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He Found His Voice, Then Lost Me
Novelix
Completed
"I was the personal interpreter for Evan Whitmore, the heir who had once lost his voice from trauma. I was also the poor scholarship girl his family had taken in. After he was rescued from his kidnappers, I was the only person he allowed near him. The first complete sentence he ever spoke was to me. “You’re the most important person in my life.” I thought he loved me too. Until three years ago, the Whitmores brought home a girl named Clara Bennett. By then, Evan had already become a rising star in the business world, but the moment he saw her, his face turned boyishly shy. “Nora, I like her. I’m sure about her. For the rest of my life.” Clara had been kidnapped with him years ago. She was the girl he had never forgotten. From that day on, I began interpreting for two people. Whatever Evan signed, I translated for Clara. At the launch event for Whitmore Group’s new company, Evan stood onstage to give a speech. I stood beside him, interpreting. Halfway through, he signed something that wasn’t in the script. He waited for me to translate. I tightened my grip around the microphone and spoke. “The company is named QC as a confession to someone special.” The room fell silent for a second. Everyone knew the girl the Whitmores had brought home was named Clara. Evan froze onstage and looked at me. I didn’t look back. I stepped down. For thirteen years, I had translated every word for him. Today was the last sentence I would ever speak on his behalf."
Chapters (3)
第1章
I was the personal interpreter for Evan Whitmore, the heir who had once lost his voice from trauma.
I was also the poor scholarship girl his family had taken in.
After he was rescued from his kidnappers, I was the only person he allowed near him.
The first complete sentence he ever spoke was to me.
“You’re the most important person in my life.”
I thought he loved me too.
Until three years ago, the Whitmores brought home a girl named Clara Bennett.
By then, Evan had already become a rising star in the business world, but the moment he saw her, his face turned boyishly shy.
“Nora, I like her. I’m sure about her. For the rest of my life.”
Clara had been kidnapped with him years ago.
She was the girl he had never forgotten.
From that day on, I began interpreting for two people.
Whatever Evan signed, I translated for Clara.
At the launch event for Whitmore Group’s new company, Evan stood onstage to give a speech.
I stood beside him, interpreting.
Halfway through, he signed something that wasn’t in the script.
He waited for me to translate.
I tightened my grip around the microphone and spoke.
“The company is named QC as a confession to someone special.”
The room fell silent for a second.
Everyone knew the girl the Whitmores had brought home was named Clara.
Evan froze onstage and looked at me.
I didn’t look back.
I stepped down.
For thirteen years, I had translated every word for him.
Today was the last sentence I would ever speak on his behalf.
After the event ended, I rested backstage.
Evan pushed the door open and walked in.
“Nora, why did you translate it like that?”
Over the years, his aphasia had improved a lot.
He could speak now, but long conversations still strained him, and when he was nervous, his words tangled together.
I looked at him and smiled bitterly.
“I only changed the wording. The meaning was the same.”
His eyes were clean and open.
The way he looked at me was no different from how he looked at any other member of the Whitmore family.
I was family.
I was Nora.
But I was never the woman he loved.
Evan frowned.
“That wasn’t good for Clara’s reputation. Nora, you’re not usually so careless.”
My chest tightened.
I forced a smile.
“Your hand blocked part of the sign. I didn’t see it clearly.”
His frown deepened.
“You’ve interpreted for me for thirteen years. You’ve never made a mistake.”
I smiled again, but this time I couldn’t hold back.
“You can speak fluently now, and Clara’s here. Maybe she can interpret for you from now on.”
He immediately said, “How could I make Clara do that kind of work?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized what he had said.
“Nora, that’s not what I meant…”
I cut him off with a smile.
“I know. You and Clara love each other. Interpreting is tiring. Of course you wouldn’t want her to do it.”
“And the doctor said you’re almost fully recovered. You won’t need me anymore.”
His lips moved like he wanted to say something.
Before he could, Clara walked in and linked her arm through his.
“Evan, some partners outside want to meet you. You should go first. Nora and I will be right there.”
Evan glanced at me.
In the end, he left.
Clara turned to me.
“Nora, thank you for today. Evan just told me he wants to marry me!”
“If you hadn’t pushed him like that, who knows how long that emotionally constipated man would’ve taken?”
My smile was stiff.
“Really? You two were always going to end up together.”
She bit her lip, looking shy.
“I never dreamed someone like me, an orphan, would meet Evan, much less…”
Her voice dimmed.
“I just wish my sister were still here.”
Clara had been brought back from foster care.
She only remembered that she had gotten lost as a child, and that she once had an older sister.
She had been looking for her all these years.
I comforted her softly.
“You already submitted your DNA to the family registry, right? Maybe you’ve already met her without knowing.”
Her smile returned.
“Yeah.”
She glanced at her watch.
“I should go find Evan.”
“Nora, go home early and rest. You worked hard today.”
She waved and left.
The lounge became quiet again.
I stood there and watched her disappear around the corner.
Outside, Evan and Clara stood together, greeting the guests.
