Not only was Soren a liar, but he was also unreasonable, jealous, and a braggart.The man was simply incorrigible, and Kat wondered why she had not noticed that before. Composing herself, Kat stood akimbo as she glared at Soren. "I don't remember inviting you.""Lily did," Soren retorted, even more hostile toward Frank since he could notice Kat treating him differently.Lily quickly tried to calm things down. "Alright—we still have to get a show on the road here. It's our turn soon, Kat… Are you ready?""Hmph. For sure," Kat clapped a hand on her chest and leveled a smug look at Frank, like a child keen to show off.Frank sighed tiredly. "In that case, I won't impose. I'll come back to take you home when you're done.""No!" Kat scowled right then. "This is why I had you come along. You're watching us on stage, and you're going to cheer for me!""Come on, Kat," Soren chimed in, shooting Frank a look. "Don't get pushy when he's already refused you. Who knows, he might hate your
Lily smiled again, flashing her dimples. "As we kept putting on shows and got more popular, an entertainment company made us an offer—we'll be putting on a show for them. They'll hire us if our performance meets their standard, and we'll debut as pros. That's why Kat brought you here, hoping that you'd cheer for us.""Of course," she then added with a pained smile, "if you're not interested in band music, we won't force you to anything… Just stay here and wait until Kat is done."Frank turned to Kat in surprise after hearing what Lily had to say.Nash was clearly not rich, but Kat would not have wanted money with the Turnbulls supporting them—if anything, playing with the band must be her way to support her friends."So that's why you've been sneaking out late at night." Frank sighed in realizationSince Lily had put it that way, he would be unreasonable if he was still dismissive.As he nodded to show he would stay, Kat clapped him excitedly on the shoulder. "Haha! Keep your eye
Frank frowned but did not argue with Mandy, and instead reached for the jug of water, pouring himself a glass.Mandy snorted. "Can't even afford to buy himself a drink, and trying to freeload off Soren. Despicable."Frank used the dim light and deafening beats to pretend not to hear Mandy, not even looking her way.It took a while until Dragondawn finished, and everyone in the bar including Tilda applauded.She turned toward Frank, her cheeks flushed as she smiled and asked, "What do you think? Don't you think they're just so cool?""I don't know much about music," Frank admitted. "But I thought they were a little noisy.""Hah! You really are a bumpkin." Mandy promptly jumped in to mock him. "You can't even understand new age rock. Honestly, what are you doing here?"At that point, Frank realized that Mandy was on Soren's side.She could see that Soren hated Frank and therefore repeatedly insulted Frank to curry Soren's favor.Her hard work clearly paid off too, as Soren smile
Frank was actually surprised—in the beginning, Lily's tone was mundane, but the accompaniment seemed to lift her voice, allowing her song to engulf the person.Her performance left the basement bar silent, too. Men and women were all left staring at the girl who was dressed modestly, whose voice would not lose to top singers.Even someone as oblivious to music as Frank knew that she sang well.Then, as Kat joined in the chorus, their voices seemed to resound across the bar, leaving the crowd silent and enthralled.Tilda, the girl beside Frank, was sighing.Frank nodded without knowing it.On the other hand, Mandy was glaring jealously at the girls.-When Lily eventually finished the last song, the crowd spaced out for a beat before applauding thunderously.Even Willy was on his feet at the front row, praising endlessly, "Impressive! The Spades are really as talented as they're said to be!""Encore! Encore!" the guests around the bar chanted, providing a much more enthusiasti
Kat could clearly feel that Soren was after her with that request for a love ballad, and it really irked her.Eder, the bar owner, scowled right then. "What, are you refusing a customer's request? Are you trying to ruin my bar's reputation?!""No, no, of course not." Lily quickly smiled apologetically. "We'll sing."As she spoke, she turned to Kat with a pleading look. "Please…"Kat frowned in annoyance but sighed. "Fine. Whatever.""Wait!" the pudgy man from earlier bellowed as he stood up. "Two hundred grand for My Heart Will Go On!""Two hundred grand?!" Everyone in the bar gasped.That amount of money for a single request was just ridiculous!"Hah!" The pudgy man looked around smugly, still holding on to his pretty companion. "Who else wants to make a bid?""Five hundred grand," Soren stood up again as he raised, shooting the pudgy man a look of disdain."Five hundred grand? Shit, the guy's crazy," the pudgy man grumbled as he sat down in shock.While it was utterly craz
Tilda, the girl sitting beside Frank, was anxious too.She turned to Soren, pleading, "Can't you do something, Soren?! We have to help Kat!"However, Soren could only scratch his head awkwardly.He had followed Frank's gaze and realized the man in the front row was Emilio Sorano's second son, Willy Sorano. They were one of the Four Families of Morhen, and Soren certainly could not afford to mess with them.While he was a Lionheart, he was no more than a distant relative—a far cry from Willy, who was from a direct lineage.Moreover, he had already spent all his pocket money of 500 grand and no more.As such, Soren pursed his lips and explained under his breath, "Don't you see? That's Willy Sorano! If he gets upset…"He trailed off, but the others understood—Soren could not afford to mess with Willy."Are we just going to let him humiliate Kat and the other girls?!" Tilda groaned, on the verge of tears.She and The Spades were good friends, and she was frustrated to see them p
Naturally, most of The Spades were wary of the Soranos' influence.Most of their families were modest—even poor—and basically helpless against the Soranos, They had no choice but to give in to a smugly grinning Willy."Kat…" Rosa, the keyboardist, leveled an awkward look at Kat."What…" Kat was shocked as she realized that her band members were staring at her unhappily."Not everyone leads a comfortable life like you.""Yeah. We'd all like to make a living for our family and realize our dreams…"Kat was silent when she saw the guilty looks on their faces, and she eventually smiled and shook her head. "Heh… Then I'll respect your decision."She started to leave, only for a glowering Eder to catch her. "Where do you think you're going?""The band's breaking up, and I'm going home," Kat snapped icily.Eder snorted right then. "Did you think you can do whatever you want in my bar and leave as you like?! Either please Mr. Sorano right now, or none of you are leaving in one piece!
However, as soon as Lily started pleading to Eder, Kat snapped, "Stop it, Lily. I won't sing for a bunch of scum like them.""But…" Lily watched anxiously as the bodyguards encircled Kat."Hahaha! Good, good!" Willy laughed. "I've really taken a shine to you now, girl—you're a real feisty one! Take her and bring her to my bed. I'm breaking this wild pony tonight." Seeing that Willy was so despicable that he did not even care to pretend, Frank finally had enough and sprang to his feet even as Soren looked on in confusion."I'll tip ten million dollars," he said evenly, leaving the entire bar gasping."T-Ten million?!""Now that's a tycoon! Ten million… Not even A-list stars get that honor!"Everyone, including Willy, turned toward Frank.Willy was certainly upset and would see the face of the person who would disrespect him… though he also found that voice annoyingly familiar somehow."Eh?" He froze when he saw who it was, his eyes flaring in fury even as he was caught in disb