Chapter 3

From that day on, everyone looked at me differently.

The colleagues who used to be warm and friendly now avoided me like the plague.

Whenever I appeared, I could feel people staring and whispering from every direction.

The ones who used to flatter me were suddenly the first to turn on me, each one eager to kick me while I was down.

Some called me vain and materialistic.

They said I had cultivated this sweet, innocent golden-girl image when I was actually wilder than anyone behind closed doors.

Others said I wasn’t even that talented and questioned how I had ever become principal cellist.

Maybe, they said, I had gotten that position the same way I tried to get everything else.

Someone even dug up old photos from my previous performances.

In one of them, my mentor had simply given me a bouquet of flowers.

That was enough for people online to start claiming he had been my sugar daddy.

I walked out of the concert hall with a pale face, only to be surrounded by a swarm of entertainment reporters.

Microphones were shoved in front of me as questions came flying one after another.

The orchestra director came over and tried to stop them.

Instead, the reporters immediately swarmed him.

They demanded to know whether he had personally protected me and made sure I became principal cellist.

In the chaos, someone shoved me.

I fell hard to the ground, and a heavy camera slammed onto my hand.

Then the orchestra director’s face suddenly turned bright red.

He clutched his chest and collapsed.

I sat outside the emergency room with my hair in disarray and my eyes red, completely numb.

It wasn’t until a passing nurse noticed my swollen, badly bruised hand that she pulled me aside to have it treated.

But when I entered the exam room, I saw two familiar faces.

Vanessa was sitting off to the side, waving dismissively.

“Oh, come on. It’s just a tiny cut. You don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.”

I froze and looked up.

Xander was standing there as if nothing were wrong.

Vanessa glanced at me with a mocking smile.

“Well, look who it is. The famous cellist herself.

“What’s wrong? Still haven’t found your next rich guy?”

She laughed.

“Then again, I guess it’s hard to find another idiot willing to hand over five million dollars.”

Xander said nothing.

His expression remained indifferent.

He simply picked up Vanessa’s purse and patted her lightly on the head.

“You done? If they’ve bandaged it, let’s go.”

Then he walked right past me without so much as glancing in my direction.

I looked down at my own hand.

Several of my fingernails had been crushed so badly that blood had pooled beneath them.

Xander used to treasure my hands more than anything.

He always said they were a cellist’s hands.

Precious.

Too important to take even the slightest risk with.

He had even held me in his arms and carefully filed my nails for me, one by one.

Now the nurse tending to my injuries looked at me nervously.

“Hand injuries really hurt, don’t they?”

She glanced at my face.

“You’re crying.”

That was when the tears finally fell.

“Yeah.”

My voice broke.

“It really hurts.”

Fortunately, the orchestra director had received treatment in time and was going to be okay.

But all of my performances were suspended.

The sun was shining brightly when I left the hospital.

Yet as I walked down the street, I felt cold all over.

Then the assistant director called me, sounding excited.

“Sienna, come to the Grand Meridian Hotel tonight. Our biggest sponsor wants to meet with you.

“As for getting you back onstage, there’s plenty we can discuss.”

I knew he had been working hard to help me these past few days.

I couldn’t bring myself to reject his kindness.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally agreed.

But the moment I stepped into the private dining room at the hotel, I froze.

Vanessa was seated at the head of the table.

She looked at me with smug satisfaction.

I took a deep breath and turned to leave.

She immediately stopped me.

“Don’t go.”

She gestured around the room.

“There are plenty of rich and powerful men here tonight.

“Which one are you planning to target next?”

Laughter erupted around the table.

One man raised his glass and looked me up and down with undisguised lust.

“Five million is a little steep.

“But for someone like Ms. Hayes…”

He grinned.

“How about five thousand for one night? I’d happily pay that.”

The room burst into laughter again.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I turned and rushed out.

Only to run straight into a familiar chest.

Xander instinctively wiped the tears from my face.

His expression was almost helpless.

“You’re still as reckless as ever.”

I pressed a hand against my chest.

My voice trembled.

“Did you tell them to do this to me?”

He slowly straightened.

Then he looked down at me.

His next words were almost cruel.

“I didn’t do anything.

“Sienna, don’t you understand?

“All I did was stop protecting you.

“You were too sheltered when you were with me.

“So sheltered that you never understood what the world is really like.

“When you’re on top, everyone flatters you.

“The second you fall, they’ll all rush over to kick you while you’re down.”

Just like he always used to, he held out a hand to me.

As though he expected me to throw myself into his arms the way I had before.

“Sienna, stop being stubborn.

“My offer still stands.”

I slowly raised my head and met his eyes.

The truth was, after spending all this time apart, I had already stopped dreaming about him.

And now,

I finally understood why Dad had insisted on that five-million-dollar condition.

I spoke softly, enunciating every word.

“Xander, I’ve figured it out.”

A smile tugged at his lips.

His eyes lit up.

“We’re really over.”