Trevor Archer couldn't get over his first love, so I ended up being her replacement for seven years.

On my birthday, Trevor deliberately called out his first love's name.

"Caroline, happy birthday!"

His buddy asked, "Caroline is back with you now. Aren't you over using a deaf girl as a stand-in?"

Trevor pinched my ear and drawled, "She's fun. I'll keep her around until I propose to Caroline."

He didn't know that my ears had just been fixed.

***

The smile froze on my lips. Trevor continued, "This birthday is a way to make up for what I owe Caroline."

Everyone started teasingly calling him the romantic.

Then, someone looked right at me and asked, "Aren't you worried she'll find out?"

Trevor leaned his head to the side with a lazy smile. "About what? That she'll latch on and never let go?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

"Seriously, a deaf girl sticking with Trevor for seven years? She has really hit the jackpot."

"If she didn't look a bit like Caroline, she wouldn't even be in the picture."

Amid the jeers, Trevor bent down and put the birthday hat on me.

His face was right there, with the same cool, aloof look.

Someone piped up, "But she's been with you for seven years. Would you let such a pretty girl go?"

Trevor's hand trembled, and the hat went askew.

After a moment, he gave a cold, thin smile. "I'll keep her locked up. Who says she can leave?"

It got quiet all of a sudden.

Nobody was joking around anymore. The Archer family had a lot of power, and Trevor was known for being both crazy and ruthless.

But what was he trying to get out of it?

Trevor fixed the hat patiently, looking gentle, but his words were like a sharp, cold knife.

"I waited seven years for Caroline to come back to me.

"I'd hold her close every day and never say a mean word to her.

"Having a stand-in around gives me a place to let off some steam, right?"

Everybody laughed.

They thought Trevor was such a sweetheart, and I was pitiful and silly.

My nails dug into my palms, and it hurt so much that I was shaking all over.

Trevor put his arm around my shoulder and held his phone in front of me. "Good girl, it's time to make a wish. We're wishing you a happy birthday."

I covered my ears and blew out the candles.

The group shouted, "Happy birthday, Caroline!"

Then someone butted in, "Hope Trevor's proposal goes smoothly!"

Trevor snickered. "Did you guys forget to eat? Your voices are so quiet."

The next second, I got a message from him.

"Silly girl, what did you wish for?

"Don't wish for the album to be a huge hit again. I'm already very popular."

I forced back the tears, bit by bit.

I opened the videos I had saved, and the harsh truth was laid bare.

Seven years of being together turned out to be one big joke.

Not once did Trevor ever celebrate my birthday for me.

During his first show, I worked my butt off promoting him, day and night, until I passed out from exhaustion. And what did I get? "Caroline, thanks for all the hard work."

Even when we were getting it on and I was moaning uncontrollably, the name he kept whispering was also "Caroline."

He never knew how rough he was being. When I got hurt and tried to tell him with my hands, it didn't work.

Afterward, he'd always look innocent and say, "Come on, your hands are shaking. I can't get what you're saying."

But lately, Trevor had been using sign language to ask if I hurt.

I had never seen him this gentle before.

Now I got it.

He said, "I'm practicing on Vanessa. Caroline is so fragile. I can't hurt her."

Bitterness swelled up inside me, and tears kept streaming down.

How could Trevor be so heartless?

When he cut ties with his family and went after his music dream with nothing, Caroline ditched him and went abroad.

It was me who stuck with him, from having nothing to winning all those awards.

My phone lit up.

It was a message from the doctor.

"Ms. Pearson, are you sure you want to give up on that treatment abroad?

"You made it through the pain of the cochlear implant surgery. It'd be such a pity to quit now."

I wiped my tears and texted back.

"I'm in."

I was done with Trevor.

And I'd leave the country in a week.

It happened to be the day Trevor was proposing at his concert.

***

That night, Trevor didn't come back.

I got a text from Caroline.

"Vanessa, don't wait up. Trevor is playing the piano to put me to sleep. I told him my insomnia is all better, but he's still worried. He has to watch me fall asleep before he leaves.

