The night gave way to dawn.
Seraphina Thorne woke up, feeling a dull headache, and shook her head with a frown.
"Headache?"
Ethan Sterling noticed her movent and reached out to massage her temples.
Hearing his voice, Seraphina opened her eyes.
Seeing herself still lying on Ethan Sterling, her face flushed, and she quickly pulled away, grabbing the blanket to place it between them.
"Is it very painful?" Ethan Sterling asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Should I ask Sean Hale to bring over so dicine?"
"No need!"
Seraphina quickly got up, wrapped a blanket around herself, grabbed her clothes scattered on the floor, and fled to the bathroom.
After washing her face, she got dressed and ca out.
Ethan Sterling had already put on his pants and was picking up his shirt from the floor.
She noticed the red marks on his chest.
"Are you injured?"
Seraphina reached out, holding his arm, and looked at his chest.
"Isn’t this Mrs. Sterling’s masterpiece?" Ethan Sterling smirked.
At this mont, Seraphina saw clearly.
They weren’t injuries but kiss marks and bite marks.
Especially noticeable was a clear bite mark on his shoulder.
Last night, it was only him and her; Ethan Sterling couldn’t have bitten himself, so the only explanation was...
She bit him?!
Seraphina’s face instantly turned crimson, and she quickly released his arm.
"I... I’ll go see if there’s sothing to eat."
Ethan Sterling grabbed her arm, pulling her in front of him.
"Since Mrs. Sterling did this to , don’t you think... you should take a bit of responsibility?"
"I..." Seraphina didn’t dare look at his face, hanging her head and clutching the hem of her clothes, stubbornly refused showing weakness, "Then you should take responsibility for too."
"That’s true..." Ethan Sterling thought seriously, "Then let’s... be responsible for each other!"
Be responsible for each other?
Why?!
Seraphina raised her face, "You’re not a first-tir, are you?"
"How do you know I’m not a first-tir?"
"I..." Seraphina was at a loss for words, "Anyway... you’re not!"
Soone with his experience, who every ti makes her lose control, couldn’t possibly be a first-tir, right?
Ethan Sterling looked at her for a mont without continuing the topic.
"The shirt is unwearable; could you help find another one?"
Seraphina glanced at his wrinkled, chocolate-stained shirt in his hand.
"Give a mont."
The last ti she left, she only managed to take her own luggage, leaving other things in the villa.
Seraphina went to Caleb Thorne’s bedroom, found a new unopened shirt, unwrapped it, and handed it to him.
"This is my brother’s shirt; try it on and see if it fits you."
Ethan Sterling took the shirt, unbuttoned it, and put it on.
Seeing the shirt still folded at the back, Seraphina reached out her palm to straighten it for him.
Her gaze unintentionally swept over Ethan Sterling’s side waist, and she imdiately noticed a long scar on the right side of the man’s lower back.
The scar was cut cleanly, apparently by a sharp object.
There were also suture marks nearby, looking quite intense.
Seraphina reached out her finger, holding his waist, "How did you get this?"
Ethan Sterling pulled the shirt down to cover his side waist, "It’s nothing, just an old injury."
Seeing that he didn’t want to say more, Seraphina didn’t press the issue.
The villa hadn’t been occupied for a while, so naturally, there weren’t any ingredients to cook.
After getting dressed and tidying up, the two drove out of the villa district together.
Seraphina looked around, turning the car to a nearby restaurant she used to frequent.
After ordering breakfast and waiting at the table.
Ethan Sterling opened his computer bag, took out a flyer, and handed it to her.
Seraphina took it, noticing the flyer clearly stated "Paganini Violin Competition."
She held the flyer and lifted her face, "What does this an?"
Ethan Sterling raised his chin, "It’s the most prestigious competition in the violin world. Don’t you want to give it a try?"
Seraphina shook her head, "This competition is for young kids; it’s too late for now."
"Even if Nathan Foster and your brother are friends, you can’t let him help you with the lawsuit for nothing, right?" Ethan Sterling pointed to the flyer, "If you win a prize, there’ll be quite a bit of prize money!"
Seraphina held the flyer silently.
In the past, when Seraphina first participated in this competition, she was just a high school student.
