#Chapter 3: Recital

Tessa's POV

His tone is flat, and the words cut through me like knives.

"I…" I begin slowly. "I'm not here for…" Tears spring to the corners of my eyes.

Evander sighs again. "I will keep my promise once I say it, and you should at least wait until today is over. You don't need to- "

Before he can finish the rest of his sentence, a tall, slender woman in a blazer and a pencil skirt stalks towards me.

Her eyes flash with confusion as she spots me and Evander together, and I can see his lip curl as she looks us over.

"Oh-sorry, Sir," the woman says to Evander. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

Judging by the headset covering one ear, the clipboard she's clutching to her chest, and the nametag stating Janice pinned to her lapel, she's clearly one of the event organizers.

"Are you Ms. Tessa, the teacher?" Janice asks hurriedly.

I nod.

She breathes out a sigh of relief. "Excellent. Please, come with me. The children need you."

Evander's eyes flash with sudden clarity as he finally recognizes the truth of the situation, but I'm already following Janice back through the hallways.

Janice leads me to a small room in the back that's packed with young children. Though they're dressed in cheerful clothes certainly befitting this kind of event, their eyes are downcast and dejected.

I furrow my brow. Something's clearly wrong here.

"What's going on, class?" I ask gently, walking into the room.

The children cluster towards me. I can spot red eyes and trembling lips.

It's clear that something is wrong with them emotionally.

"We–we miss the other teacher!" One of them blubbers, on the verge of tears.

"Oh." I frown sympathetically and look the children over carefully. "Well, why don't we go out there together? We can all work to make this the best show possible, and I'll make sure your usual director gets a recording of the show. How does that sound?"

"O-okay," another student mumbles.

They already seem much better than how they were when I first got here, but most of them still look downcast.

"Follow me," I say gently, extending my hands out and leading the children to the stage.

Two of the children grab onto my free hands, and the rest all trail behind me in an orderly line, following closely.

By the time we reach the stage, everyone is ready for the children to perform. I draw in a deep breath before ushering the children onstage. It's a hassle to arrange them all, but eventually they're all standing in place, staring at me blankly.

"Are we ready?" I whisper.

A couple nod, but I get the sense that most aren't.

Great.

This will take a little extra nudging, then.

"On my count," I whisper.

Music starts to swell, filling up the entire banquet hall. When it comes to music and children, I always feel that my hearing problem is gone for a while. I'm able to sense the pacing of the children's singing almost in a...magical way.

Every eye in the room is fixated on me and this group of kids.

"One, two, three…"

I raise my hand in the air and begin to move it smoothly and fluidly, directing the children with a practiced ease. I can't hear it as well as I'd like, but the sound of beautiful singing fills the air.

As the children continue to perform, I can feel a strange warmth emanating from the room and settling over everything.

Nerves seem to calm. Tensions are alleviated. There's a strange stillness to everything–

Something allowing the true beauty of the children's performance to shine through.

Even I'm a little misty-eyed by the end of it.

By the end of the performance, the hearts of everyone in the crowd are warmed. A solemn silence fills the hall once the children are done applauding, and then the room erupts into rapturous applause.

I laugh gleefully as all the children rush towards me and wrap their arms around me.

In the chaos, though, I suddenly turn around and see Evander's gaze fixed on me.

As he looks at me, he seems almost… gentle.

There's a strange glassiness to his stare, too, like he's obsessed with me all of a sudden.

Like he's in a daze.

I've never seen him like that. Not even when we were in bed.

The moment fades quickly, though. Theodore hurries onstage with a microphone and a huge grin on his face, and I know that's my cue to leave. I step aside as Theodore takes center stage and begins to speak.

"Thank you so much to the children's choir for that beautiful performance!" He beams. "And a special thank you to Miss Tessa for filling in as our emergency conductor."

I blush as another wave of applause sweeps through the hall.

"And now we'd like to call up one of our largest donors present, the honourable Evander Redding!"

As Evander walks onstage, all the spotlights swivel toward him. His strong, confident presence seems to pull everyone in–his broad shoulders, his elegant suit, his chiseled features…

We brush against each other ever so slightly as I usher the kids to the side of the stage, and even after years of marriage, my heart still flutters.

"It's my great honour to donate to this cause," Evander begins. "Giving to the community has always been exceptionally important to me, and I look forward to seeing how my contributions to the local hospital will further medical research and improve overall quality of life for those in need. It's an honour to give–one I don't take lightly."

Evander pauses his speech to glance down at the children still gathered on the stage. I've made my way to the sidelines by now, but some kids are still there behind me, and Evander looks at them with great fondness in his eyes.

He smiles down at them, pausing briefly to play with one and then high-fiving another. My heart warms to see the way he treats the children as they pass him with a smile.

"Mr. Redding, how did you enjoy the performance from the children? And do you have any future plans for children of your own?" A reporter asks from the audience.

Before I can even register the question that's just been asked, Evander's gaze slips towards me, and my heart begins to race.

I begin to feel a rush of nervousness.

Surely he's not going to…

"The children's performance was lovely," he begins. "And I'll announce something more in-depth at the right time in the future. For now, I have no formal plans I wish to disclose."

He's picky with his words, choosing what to say so no one will criticize him. For the public image, always.

Which is why I'm something to be hidden.

I suddenly feel someone tap my shoulder.

It's Carol, Evander's Beta.

I blink in confusion upon seeing her. Does Evander need to talk about something later?

"I'm just here to pass on a message from Evander," she says. "He's sorry about the misunderstanding earlier."

"Oh, It's..fine," I say slowly with a smile. "Please don't..."

"But I have a personal advice," Carol cut me off, "Please avoid appearing in public with Alpha Evander like this in the future."