"I mean, after all these seven years, how can he still remember every little thing?"

In the photo, over Caroline's bare shoulder with those thin straps, Trevor was sitting at the piano.

He had got on a black T-shirt and a vintage silver necklace.

His cool and aloof face looked gentle in the warm glow of the floor lamp.

His long, slender fingers were hopping on the piano keys, like he was petting his beloved girl's body.

Caroline kept showing off. "Gotta go. Trevor caught me on my phone, and now he's mad at me."

After all these years, she still wouldn't leave me alone.

But I didn't want to fight with her over anything.

Trevor didn't love me at all, so I decided to give up on him.

"Oh, right, do you want this? Poor thing, beg me and maybe I'll toss it your way."

When I saw the photo Caroline sent, my eyes widened in shock.

The next day, Caroline lost the game on the show and had to take the punishment.

She was lying on the ground in a white off-shoulder dress, her eyes red.

A chubby male star was on top of her, doing push-ups.

Off to the side, Trevor was leaning casually against the railing and playing with the ring on his middle finger.

When the chubby guy finally keeled over, he couldn't take it anymore.

He cursed under his breath and kicked the guy off.

With a stern look on his face, Trevor stepped in. He had Caroline sit on him instead, which made the fans go wild with gasps.

Caroline looked scared and clung to Trevor's neck, where his veins were bulging.

Some people next to me were puzzled.

"It's weird. What's up with Trevor? He's such a big shot. Why is he even on this show?"

"You know, he never puts up with anyone, but now he let Caroline sit on him!"

I gave a wry smile.

It was because Caroline was Trevor's first love back in the day.

***

The next game was picking random audience members to guess song titles.

When he saw me, Trevor froze while adjusting his earpiece and furrowed his brow.

But then he quickly bent down to help Caroline with the sound check.

When the backing track started, Trevor's singing was on point, and he looked cool on stage.

The spotlight hit his amazing face, and everyone was screaming.

When asked, I said flatly, "Sorry, I can't tell what it is."

Everyone was shocked.

This was the song that Trevor had made famous recently and won all those awards with.

The fans freaked out. "Is this girl even listening? How could she not know this popular song?!"

"Get someone else! Get her off! Get her off!"

Trevor was cold.

He stood there with one hand in his pocket, his eyes slanted up and giving me an icy look.

He was ticked off because I forgot I was his secret girlfriend, someone who wasn't supposed to be in the spotlight.

He was even more upset that I, a stand-in, was showing up in front of the real deal.

Then a glow stick got thrown at me. The sharp plastic hit my eye and broke my skin, making me bleed.

Trevor frowned, and he started to walk over.

But Caroline grabbed the corner of his shirt.

She bit her lower lip without saying anything, and he stopped in his tracks.

Trevor completely forgot about me, curled up in pain among the glow sticks.

He softly comforted Caroline, "Don't be scared. I'm here."

***

After the whole mess, Caroline came on stage and won the game.

As punishment, I had to get pushed into the pool.

By the pool, Caroline turned her back to the camera, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

"Even with seven years, you still can't get Trevor. He still has a thing for me. I heard he has been calling you by my name for seven years."

I looked at her calmly, pulled out my phone, and typed.

"I did it like you said. Give me back what's mine.

"I wrote the song you just sang back in high school. I don't mind getting real about it."

Caroline's face darkened, and she sneered through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, she grabbed my hand, pushed me into the water, and we both fell into the pool.

The freezing water filled my nose, and I started flailing around in a panic.

Pretty soon, Trevor's worried voice came through. "Get the hell out of the way! Damn it, why is the pool so deep?"

Caroline cried out, "Trevor, save Vanessa first!"

Then I felt a strong tug, and my hand was pulled off Caroline's.

Trevor yelled, "Vanessa! Let go! Are you trying to drown Caroline with you?!"

The ice-cold water was piercing my skin, and I felt numb all over.

This time, Trevor got the name right.

***

I suddenly thought back to Trevor's first show.

I lugged around all the fan supplies and was worn out.