He tilted his head to listen to her, the corner of his mouth curved up.
They looked perfect together.
I looked away, picked up my bag, and put the pendant I always carried inside.
Evan’s assistant was waiting downstairs.
When he saw me, he opened an umbrella.
“Miss Hayes, Mr. Whitmore asked me to take you back to the estate.”
When I returned to the Whitmore house, the living room lights were still on.
Mrs. Whitmore sat on the couch with a cup of tea.
“Sit.”
I lowered my eyes and walked over.
I had always respected Mrs. Whitmore.
And feared her.
When she first sponsored me, she said, “Nora Hayes, from today on, you’re part of the Whitmore family.”
“Evan needs you. Stay by his side and take good care of him.”
When I was eighteen, she found out how I felt about Evan.
That night, Evan had a fever.
I sat by his bed all night, crying because I was so worried.
Mrs. Whitmore opened the door and saw me.
She didn’t say a word.
But from that day on, my room was moved from next to Evan’s to the small north-facing room at the end of the hall.
Evan asked about it several times.
Mrs. Whitmore said the other room had better light.
She brushed him off.
I came back to myself and bent slightly.
“Mrs. Whitmore, did you need something?”
She set down her tea and handed me two pieces of paper.
I took them.
My heart skipped.
One was a check for five hundred thousand dollars.
The other was a plane ticket to London in three days.
My voice came out rough.
“Mrs. Whitmore… what does this mean?”
She folded her hands calmly.
“I want you to leave Evan.”
第2章
Mrs. Whitmore didn’t bother with small talk.
“You’ve stayed with Evan for thirteen years. You’ve worked hard.”
She pushed the check closer.
“This is compensation for all the years you interpreted for him.”
My hands clenched.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I…”
I wanted to say I didn’t want to leave.
But the tragic thing was, I couldn’t find a reason to stay.
Mrs. Whitmore cut me off.
“University of the Arts London. Curating. I remember that was your dream.”
I froze.
That was the school I had wanted to attend in college.
I gave it up for Evan.
Mrs. Whitmore continued.
“Evan is going to get engaged to Clara. If you stay, you’ll distract him.”
Distract him.
For thirteen years, Evan couldn’t function without me.
Mrs. Whitmore had never once said I was in the way.
Because back then, Evan needed me.
Now he didn’t.
So I had become the person distracting him.
I picked up the check and the ticket.
“I’ll think about it.”
Mrs. Whitmore smiled with satisfaction.
“I know you’re a smart girl.”
Then she left.
I returned to my room and opened the only locked drawer.
Inside lay an old photo album full of pictures of Evan as a boy.
Riding a bike.
Playing piano.
Squatting beside me in the yard while we planted a tree.
On the back of one photo, his messy childlike handwriting read:
Planted this tree with Nora. She said when it blooms, we’ll be grown up.
When we grow up, I still want to be with Nora forever.
He couldn’t speak back then.
But companionship had made us part of each other’s lives.
Innocently, I believed we would never be separated.
Then Clara came.
He started driving her around on his own.
He played the songs we had practiced together for her.
He even had the gardener cut down the vines climbing along the patio because Clara didn’t like them.
I closed the album.
I didn’t open it again.
With Clara here, he no longer needed me.
Evan came back after dropping Clara off.
I happened to be downstairs making dinner.
The housekeeper had the day off, so I cooked myself.
Evan followed me into the kitchen and leaned against the doorway, watching me chop vegetables and set plates.
“You’re acting strange today.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Then he changed the subject.
“We haven’t eaten together in a long time.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I won’t be anymore. The project’s done.”
I carried the food to the table.
Evan picked up a piece of glazed ribs, chewed twice, and said, “Yours still tastes the best.”
I smiled faintly.
“Evan.”
I called him by his name.
Not Mr. Whitmore.
Not young master.
Just Evan.
“You can actually speak now. You only stumble when you’re nervous. But when you’re with Clara, you never seem nervous.”
He put down his fork.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.”
I stood and started clearing the dishes.
“I have work tomorrow.”
He grabbed my wrist.
His words came out rushed.
“You’re weird today.”
“Maybe I’m tired.”
He let go and watched me carry the dishes into the kitchen.
The running water drowned out every other sound.
After washing the dishes, I went back to my room and packed.
I placed the photo album at the very bottom of my suitcase.
A knock sounded at my door.
When I opened it, Evan stood outside in pajamas.
His eyes swept across the room and landed on my suitcase.
His expression tightened.
“Why do you have a suitcase out?”
“It’s a new season. I’m packing up old clothes to donate tomorrow.”
He stared at me for two seconds.
Then he seemed to relax.
He didn’t ask again.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and took out an old pendant.
It was the one I had given him when he was ten.
The cord was worn pale.
The surface had tiny cracks.
It had been the only decent thing I owned back then.
When Evan liked it, I hesitated for a long time before giving it to him.
Now he held it out to me.
“Take it.”
“Why?”
He said, “It was the first thing you ever gave me. If you keep it, you won’t leave.”
