Corinne was not persuaded and was adamant about refusing.At that moment, Lucas finally said in a stern and impatient tone. "That's enough! Stop causing trouble! If Anya can't take the stage, getting someone else to take her place is unnecessary. Grandpa isn't going to blame anyone. I'll just explain Anya's situation to him."After hearing what Lucas said, Corinne could not be happier to be freed from that pressure.Anya insisted tearfully, "I didn't prepare any other gifts for Grandpa aside from this performance… Even if Grandpa doesn't blame me for not giving him a proper present, it'd still leave him with a bad impression of me in the future. That's why I need to complete the performance for him..."Lucas frowned and gazed down at his stubborn sister. "Listen to me, Anya. Your health is more important than anything. If you want to sing the opera you've practiced for Grandpa, you can always do so another day. There will be more opportunities for you to sing for him in the future!
Rosie glanced again at Corinne with disgust and barked sarcastically, "Why are you spacing out? Let's go! I'll bring you to get your makeup done!"Corinne sighed, nodded helplessly, and followed Rosie as the latter led her backstage.Lucas stared coldly at Corinne's rear figure and narrowed his eyes. He did not care much about Corinne's potential performance later, but he simply felt that Corinne's reaction was a little odd.Things were bound to happen whenever Corinne showed up, and there was always some trouble in the offing. All he could hope for was that she would not ruin his grandfather's birthday party that day.Had he not been forced to calm his younger sister's emotions so she could get her foot injury checked up, he would not have allowed Corinne to stay around, let alone perform on stage.At that moment, Edmund finally arrived with the Lovelaces' family doctor."Sir, Doctor Kingsley is here," Edmund said.He then looked worriedly at Anya while she was still nestled in
Lucas nodded in relief after hearing what the doctor said. "I see. That's good to hear."Anya had a sudden thought and said, "I'm still a little worried about Corinne's performance, so since the doctor already checked my foot and said that I’m fine, I'd like to go and watch it."Lucas frowned. "Didn't you hear the doctor advising you not to walk for now? Be obedient."Anya pouted pitifully. "I really want to watch the performance... Please just take me there, Lucas. I just want to have a look."Lucas frowned for a moment and said, "Not a chance. Corinne will perform under your guise, so aren't you afraid that someone might spot you in the audience?"Anya was stunned since she had completely forgotten about that point. She wanted to see Corinne make a fool of herself and show up just in time to prove that the person on stage was someone else instead of her."Lucas… I just want to watch her from a distance... We don't have to be in the audience. We can just watch from a distance...
Rosie went off stage, glanced at the audience, and walked over to sit in the first row behind Edgar and Gertrude.The second elder of the Lovelaces was Lucas's grandfather. If she could strike up a good relationship with the old man and his wife, then it would almost certainly benefit her in her future relationship with Lucas.Rosie exchanged greetings with the elders in a very respectful and polite manner before taking her seat. She looked up at the stage and saw Corinne making an appearance.'Let the show begin!'Corinne led the other dancers on stage with a firm stride and raised her voice to sing."Farewell, my love. Farewell, my love. We must go our separate ways. Remember this farewell, keep our memories in your heart, and think back to our time before our farewell…"Her voice did not break, she was not out of tune, and she nailed every single word correctly.Her voice was crisp, and those in the audience who were chatting while listening to the performance could not help
Upon hearing Edgar's words, Gertrude—whose mental state faltered slightly—went blank momentarily. She suppressed her urge to rush up and hug her 'daughter', nodding quietly. "Yes, we can't interrupt her when she's so focused on her singing. Emily doesn't like to be interrupted..."...At the end of the pieces, the actors left the stage after a curtain call. Gertrude watched as her 'daughter' left her sight, and her mood started spiraling out of control as she got up anxiously to try and get on stage to chase after her daughter.Edgar had anticipated she would do that, so he grabbed his wife just in time and said, "Don't go anywhere, Gertrude. Emily won't leave again."After comforting his wife, he turned around and instructed the servants waiting beside him, "Get 'Consort Aileen' to come here right away!""Yes, sir."The servant responded and went immediately.Upon seeing that, Rosie—who had just snapped back to her senses—suddenly had a bad feeling. She initially wanted Corinne
Anya was being kept under close watch after Lucas arranged for someone to ensure she was resting and recuperating in the room. Her face had turned pale, and the expression on her innocent and angelic face became incredibly distorted.She had watched Corinne's performance of 'Farewell, My Love' through a video call with Edmund—her brother's subordinate—and the result left her surprised, astonished, and jealous. Corinne's performance was not as terrible as she expected. On the contrary, it was so breathtaking that the guests in the audience applauded her!'How is this happening?! How could Corinne—a woman who was born in the countryside—be able to sing an opera that well? She can sing better than me even though I've been practicing secretly for a few months! Damn it! This isn't the result I wanted!'What Anya had expected was Corinne to butcher the very essence of opera with terrible singing. As a result, it would trigger Edgar into chasing her away due to his anger from the performan
With that, the unhappiness in Anya's heart suddenly dissipated. From what happened, Rosie's stupidity was perhaps not so severe as to be completely useless in every situation. At the very least, she still had value during that critical moment!Anya's expression became cheery, and she smiled softly, "Thank you for putting in a good word for me in front of Grandpa!"Rosie then said, "No biggie, Anya! We're the best of friends, so you can bet on me to stop Corinne from succeeding and showing off in your name! That darn b*tch must've pushed you down on purpose earlier so you couldn't go on stage, and she could use that opportunity to show off! Don't worry, Anya, I've already told someone to watch her take off her make-up backstage, and I'll make sure she won't get the chance to say anything to Mister Edgar!"Anya smiled reassuringly and remembered that she was supposed to portray herself as a kind-hearted person. She thus said hypocritically, "Don't say that about Corinne, Rosie. I don'
Edgar had always been extremely indifferent toward Anya, so hearing him speak to her in such a concerned tone overwhelmed her.She nodded obediently and touchingly before saying sensibly, "My injury isn't serious, and I can still sing for you if I really want me to. I know you're very worried about me, and you probably won't be in the mood to listen to me sing right now. I promise to sing for you in the future!"While recovering from this injury, I'll train my voice again and aim to sing 'A Love Entranced' in as perfect a rendition as possible for you and your wife in the future!"Edgar listened to Anya's filial response with an unprecedented look of appreciation. He nodded slightly and said, "Sure. But since you're still going to have to recover from your injury, you must make sure to take extra care. There's no need to strain your voice too much. You've already sung very well today!"His compliment was not simply out of politeness but out of a genuinely objective evaluation. The