Walter faced the crowd and announced confidently, "Well then, I won't hold back. Since we're celebrating our birthday star today, let's raise the stakes. If you lose, how about you choose one of your gifts from tonight to give to Ms. Kast?"The challenge sent a collective gasp through the room.The night's haul for Evangeline was nothing less than five million in value.As for Minnie—just who was she? If she won, it would be like hitting a jackpot."Deal."Evangeline did not even pause to think. In any game, there was a chance to win or lose, and she was ready for either.She was not the least bit concerned.No sooner had Walter finished speaking than she had picked out the gift she would part with if she lost.In full view of the crowd, Evangeline lifted her right wrist, showing off the Glacial Crown Jade bracelet Walter had just gifted her."If I lose the bet, I've got my gift ready. It's the bracelet Mr. Walter gave me."She was no longer tied to the Gordons, and wearing t
Minnie's hands worked magic, coaxing from the violin a melody that was both haunting and exquisite.Evangeline, waiting in the wings and not showing a trace of nerves, beamed as she watched Minnie play, completely captivated by the performance.Yale, who had been keeping an eye on the front of the house from backstage, was struck by the scene before him.He sidled up to Evangeline, gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder to catch her attention, and whispered, "Evie, aren't you up against Minnie? How come you don't look the least bit worried?"The Glacial Crown Jade bracelet was worth a fortune. It was even more valuable than the ring Cole gave.Was Evangeline really not bothered about staking such a treasure?Evangeline just gave a carefree chuckle in response. "Why should I be freaking out? It's just a bracelet, isn't it? If I lose, I lose. It's not like it's mine or anything."Yale was at a total loss for words right then. It hit him that Evangeline had not even thought about wi
The moment Evangeline's words hit the air, the birthday party crowd erupted into excited cheers. The violin was a beast of an instrument, demanding mad skills to play solo and make it sing. That was why every single one of its four strings was super important.Despite that, Evangeline boldly declared she would play a violin with a busted string! The crowd buzzed with chatter, wondering what would happen next."Can Ms. Evangeline really play even with a broken string? How else could she be so sure of herself?"One person snorted in disbelief, "Even the violinists who are famous around the world wouldn't dare to make such a bold claim in front of an audience. Is she really as good as those legends? I bet she's just showing off to us, who wouldn't know any better. She's bound to lose this match with Minnie!"Yet, someone else was not convinced."I still can't believe it. The only well-known violinist in Avalon City is her sister, Julia. Maybe Ms. Evangeline picked up a few tricks fro
Truth be told, Evangeline never cared for such theatrics. She believed in the strength of the self-reliant, and she did not need everyone's eyes on her or their empty praise. Nonetheless, Minnie had crossed a line, and Evangeline was not one to back down. She might not seek attention, but that did not mean she could not command it.However, there was something Evangeline did not realize: Walter was completely engrossed in Evangeline's performance from start to finish.He did not know anything about violins, but Evangeline's playing was so incredible that even he, a total newcomer to the music scene, was blown away by her amazing talent and the gorgeous sounds she coaxed from her instrument.'Evangeline, oh Evangeline, what other secrets do you have up your sleeve that I haven't discovered yet? I'm getting more curious about you by the minute,' thought Walter.The Foster family brothers, among the crowd watching Evangeline's show, could not stop raving about her. They were totally w
"Ms. Kast is one of my students. She's still pretty young and just got back from overseas, so she's not quite up to speed with how we do things here. Let's cut her some slack, okay?" Alex tried to smooth things over for Minnie.The crowd was not having any of it."So she doesn't know the rules? That's her excuse for getting all up in Ms. Evangeline's face? No way, she's got to pay up—she has to take off that dress today!"They were adamant, and Alex, with a worried look creasing his brow, still tried to keep his cool as he responded, "Look, Ms. Kast did lose the competition, but making a girl strip down in front of all of us? Isn't that going a bit too far? Who's going to deal with the fallout on her rep?"Alex had a point, and the room went quiet."I get it, you guys aren't trying to be harsh on her just for the sake of it. You're just ticked off because she dissed Ms. Evangeline. So here's what I propose: I'll step in as the peacekeeper."Evie, Minnie didn't get the rules and s
Evangeline could not help but smirk at the woman standing before her.Minnie was quick on her feet.Just when she was about to score some major points for her reputation, this woman swooped in with an act of feigned innocence and then cozied up to her, all in a bid to score some popularity points.Normally, Evangeline would have just nodded along, doing the easy favor without a second thought. However, since Minnie had tried to push her limits, Evangeline was far from willing.A smile hung on Evangeline's face, but she remained silent, her demeanor frosty.The room plunged into an awkward silence, and Minnie, desperate to break it, started rambling into the microphone about nothing in particular.Alex, trying to lighten the mood, cracked a joke and finally shattered the tension. "Minnie, you're reaching too far. How could you be friends with Evie? Evie should be your mentor."Minnie quickly latched onto his words. "Yes, yes, you're right. I was thinking too simply."Her words w
Evangeline's brow furrowed on the other end of the line."You've barely unpacked from your trip abroad. Why the rush to work?"She figured Alex would chill for a bit, maybe catch up with Trey before diving into the job scene. It seemed he was already on the move.Alex let out a sigh, pretending to be trapped by circumstance. "What can I do? The job landed in my lap, and the higher-ups said, 'Get over here now.' So, I went."Evangeline could not help but smirk.For any regular person coming back from overseas, hustling for a quick buck made sense, but this was Alex.The same Alex who once made a fortune for the Gordons! Money troubles? As if."Spill it, Alex. Since when do you need cash? What's the real deal?"Their friendship went way back, even without bringing Walter into the mix. They could shoot straight with each other.Alex hesitated, his voice tinged with the awkwardness of a nerve hit. Then, like he was done fighting it, he admitted in a calm voice, "Just bored.""Wha
As Evangeline rolled down her window, she was met with a surprisingly gentle face, so different from the stern, unyielding security guard who used to give her a hard time about leaving campus."I heard you were coming today. Go on in."The electronic gates swung open, and she drove onto the campus grounds.Her timing could have been better; Alex was tied up in a meeting.Once she knew where to find him, and keeping in mind his trouble with walking, Evangeline made her way to him.In the conference room on the thirteenth floor of the main teaching building, all the teachers of Avalon University were gathered, led by Vice Chancellor Tarry Dentwil, to kick off the day's meeting.Evangeline had barely reached the conference room door on the rarely visited thirteenth floor when she noticed the door was carelessly left cracked open. The voices from the meeting inside were crystal clear."Okay, so the main point of today's meeting is to lock in our choice for the Department of Music's