Episode 1

IRINA

When I was almost three years old, I witnessed my mother's death right in front of me. She hid me when some men entered our house in Russia, concealing me under the bed. She told me not to speak or make any noise, and I took it very seriously because from that moment on, I stopped talking. I never uttered a word again. So, when I turned 18, my father arranged a marriage with Steve Ivanov. He had grown up by my side, and to seal a million-dollar contract, my father forced me to marry him.

I thought marrying him wouldn't be so bad since we had grown up together and were always friends. He tried to understand me, unlike everyone else. But on our wedding day, I noticed a difference in him. He hadn't come to my house or seen me since our engagement was announced. Finally, I saw him at the civil ceremony, the only one we had, with our closest family and friends.

On our wedding night, I discovered why he was so angry. His parents had forced him, just as my father had forced me.

"Do you really think I want to spend my life with a mute like you? If it weren't for the risk to my family's business, I would have never married you!" he shouted at me in our new home. I tried to communicate through sign language, which he usually made an effort to understand, but this time, he showed no interest.

"I don't want to see your stupid signs. If you weren't mute, your father would have lent that money to my family without hesitation. But he made it a condition to marry off his mute daughter, as even your own father doesn't want you. That's why he married off his older daughter, Ines, instead of his firstborn," Steve spat at me.

Tears began to fall, and I couldn't deny that my father only cared for Ines, his eldest daughter from his affair. He had been unfaithful to my mother long before he married her, and I believe he only married her for the sake of her grandfather's money. A few years after their wedding, my grandfather lost almost all his fortune, and my father had to work hard to attain what he has now. When my mother died, he brought his mistress and their older daughter into the house, and I became the mute bastard nobody wanted to acknowledge.

"Don't expect me to sleep in the same room as you," Steve concluded before storming off, leaving me alone in what was supposed to be our wedding night's room.

I cried all night until I fell asleep. I was alone at home most of the time, so I studied two online degrees: Business Administration and Graphic Design. Since I got married, I had been alone in that house, with only my computer and myself, and all I did was study. Aside from these degrees, I also studied several languages, hoping that one day, despite my inability to speak, I would be able to communicate.

Steve would return home drunk on some weekends and insult me. On a few occasions, he even slapped me. So, whenever I heard him coming, I would lock myself in the room until he left the next morning. This went on for two years, during which I obtained my college degrees. I was happy but still alone.

I went to the cemetery and brought flowers to my mother's grave. Since it was Friday, most people left work early. As I walked through the park on my way home, I saw many children running in the park with their dads. I wondered if I would ever become a mother myself. If I continued as I was, I doubted it. When I arrived home, I saw Steve's car parked in front. Taking a deep breath, I hoped he wasn't drinking and wouldn't insult or hit me. There were also two men at the door, which seemed odd. But Steve's family had become very powerful in these past two years, and sometimes when he came home drunk, his bodyguards would bring him home. So, I didn't worry and nodded at the men before entering. I heard noises upstairs, so I went up and froze when I saw Steve having sex with Ines, my sister, in the room where I sleep.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. Tears streamed down my face until Ines noticed my presence.

"Little sister, you're back," he spoke brazenly while covering himself with my sheets.

"So you're here, take this," Steve wrapped a battle around his body and threw some documents at me.

I took them in my trembling hands and read a divorce agreement. Steve handed me a pen to sign immediately.

"Ines is expecting my child, and I won't allow my heir to be a bastard because of being married to you. So sign it, I have to organize a grand wedding," Steve said.

"Oh, and get your stuff out of here. You and I are nothing now, so you can go back to your father. This house now belongs to Ines and my son," Steve continued speaking as my supposed sister smiled satisfactorily.

With a lump in my throat, I signed the papers. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out of my mouth. I opened the closet, grabbed my clothes, packed them into a small suitcase, and left that place more broken than when I left my father's house.

I hailed a taxi and used my phone to indicate where to take me. I had no money or personal account because when I lived with my father, he took care of my expenses, and when I married Steve, his personal assistant paid all my bills. Now I only had one place to go, my father's house. When I arrived, I paid the taxi fare and as soon as I entered, I found my father and stepmother waiting for me, looking upset. There were two other men with them.

"Finally, you're here. Sit down and sign," my father Igor forced me to sit at the table in front of some papers. I read what they said and immediately denied. It was a new marriage certificate, but I just signed the divorce papers.

"Don't resist, sign this. It's your fault. Your sister had to sacrifice herself to save the family because you are so useless that you couldn't give a child to Steve in two years. Now sign, because I'm not going to support you anymore, and this way I'll recover the money I lost because of your uselessness." My father yanked my hair, and tears streamed down my face incessantly.

I didn't have children because I didn't want to. Steve never slept in the same room as me. He expected me to force him, plead, and offer myself to him when he returned home. Unable to resist any longer, I gripped the pen tightly and signed my way into my new prison. Wherever I go, if this new husband is like Steve, it will be a confinement.

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