Later that evening, Tessa lay in bed and tried to read, but
she was restless. She'd been a real bitch to Micah. After all,
he'd just been trying to help. Tessa knew that, but the ache of
disappointment over the failure of her attempted implant still
haunted her. Insurance did cover a lot, but she knew Liam
had shelled out money they didn't have to help her hear again.
She'd gotten some offers for endorsements along with her
gold medal, but Richard had discouraged her from anything
that took away from her skating. He'd said there would be time
enough for her to make money later, but that time hadn't ever
come. She'd lost the opportunities in order to be Richard's
personal star. She regretted so many things she'd done, how
she'd handled her post-Olympic years. All of that time, all of
those offers wasted on a man who hadn't been worth it.
I was so your and so ignorant.
She sighed as she thought about her failed cochlear im-
plant. She'd had her hearing again, even if things did sound
different with the device placement. Her hope had been to get
the other ear done and have her life fully restored.
That had never happened.
Instead, she'd been submerged in a soundless world, the
same place she'd been living before the implant. Sometimes
she was convinced that it was better to never have the ex-
perience again, to be satisfied that she was safe and content
rather than experience that kind of devastation. She'd plum-
meted into a depression that had nearly swallowed her whole
after the failed implant. it had been the final knockout punch
after her parents had died, and it was a place she never
wanted to visit again.
Granted, she would probably handle the situation better
now. A lot of her heartache was resolved, but there was still
a wariness that she couldn't shake, a desire to protect herself
from falling down so far she couldn't get up.
Tessa shuddered and tossed her book on the bedside
table. Shifting the covers aside, she got up, knowing she
wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.
She was already taking a chance by even attempting to
perform again. There was every possibility she could fall on her
YOU ARE READING
The Billionaire's Voice
Teen FictionAfter a troubling childhood, wealthy Evan Sinclair likes his life orderly and controlled. he rarely gives in to spontaneous urges--until he begins a chance correspondence with a mystery woman who sounds like his complete opposite. She intrigue...
