Chapter 200
Zoe was supposed to have opened the Global Classical Music
Concert.
However, Aiden appeared on the stage and was humiliated for it. He bowed on her behalf, apologizing to the audience over and over.
Throughout the entire mortifying experience, he didn’t reveal any part of her private life.
He didn’t tell the audience that she had an accident because of her
ridiculous husband.
David couldn’t stand by and do nothing anymore. He got on the stage and supported Aiden while he said softly, “Let’s refund them, Mr.
Aiden! You don’t deserve to be humiliated here!”
Aiden shook his head lightly.
He said, “This isn’t about money, David! If I refund the audience, then Zoe will be regarded as a blot on the landscape that is the music industry and I will share her fate as well!”
David felt a lump in his throat as he struggled to say something.
Aiden addressed the audience once again, “I’ll perform in my
student’s stead!”
However, the audience simply wouldn’t have it. They claimed that Zoe was someone Aiden made up to sell tickets. She didn’t exist!
“Get us a refund, you scammer!”
“Refund! Refund!”
“Refund us, scammer!”
+25 BONUS
Just as the situation went completely out of control, a slender, scrawny figure went on stage and shocked Aiden as well as David.
Aiden was the first one to come to his senses and said in an upset tone, “What are you doing here? You should’ve been resting and focusing on your recuperation. Don’t stand there and do nothing, David. Send her back to the hotel right now.”
David, on the other hand, didn’t move at all. Instead, he simply stared at her.
She flashed both of them a faint smile in response. Then, she
brushed her fingers across her violin. She looked at it with a heavy heart. This would be the last time she performed on a stage!
The audience trailed off in silence when they saw that the last person they had expected to see appeared on stage. Her left arm was injured and bandaged up.
Under the dim light, she played ‘A Pair of Butterflies.’ The melody began with joyful notes before shifting to a suspenseful tune and finally settling down to a tragic hymn.
The concert hall was silent, except for the gripping melody from her violin. It told a story that was about a love that was suppressed and forbidden to shine, resonating with everyone deeply.
It was clear that the violin’s melody was quivering. Then, blood started seeping out from her bandaged left arm.
David wanted to approach her, but Aiden stopped him before saying softly, “Let her finish her performance!” With that, he started shedding
tears.
Zoe struck the last chord and her performance ended abruptly.
She lowered her arms and stood there for a long time.
+25 BONUS
Then, she spoke into the microphone at the center of the stage, “I’ve always dreamed of playing this song to the man I loved back when I was a young girl! I used to love him more than music. More than everything, in fact.
“However, my music career had reached the end of the line due to the injury I sustained in my left arm. For that matter, our marriage
reached the end of the line as well.
“With that said, I will still love someone if he’s worthy of me. I’ll pursue my other passions as well! It takes immense courage to love someone, after all!”
She proceeded to bow three times to the audience. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Thank you, Aiden. Thank you, David!”
Silence hung over the concert hall.
Moments later, the audience started to grow restless. They chanted her name and called her the fleeting prodigy in the music industry. There were tears in everyone’s eyes as the same question crossed
their minds.
What could be more tragic than losing the ability to realize your dream?
Zoe walked off the stage and left the concert hall as fast as she could. Leaving the crowd behind, she left the stage behind as well, a stage that was rightfully hers.
Then, she saw Mason.
He was standing at the door and staring at her quietly. His face was as white as a sheet. He heard everything she said, including the part where she told the entire concert hall that their marriage had reached the end of the line.