I took the pendant.
Its edges dug painfully into my palm.
He hadn’t changed.
He was still as naive as when he was a child.
Still believing promises could keep someone forever.
But Evan, this time was different.
第3章
After packing, I thought of Clara’s hopeful eyes.
So I texted her and asked her to meet me at a coffee shop near the Whitmore estate.
She replied instantly.
Okay!
When she arrived, she smiled and took my hand.
“What’s going on? You even told me not to tell Evan.”
“Are you planning some surprise for me?”
She wore an ivory dress, her hair loosely pinned up.
She looked softer than she had at the launch.
I ordered two coffees and pushed one toward her.
“I wanted to talk to you about Evan.”
“Go ahead.”
I lowered my head and stirred my coffee.
“I’m leaving. I won’t be at your wedding.”
Her mouth fell open.
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
I smiled.
“Before I leave, please don’t tell him.”
After a moment of hesitation, Clara nodded.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll respect it.”
I lifted the cardboard box beside me onto the table.
“These are Evan’s backup medication, communication cards, and meeting records from the past few years.”
On top was a thick black notebook.
Clara opened the first page.
It read:
When he’s anxious, he doesn’t like anyone touching his shoulder. Touch his right fingertips instead.
The next page read:
If he taps the table three times in a row, he isn’t angry. He wants to leave the crowd.
When his stomach hurts, he presses his lips together first, then holds the left side under his ribs.
Clara’s eyes changed.
“You…”
I smiled and interrupted her.
“Don’t overthink it. It was my job.”
Clara seemed to understand.
“Nora, you stayed with him for thirteen years. I’m really grateful.”
I shook my head.
“If it weren’t for you, his aphasia wouldn’t have improved this quickly.”
“He told me before that he didn’t want you to have a boyfriend who couldn’t speak, so he worked hard.”
Clara’s eyes reddened.
“That idiot.”
I set down my cup.
“No matter who stayed by his side for thirteen years, they’d understand him this well.”
“My work ends here.”
Clara looked at me with pity in her eyes.
“Nora, you…”
I stood, placed money for the coffee on the table, and said, “I wish you both happiness.”
When I got back to the Whitmore house, I pulled my suitcase from the closet and packed completely.
Everything Evan had given me, I left behind.
The pendant.
The notebooks.
The crooked sticky note with a cat he had drawn.
I only took my clothes and the old photo album.
Halfway through, Evan suddenly pushed the door open.
He held a file in his hand.
“Can you look over this document for me? I…”
He walked in and saw the open suitcase on the floor.
“Why are all my things on the table?”
“I’m rearranging.”
He didn’t think much of it and handed me the file.
“Look at it tonight. No rush.”
I took it and placed it on the table.
He turned and left.
The second the door closed, I exhaled.
That night, the three of us sat at the same table for dinner.
Clara sat on Evan’s right.
I sat on his left.
Before, he didn’t like eating with anyone else.
It had always been just me.
After Clara came, it became the three of us.
I lowered my head and drank soup.
By accident, my spoon touched the edge of the bowl, making a tiny sound.
Evan suddenly turned to look at me.
His gaze paused for a moment.
“Evan, I want shrimp,” Clara said.
Only then did he look away and serve her food.
Then he instinctively placed shrimp on my plate too.
I couldn’t help reminding him.
“I’m allergic to seafood.”
He looked embarrassed and moved the shrimp back to his own plate.
“Sorry, Nora. I forgot.”
Clara joked to ease the tension.
“Nora, scold him. That’s awful. How can he be so careless?”
I smiled along.
But my heart tasted bitter.
Careless?
When I cooked, he still reminded me Clara couldn’t eat cilantro and told me not to add even a little.
After dinner, I washed dishes in the kitchen.
Evan walked in and stood behind me.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday. Let’s go to that old park.”
“You used to take me there to feed pigeons.”
I shook my head.
“I have plans tomorrow.”
His brows furrowed.
“What plans?”
“I’m meeting someone.”
His fingers fell to his side.
After a long silence, he asked, “Then next week?”
“We’ll see.”
I put down a bowl and turned to him.
“You should spend more time with Clara now.”
His lips parted, but no sound came out.
“Have you two talked about the wedding?”
“Clara grew up in foster care. You need to pay more attention to how she feels right now.”
His throat moved.
“I’ve started preparing. Don’t worry.”
“I even had the house manager order flowers. Blue roses flown in from Ecuador.”
My heart trembled.
Those were my favorite flowers.
But the next second, he said brightly, “Clara mentioned them once, and I remembered.”
“I’m not as unreliable as you think.”
I licked my lips.
I said nothing.
So Clara liked them too.
Clara’s voice sounded from outside.
“Evan, can you come with me to the car? I brought a gift for your mom.”
He paused and looked at me.
I turned back to the sink.
“Go with her.”
He left.
The kitchen door stayed open, and Clara’s laughter floated in from the hallway.
I dried the last bowl, placed it back in the cabinet, and gently closed the door.
