Chapter 5
Being a pianist had always been my dream.
I studied music in college. At a New Year’s gala, my performance stunned the audience, and my professor wouldn’t stop praising me.
But then, I fell in love and devoted everything to Antonio.
Now that my sentimental heart had been shattered, it was time for me to reclaim my talent.
I enrolled in a prestigious piano academy, hired top–tier instructors, and settled into a rigid routine: eat, sleep, practice piano, male escorts, malet escorts, and male escorts….
Half a month later, Emilia called to tell me Fraser had a high fever and called out for “Mom” in his delirium.
Maybe he missed me.
“Why should I care?” I hung up the phone and stepped out of the academy, only to notice a boy sitting on the stone steps nearby. stone steps nearby.
He was drawing a piano on the ground with chalk.
I paused. Wasn’t that Troy Burke from the Young Talents program?
A child prodigy, Troy was only fifteen but had already won numerous citywide piano competitions.
I had heard him play before. His music was breathtaking. But he was always aloof, never speaking to anyone. Even after half a month in the same academy, we hadn’t exchanged a single word.
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After some hesitation, I walked over and asked, “Troy, why aren’t you heading home?”
Troy looked up, his slightly messy hair swaying in the evening breeze, hist eyes sparkling like stars.
What a handsome young man!
“Ms. Parrish, I’ll be leaving soon,” Troy replied, then returned to his chalk. drawing.
I was surprised: “You know me?”
“Yes, you’re the best pianist in the adult group. I like listening to your music.” Troy said with a nod.
I chuckled. What a coincidence.
“We should practice together sometime. I think you play really well too.” I offered.
Troy shook his head helplessly. “I can’t. I’ve quit.”
“Why?”
Perhaps my concern touched him because he answered.
His family had suffered a financial crisis. Overnight, their comfortable. middle–class life had crumbled, and they could no longer afford his piano lessons.
Moreover, he wasn’t their biological child, just an adopted orphan.
Under such circumstances, his adoptive parents certainly weren’t going to invest in his music career.
“I’ll sponsor you, but you have to give me half of your competition
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winnings in the future.” I extended my hand.
Troy blinked and stood up.
After a brief hesitation, he grasped my hand. “Deal. You can have all of it.”
Life is full of surprises.
Just like that, I suddenly gained a little brother.
A little brother who happened to be the same age as my son.
Before long, this piano–obsessed boy got comfortable with me and started. to visit my place often, practically taking over my music room.
I ate an ice cream cone and looked at him. He was a lot like Fraser.
Aloof, brilliant, and just as tall and handsome.
But Fraser was a thankless brat.
Troy, on the other hand, was like a lone wolf wandering through the night.
While I practiced piano, this wolf busied himself sweeping floors and cooking meals.
By the time I finished, the house was spotless, and the dining table was set with a full meal.
“Grace, dinner’s ready,” Troy said, untying his apron before serving me.
“If you were my son, I’d be grinning ear to ear,” I joked, sitting down without hesitation.
Troy stiffened, his ears turning red.
Chapter 5
He was adorable.
Suddenly. I wanted to be a mom again.
I turned out to be a damn good mother.
With my support. Troy entered the National High School Piano. Competition and won first place three months later.
Thanks to his striking features, he even went viral on social media.
As his “mother” and the person he was most grateful to, I got some
attention too.
That night, Emilia called again.
“I heard you took in a godson. That doesn’t seem appropriate. Your son threw a fit today. He even kicked over the entire dining table.”
Fraser? Throwing a fit?
Why should I care?
“Yeah, I did. Not just one, though. It was one hundred,” I replied.
“Huh? Are you serious? Your son isn’t doing well lately. I don’t think Irene is taking care of him like a mother… Most of the time, she upsets him.”
