This Love Is Dead

The day my family went bankrupt, my fiancée left me and married her first love.

I didn't argue or make a scene. Instead, I married Sharon Tomlinson, the woman who had confessed to me when I was at my lowest.

After we got married, I took care of Sharon for seven full years while she was paralyzed from the waist down.

The day she finally stood up again, I accidentally overheard her speaking Aurelian with her best friend at the dinner table.

"Sharon, are you really planning to spend your whole life with him? Aren't you worried you'd hurt your brother's feelings?"

Sharon peeled a shrimp for our daughter, Tasha Holden, and answered unhurriedly, "What are you talking about? I know how to deal with them both. I could never bear to make Curtis sad."

"Same for me. I like Uncle Curtis. He's handsome, while my dad's an ugly freak," Tasha chimed in beside them, also in Aurelian.

They didn't know I spoke the language.

Fine. I was sick of Sharon's undercooked pasta, anyway. I would never eat it again for the rest of my life!

Oliver's POV

Sharon Tomlinson touched the forehead of our daughter, Tasha Holden, clearly pleased, and praised her in Aurelian without thinking.

"You're such a good girl, Tasha. Your Uncle Curtis and I are really proud of you. When you're a little older, we'll give you a pretty little sister. Then you'll have company when you go to school."

Tasha clapped excitedly and replied in clumsy Aurelian, "Yay, that's great! I love you and Uncle Curtis so much. I'll also love the pretty sister you'll have. If only I didn't have such a scary, bad dad. I don't like him at all. Just seeing him annoys me!"

I froze when I heard that, unable to believe my ears for a long moment.

Maybe she noticed my gaze lingering on them. Sharon smiled and placed some Brussels sprouts on my plate, her voice gentle.

"Oliver, what's wrong?"

I shook my head.

I felt as if my heart were being torn apart, a suffocating pain flooding my chest.

Sharon must have forgotten that I was the first person in this house to learn Aurelian. She must have also forgotten that I hated Brussels sprouts.

My face went cold.

Seeing my silence, Sharon immediately grew nervous. She reached for my hand carefully.

"Honey, why do you suddenly look so pale?"

I pulled my hand away and forced a smile.

"It's nothing. I just can't believe you forgot I don't like Brussels sprouts," I said lightly. "By the way, what were you just talking about? Was that Aurelian?"

Sharon stiffened, guilt flashing across her face. She didn't dare look at me.

"Oh, nothing. Laura was just saying how jealous she was of how close we are. That's all."

After brushing it off with a random excuse, she quickly switched to an apologetic tone.

"I'm sorry, honey. I forgot. I'll remember next time. I won't ever make you eat Brussels