HIS DEATH 13

Chapter 13 

I stepped forward and sat down at the grand piano, the spotlight following my every move. 

Under the watchful gaze of the entire crowd, I lifted the lid, flexed my fingers lightly over the keys, and began to play. 

The opening notes flowed out like a quiet stream. 

Soft, deliberate. 

It didn’t take long before whispers gave way to silence–people were realizing what I was playing. 

Liszt’s “Liebestraum.” 

Love’s Dream. 

And just like that, the entire venue fell into stillness. 

I wore a red dress again, my fingers dancing over the piano keys as the melody unfolded like a slow, drifting night breeze. The opening was gentle–like a lover’s whisper, curling into the deepest corners of every heart. 

The scene mirrored that night so long ago, perfectly. 

The one he’d never stopped dreaming of. 

I couldn’t remember the last time I performed this piece in front of a crowd. 

But my hands hadn’t forgotten. 

Every note swelled with memory–rising, falling, pressing toward crescendo like a heart breaking open. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian step forward. 

His expression shifted–from confusion to shock to something almost lifeless. 

He walked toward me slowly, like he’d forgotten where he was. Forgotten the ceremony. Forgotten the woman still clinging to his arm. 

His lips parted. His eyes shone. 

“… It was you,” he whispered. “The one who played that night… It was always you.” 

I rose from the bench and gently closed the piano lid. 

Applause thundered through the room, echoing like ocean waves crashing against marble. But I barely acknowledged it–just offered a small, effortless smile and walked back to Blake’s side. 

“Well?” I asked as I sat down. “Not too bad, right?” 

Blake immediately grabbed my hand, gripping it tightly, like he was afraid someone might steal me away. 

Adrian, however, stormed toward us. 

Eyes blazing. 

“Evelyn,” he said, breathless. “It was you. From the very beginning–it was always you. Not Lillian. She lied to me–this whole time!” 

He turned sharply toward Lillian. 

“You lied to me?!” 

Lillian’s face went pale as snow. 

She had believed her secret would never be uncovered–that she’d fooled everyone. 

Mannind Uis Fnomy Now He’s Begging 

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Chapter 13 

Now, it was all falling apart. 

“… I just loved you so much, Adrian,” she stammered, rushing forward, tears spilling freely. “I only wanted to be with you–just once, to be chosen-” 

But Adrian shoved her away with a grimace. 

His voice trembled with fury.“You made me miss her. You made me live a lie for years, God, Lillian–you make me sick.” 

The words hit the room like a bomb. 

Gasps echoed from every corner. 

Lillian’s parents stood up, faces dark with fury. 

ww 

“Mr. Whitmore,” her father snapped, “this is a wedding, not a stage for your tantrums!” 

But Adrian wouldn’t back down. 

He turned to me again, now with something manic in his gaze–desperation and disbelief twisted into stubborn hope. 

“You still care about me, Evelyn. I know you do,” he insisted, reaching out his hand. 

“This marriage to Blake–it’s just anger, right? It was all to spite me. We can fix this. I’ll speak to your father. We’ll annul everything, Il-” 

I laughed. 

Not coldly. 

Gently. 

The kind of laugh you give a ghost that used to haunt you–but no longer can. 

“Adrian,” I said quietly, “what makes you think a legal, registered marriage can just be undone because you had a change of heart?” 

I turned to the man who had never left my side. 

“Blake is the husband I chose. With my eyes wide open. I stopped loving you a long time ago.”