So I sat down in a dark corner, trying to catch my breath.

On stage, Trevor was in the spotlight, and everyone was watching him.

Down below, the fans were waving their glow sticks and screaming their heads off.

I couldn't hear the music or the cheering.

In that silent, lonely world, all I could see was Trevor.

He was like a ray of light that had lit up my dark, quiet teenage years, and he still shone just as bright now.

Suddenly, the crowd started to get rowdy.

I got pushed over and couldn't get back up.

Trevor threw the mic, jumped off the stage, stumbled through the crowd, and squatted down to hold me tight.

Blood from his forehead dripped onto my lips.

"Trevor, you were worried Caroline's stand-in would get damaged, right?

"So why did you keep patting my head, telling me not to be scared?

"And why did you do that when we were 17?"

When I was 17, my mom dated Caroline's dad, and I started to live in her shadow.

If a guy liked my new song, she'd tear up the sheet music as soon as he turned around.

"Deaf freak, if you write another song, I'll slap your face till it's mush!"

Caroline hated me. She'd stomp on my hearing aids with her friends, mock the way I talked, and even spread rumors about me.

But she was still the perfect student in the teachers' eyes.

So when I got accused of stealing a bracelet, she cried to the teacher, talking fast.

And me? With my hearing loss, I spoke slowly and weirdly.

With the teacher looking at me in disgust, I shut my mouth.

I felt so wronged that it was like a lump in my throat, and tears were starting to come out.

Trevor, who had been studying nearby, suddenly snickered.

He signed smoothly, "Silly girl, nobody gets what you're saying. Why don't you just write it down?"

He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and slapped it in front of me. Then, he looked down and said slowly to the teacher, "I believe Vanessa. Let her write down what she wants to say."

Behind him, sunlight streamed through the ivy hanging from the window, reflecting in the pupils beneath his fine bangs.

After I was proven innocent, Trevor took my hand and led me away.

Under Caroline's fiery gaze, he took off the earring from his left ear and put it on me.

The voice by my ear was loud enough for Caroline to hear too.

"My grandma is deaf too. Don't be scared. If she bullies you again, press the button on the earring. The other one will sense it, and I'll come."

That flutter in my heart lasted for ten years.

When I came to, I saw the ivy swaying outside the hospital window, as green as that summer.

Suddenly, the arguing jolted me back to my senses.

My agent Nick Taylor yelled, "Are you out of your mind? Vanessa was hurt badly, and yet you protected Caroline! Did you forget how she went to competitions with you, helped with publicity, and even begged people to boost your stats?"

Trevor, who was 27, said coldly, "Did I ask her to do any of that?"

Nick asked, "Can't you just let her go? Stop making things hard for her."

"Why should I? She came to me first. I'm not letting her go."

"Hey, you're about to propose to Caroline!"

"I know that! I only love Caroline. Now that she's back in my life, other girls are all the same to me. But I need a bit of time. When I get tired of our little game, I'll let Vanessa go."

Trevor ran his hand through his hair and said irritably, "Oh, don't tell her about the proposal, or she may flip out.

"She actually tried to kill Caroline today. She must be out of her mind. Who the hell does she think she is?

"Does she really think that a singer like me will marry a deaf girl?"

With that, he started to walk away.

From behind, Nick raised his voice, questioning, "Who's she? She's the genius girl who won the New Voice Award at 13! And she's your girlfriend who has been with you through thick and thin for ten years!

"Did you forget? Your biggest wish used to be for her to hear you sing.

"With how fast medical stuff is advancing, what if she can hear again one day? Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Trevor didn't turn back. His voice was cold. "I'm off to make the engagement ring myself. Tell her I don't want to see her on any shows anymore."

***

Nick let out a sigh and turned around, locking eyes with me.

He looked flustered for a second, then exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness you can't hear. Otherwise, you'd be crying your heart out.

"Tsk, silly girl, you're still smiling."

Yeah, I was smiling at how foolish I'd been.

In just five days, I'd be out of Trevor's control.

I didn't want his cheap, fake, and one-sided love anymore.