Ashlyn sat on the sofa, completely lost in thought. "It's really Sylvia..." she muttered to herself. How could there be a woman like her in this world?
The sun had risen and Ashlyn and her daughter had been sitting on the sofa all night without sleep. They were supposed to attend the Graley Piano Competition farewell banquet that afternoon, looking glamorous and beautiful. But now... they were embarrassed enough to hide themselves.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and Franklin had woken up. As Sylvia pulled back the curtains, she saw dark clouds looming outside - it was obvious that it was going to rain soon.
"I didn't expect today would be so gloomy," she said as she watched the grass droop down under the weight of raindrops.
The once vibrant morning was now extremely low-pressure; oppressive silence enveloped everything around them.
Sylvia glanced at her phone absentmindedly only to find more than ten missed calls from Jenna, Mrs. Wright, Logan, Eden... and Ramiro?
She felt confused for a moment before remembering that last night before going to bed she recorded an audio message for Maskelyne Group, just being cooperative but not letting Ashlyn trample over her head with impunity.
But then Twitter exploded with negative comments about Ashlyn's behavior towards Sylvia...
Franklin looked at her helplessly as he handed over Ramiro's musical instrument which he passed down onto Sylvia. "Ramiro has passed it on you."
Sylvia was scrolling through messages when Franklin spoke up again, "He thinks you are his successor."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow skeptically while Franklin pinched her cheek affectionately. "Yes! He tweeted about it last night."
"I don't want it." She groaned feeling overwhelmed by all of these responsibilities thrust upon her shoulders yet again.
Just as she picked up Ramiro's call intending on declining his offer politely, he spoke first, "Miss Andrews," Ramiro sounded tired but sincere. "I apologize for giving you my instrument without your permission but I truly believe that only you deserve such an honor..." He sighed deeply into his phone receiver. "My health is deteriorating day by day... Miss Andrews... you really are..."
And then there was silence on both ends of the line...
Sylvia was in a difficult position. She had intended to refuse, but Ramiro's words made it hard for her to say no.
"Don't talk like that, Mr. Cantrell. Maybe you'll recover," Sylvia whispered, trying to comfort him.
"It's too late. I've had a few rounds of chemo recently and it helped a little bit, but not for long. This is my only wish in life - to have my instrument taken care of. Miss Andrews, please come back and collect my piano after you return home. I'll hold a ceremony and I hope you can attend."
"Okay, okay, the old Cantrell. Sylvia won't let you down," she promised.
After hanging up the phone, Sylvia finally calmed down. Her beautiful face was full of sadness as she thought about how Ramiro had terminal cancer.
"Death is inevitable; nobody can resist it forever. RL 133 isn't a cure-all," Franklin comforted her with gentle pats on her shoulder.
Sylvia nodded in agreement - RL 133 could prolong life but couldn't cure all diseases - especially those that were already advanced like cancer.
She couldn't help feeling emotional about Ramiro though; he'd always been obsessed with music.
The farewell banquet for Graley Piano Competition was held at the top floor hall of the hotel as usual.
Ashlyn followed Mrs. Ritter closely while her face burned painfully red from embarrassment; it felt like someone had slapped her several times without actually touching her.
"Mom... I told you we didn't need to come here! We could just go back home!" Ashlyn complained bitterly.
Mrs. Ritter glared at Ashlyn coldly and snapped back, "What do you know? This is an opportunity to network with big shots! What will happen if we leave now? Sylvia has such great reputation these days! How will we compare?"
"But everyone knows what happened with Wynter... it's so embarrassing! I don't even dare look at anyone!" Ashlyn blushed deeply as she spoke; she simply couldn't calm herself down.
Especially when considering all those evidences on social media including insults and celebrity endorsements, they were all publicly humiliating them both!
It hurt so much... her eyes darted around frantically because she felt everyone around them were secretly laughing or talking behind their backs.
Mrs. Ritter looked out into the hall where glamorous celebrities mingled together before turning away quickly without making eye contact again.
His gaze gradually became firm. "Mom did it all for you. I heard that the Spencer family's young master, Alejandro Spencer, is also coming today."
"Really?" Ashlyn's eyes brightened at the news. "That's great."
"Otherwise, why would I come? As long as you catch Alejandro's eye and marry into the Spencer family, then you'll truly be on top of the world."
There was a commotion at the entrance to the banquet hall.
The mother and daughter both smiled with joy. "Could it be Mr. Alejandro who has arrived?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: After divorce, Ex-wife Revealed Identities
New updates please......
I just started to read this because it said it is "finished". Np I am stuck on the middle of it. What it is all about?...
there is update for quite while....
Please update. I still hope to finish this story. I really like it....
Story says complete but it is incomplete...
please let franklin and sylvia back together. thanks...
Update please. Any chance of more than one update a day? Thankies....
Is there no chance of getting more than 1 chapter a day please?...
I hope his not getting parasite love poison too. And get untangle with other women....
I'm just wondering is this the last chapter? I know that this book is not finished but it does say completed. I love it and don't want it to stop just like that....