With her outstanding talent and strength, she made it all the way, winning the Ophira division and entering the semifinals.
Later, due to an incident, she withdrew, traumatized.
This incident beca the biggest shadow in Seraphina’s life for over twenty years.
Every ti this competition is ntioned, she recalls the past, losing her heart to participate again.
"If you don’t want to participate, forget it; you’re quite busy now anyway," Ethan Sterling pulled back the flyer, "Regardless, your husband has money, whether it’s your dad’s dical bills or Nathan’s attorney fees, I can help cover them."
He folded the flyer a couple of tis, tossing it on the table casually.
"Let’s eat!"
The waiter brought their breakfast, and Seraphina took the chopsticks Ethan handed her, picking up a bun and putting it in her mouth.
While she was eating breakfast, her gaze unconsciously lingered on that flyer.
She was quite familiar with this competition.
A few years ago, when she competed, the champion’s prize money reached tens of thousands of euros, equivalent to hundreds of thousands in Chinese Yuan.
Now, years later, the prize money must have increased, surely higher than before.
Even if she couldn’t win, just making it to the top three would still be a considerable amount.
Whether for her father’s dical bills or Nathan’s attorney fees, it would alleviate her current financial stress.
Soon, breakfast was finished.
Ethan Sterling stood up to pay the bill, and Seraphina picked up her bag and violin.
Glancing at the flyer on the table, she hesitated a mont but finally reached out with her right hand, tucked the flyer into her pocket.
Standing by the counter, Ethan Sterling turned and glanced at Seraphina.
Noticing her subtle action, he smiled but didn’t point it out.
He reached for her violin, embracing her as they left the restaurant.
After dropping Ethan Sterling off at the office, Seraphina returned to the orchestra.
She opened her computer, carefully checking the competition dates and tis.
Of course, she also made a note of the prize money.
This ti, not only the finals had prize money, but the dostic division also had sponsors.
The prize money was not less than that for the finals, with the first-place prize being a full million.
Seeing this figure made Seraphina quite tempted.
Just then, Tristan Quincy called, asking her to co to his office.
Seraphina quickly went upstairs, and upon entering, Tristan Quincy handed her the information on his desk.
"These are the materials selected by the group, for the violinists’ interviews. Notify them to co for the interview next Monday."
"Okay!" Seraphina took the materials, "Also, there’s sothing else I want to discuss with you."
"Go ahead, what is it?"
"I..." Seraphina coughed lightly, "I want to participate in the Paganini Violin Competition and might need a few days off. Do you think... that’s possible?"
"Of course," Tristan Quincy smiled, "I heard you previously reached the semifinals. It’s a pity you didn’t get to the finals. Rest assured, the group will fully support your competition."
Seraphina was an official mber of the orchestra; if she could place well, it would also enhance the orchestra’s reputation.
This was a win-win situation for both the orchestra and the musician, so Tristan Quincy didn’t mind her taking a few days off.
"Thank you, Commander Quincy. Don’t worry, I won’t let it interfere with the orchestra’s regular operations."
"No problem, the orchestra doesn’t have many performances recently, you can take more ti to focus on the competition. But..." Tristan Quincy gently reminded her, "Take care of your health, don’t wear yourself out."
"Don’t worry, I know."
Holding the docunts, Seraphina bowed to Tristan Quincy and walked out of his office with light steps.
Back in her office, she imdiately accessed the competition website, carefully filling out her information.
Once the form was filled, she moved the mouse to the "Submit" button.
Taking a deep breath, Seraphina finally clicked the left mouse button.
The form was automatically submitted, and she breathed a sigh of relief, watching the words "submission successful" on the screen.
Withdrawing from the competition back then was a regret for Seraphina.
This ti, no matter what, she resolved to see it through to the end.
After registering, she took the materials of the violinists who passed the preliminary selection one by one, making calls to notify them.
The last one was Chloe Foster’s resu.
For reassurance, Seraphina decided to call her once more, to officially notify her of the interview ti.
Dialing the number on the resu, she casually flipped open Chloe Foster’s resu.
Her gaze inadvertently fell on the date of birth section, and Seraphina’s hand holding the phone froze in mid-air.
Reviews
All reviews (0)