Chapter 3

Professor Hayes sounded thrilled.

"Of course! You were my brightest student. I've kept that spot open for three whole years, praying you'd come back."

Tears welled in my eyes at his words, but looking down at my scarred, trembling hands, I hesitated.

"But... my hands..."

Professor Hayes gently interrupted me.

"I know what happened to you."

"I believe in your talent and resilience. You will heal, and you will stand on that stage again."

His belief gave me the strength I needed. I booked a one-way ticket to Austria for next week.

The next morning, clattering noises in the kitchen woke me up.

Julian had returned at some point. When I walked out, he was making breakfast.

He carefully carried over a glass of milk, his eyes filled with remorse.

"Serena, I'm sorry about yesterday. I lost my temper."

"Let's go to the orchestra hall today. I'll help you reclaim the three years you lost."

"What do you say?"

Remembering I still had personal belongings at the hall, I nodded.

After breakfast, Julian drove his new car, casually updating me on the company and orchestra changes over the past three years.

His phone buzzed nonstop. He was no longer the awkward boy I once knew; he commanded respect and bantered smoothly with elite executives.

A memory surfaced unbidden.

Three years ago, when his startup finally took off and I was named lead pianist of the city orchestra.

He had held me tight and promised:

"Serena, we're going to conquer the world together."

Now, looking at the gleaming new plaque of the orchestra and the sea of unfamiliar faces,

I finally realized: everyone had moved on.

I was the only one stranded in the past.

Julian patted my head.

"After your incident, I told the board to keep a position for you. You might not be able to play the piano right now, but you can manage the archives and files."

As he spoke, he glanced at the busy backstage crew and frowned.

"What are you all rehearsing?"

Luna walked out, smiling as she slipped her arm through Julian's.

"Julian, did you forget? We're rehearsing "Nocturne"!"

Hearing that title, my mind froze.

"Nocturne"? Which "Nocturne"?"

Luna averted her eyes guiltily, while a girl next to her sneered at me.

"Who's this? Another nepotism hire? You don't even know "Nocturne" is Luna's award-winning masterpiece?"

A roar of static filled my ears.

"Nocturne" was the piece I spent three years writing in memory of my late mother.

It held every drop of my soul and blood.

In this entire world, besides me, the only person who had ever seen the sheet music was Julian.

I took a deep, trembling breath.

"Julian, don't you owe me an explanation?"

Julian pulled me aside and lowered his voice.

"Serena, your sister needed a breakthrough piece to secure her spot as lead soloist. I had no choice."

"I'll have her apologize to you later. Don't blow this out of proportion."

I stared at Julian in disbelief, my eyes burning red.

A casual apology in exchange for three years of my life's work?

My last shred of hope dissolved into ashes. I whipped out my phone to retrieve my original manuscript files to file a copyright strike.

Yet no matter how frantically I searched the shared cloud drive, the folders were completely wiped.

Julian gently grasped my wrist.

"Serena, stop wasting your energy. I already deleted all the drafts."

"You don't need a music career anymore. You have me."

"To make it up to you, I'll give you the most lavish wedding this city has ever seen."

A wedding?

Did he really think I still wanted it?

My trembling hand swung across his cheek with a resounding crack.

"Julian, you sicken me."

"We're done."