticipated a normal relationship with him.

I never expected this, a revenge far more malicious than before.

He and Leo had been inseparable since childhood; how could I have deluded myself into thinking he truly liked me?

I had overestimated myself.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and ran out like a madwoman.

It was pouring rain outside.

I was completely drenched.

The moment I got home, I texted my professor, "Professor, I agree to go abroad with you for the project."

He was my mentor from an international competition, a leader in intelligent technology.

I used to strive for excellence, desperately wanting my family's approval.

But no one ever cared.

Not my mother, not Ethan.

Because the project involved classified information, I couldn't leave the research institute for three years, so I had refused it.

Now, that no longer mattered.

Perhaps it was the rain, but I curled up in a ball.

Only after being startled awake by a nightmare did I realize I was burning up.

Just as I was about to get up for fever medicine, my bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.

Before I could speak, my mother, furious, threw a stack of photos at my face:

"Elara Vance! How old are you to be sleeping with men? Are you that depraved?"

Those photos were taken by Leo while I was asleep.

My eyes were vacant, a profound sadness rising in my heart.

Overnight, they couldn't wait to spread the photos.

Just two days ago, Leo had solemnly promised me: "I'll take responsibility for you. We'll get married after graduation."

He had plied me with a lot of alcohol, and under his persistent coaxing, I agreed.

He pulled me into bed again and again, lost in primal desire.

I was naive enough to think he truly loved me then.

Seeing my silence, my mother relentlessly interrogated me: "Speak up, who took these? If anyone else sees these photos, your uncle and I will never be able to show our faces in society again!"

She never cared about me, only herself.

But when I said Leo's name, my mother fell silent.

She chastised me: "How could you get involved with the Donovan family's son? We can't afford to offend someone like him"

"Besides, you and Leo were dating normally. Even with evidence, we can't do anything to him. Why didn't you just say no?"

I snapped my head up, my eyes wide with disbelief.

She avoided my gaze: "Those photos have been taken down. Given time, no one will remember this."

The Donovans were powerful and wealthy, not someone the Mercers could easily offend.

The moment the door closed, I saw Ethan standing at the top of the stairs, smiling at me, his eyes full of provocation.

It was as if he had anticipated this outcome all along.

The truth no longer mattered.

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over me, drowning me in an instant.

I crouched in the corner, sobbing uncontrollably.

My phone began to buzz with incessant harassment messages.

They sent disgusting words that made me nauseous.

My hands trembled as I blocked all those numbers.

My mother said she had arranged a long leave of absence from school for me, so I didn't have to go.

I didn't want her to know about going abroad, so I would have to return to school myself to complete the paperwork.

She was always too busy for me; she probably wouldn't even notice if I left.

Even though the photos had been deleted, almost everyone around me knew what had happened.

Their gazes were filled with scrutiny and mockery, accompanied by whispers.

"I never would have thought, she looks so innocent usually, but behind closed doors, she's so wild. Who knows how many men she's slept with?"

"Who knows, don't get too close to her. She might have an STD."

A suffocating mix of shame and fear enveloped me.

My heart suddenly seized up, and I barely remembered how I left school.

Walking disoriented on the street, I was stopped by several men approaching me.

The leader pulled out a phone displaying my intimate photos, sizing me up with a sickening gaze.

"This picture is you, right? You've got a great body."

"Playing so wild in private, how much for a night?"

"Come on, have some fun with us. I want to taste what Leo Donovan's girlfriend is like."

My body stiffened, and I took half a step back: "What do you want?"

The men exchanged lewd smiles. Ignoring my struggles, they forcibly dragged me into a dimly lit alley.

They grinned menacingly, pressing down on me.

"Get off me! Don't touch me!"

But my hands and feet were pinned down; I couldn't even struggle. I could only watch helplessly as their filthy hands reached for my body.

The sound of tearing fabric filled my ears.

"Don't struggle. No one's coming to save you. If you make us happy, we might go easy on you."

I bit my lip hard, the metallic taste of blood spreading in my mouth.

Seizing the moment while they were taking off their clothes, I quickly pulled out the knife I had hidden in my bag.

My hand holding the knife trembled: "Don't come any closer, any of you"

The first time I was bullied, my mother said it was because I dressed provocatively and told me not to wear dresses anymore.

But at that time, I was wearing my school uniform.

If Ethan hadn't appeared in time, I wouldn't have known what to do.

Since then, I always carried a fruit knife with me.

My fear reached its peak.

But they still grinned, unafraid, even trying to snatch the knife from my hand.

In the struggle, the blade plunged into my chest.

The leader panicked, as if afraid of causing a death, and released me.

I collapsed to the ground, my clothes soaked in blood.

My vision blurred.

But I could hear them making a hushed phone call.

"Mr. Mercer, something happened. She stabbed herself."

Ethan's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Is she dead?"

Then Leo's voice: "Ethan, you're a real bastard. You actually hired people to ambush her."

Ethan sneered: "I just wanted to scare her. Whose fault is it if she wants to die?"

"If she's not dead, dump her at the hospital. Don't let her know what happened today."

My heart felt like it was being violently squeezed, almost suffocating me with pain.

So he really wanted to destroy me.

The words I had accidentally overheard him say flashed through my mind.

"Actually, I know my mom wasn't killed by her. But I just don't want her to live in peace."

"My dad feels guilty towards them, but I certainly don't."

Tears fell uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes.

I completely lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, I was in a hospital bed.

Leo was by my side, and when he saw me wake, he immediately leaned in, concerned.

"Baby, you're finally awake. I was so worried."

Seeing my silence, his eyes flickered: "I saw those photos. I'm so sorry. I went out, got drunk, and someone took my phone by mistake and posted them."

"Don't worry, I've had them all deleted. Don't overthink it, I don't mind any of it."

I looked at him quietly, my heart a dead wasteland.

He was clearly the culprit, yet he was playing the savior.

If he hadn't relentlessly pursued me when I was at my most vulnerable, we never would have been together.

But before I could even speak, his phone rang.

He responded softly to whatever was said on the other end, then turned and left, phone still in hand, without a backward glance.

No sooner had he left than Ethan walked in.

Seeing my disheveled state, his eyes showed disgust as he said:

"Do you know why he left in such a hurry? Chloe's back in the country, and she's not used to the environment, so she can't sleep. He went to comfort her until she fell asleep. He won't be protecting you anymore, so don't delude yourself."

At his words, my body involuntarily trembled.

Chloe Harrison was their childhood sweetheart, growing up with them, and Leo's first love.

Because Ethan's mother once said Chloe resembled her, Ethan always catered to her every whim since they were children.

I cherished Ethan as a brother, always trying to be good to him, but it was never enough to outweigh a single word from Chloe.

I closed my eyes, a self-deprecating smile playing on my lips.

Only now did I truly see that neither Leo nor Ethan ever truly cared for me.

Normally, I would have apologized to appease him.

But I merely turned my head indifferently: "Understood. It won't happen again."

Ethan paused for a moment: "Leo isn't here. Who are you putting on this pathetic act for?"

He stormed out.

Due to my severe injuries, I was in the hospital for a whole week.

My mother, upon learning this, only transferred the hospital fees, then left on a business trip with Uncle Mercer, never visiting me.

I was alone even on the day of my discharge.

I took advantage of their absence to start packing.

There wasn't much to take, really. The things I once treasured were mostly Ethan's handouts.

Now, they were unnecessary.