Love Shatters Like Lies

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing myself not to make a sound, no matter how much it hurt.Stella knew Charles long before I did. Which meant... he'd never truly let her go.The way Charles and I first met almost felt like something out of a story. It was the day of the piano competition finals, and my rival had locked me in a tiny, pitch-black room.I had claustrophobia, and with the pressure of the performance, I was on the verge of breaking down.Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, the door swung open—and there Charles was, backlit by light like some kind of savior.I ended up winning that day. And after that, I started going after him like crazy. When I found out he was struggling with depression, I made it my mission to make him smile.Charles always felt bad that I'd go out of my way to act goofy or dress silly, but I didn't mind at all.When we were together, he'd feed me all sorts of delicious food.Whenever I asked him why, he'd say, "Seeing you enjoy your

As soon as I turned my phone on after landing, dozens of missed calls and messages flooded the screen.I set my bag down beside my suitcase handle and was just about to block Charles when, out of nowhere, a man in a black face mask snatched my bag and ran away.By the time I realized what had happened, he was already halfway across the terminal. I grabbed my suitcase and sprinted after him.Heart pounding, I caught up and grabbed the guy by the sleeve of his black jacket."Stop! Thief! Give me back my bag!"He turned around, and I froze. That face. It was so familiar."Natalie Quinn? It's been a while."I awkwardly dropped my hand and stammered, "I-It really has…"Why him? Of all people. Seriously, God—stop playing games with me.First, I lost my wallet, and now I'd gone and mistaken Lucas Carter for a thief.I quickly explained everything and then reported the theft to airport security.Lucas refused to leave my side and insisted on staying with me through the whole proce

It didn't take long for Stella to jump on Twitter and defend Charles."Charles isn't a man like that! I'm not naming names, but someone's clearly desperate for fame. Always causing drama, clinging to Charles again and again. Honestly, what's your problem?"But this time, people weren't so quick to buy it. Some sharp-eyed netizens started breaking down the videos and photos, and soon, a wave of support came rushing in—this time, for me."The woman in the video is clearly resisting. Can we stop acting like every guy is innocent?""Exactly! Since when did we start victim-blaming? Stella's clearly siding with Charles. She'd better keep her eyes open before she ends up getting cheated.""I don't think Stella's that clueless. And let's be real—we don't even know who was seducing whom. I work with the woman in the video. "She and Charles have been together for seven, maybe eight years. Everyone's seen it.""Stella's crossed a line this time. She's the one who got involved with someone

Stella was never the type to suffer in silence—especially not when Charles turned against her for my sake.With a flash of fury, she downed her glass of red wine in one gulp and hurled it toward him.She hadn't expected the glass to shatter against the pianist's hand—the pianist the organizers had poured a fortune into inviting for the evening's grand finale.With that one reckless move, Stella humiliated the entire hosting committee.The original composition meant to close the evening now lay untouchable. No one dared step forward to play it.The room was filled with high-profile guests from the global entertainment industry, not to mention the numerous media.If Stella's impulsiveness tainted our country's image on the international stage… I couldn't just stand by.A hush fell over the room when I sat down at the piano. I was barely in my 20s. If I messed up, people would just chalk it up to youthful nerves. With that thought in mind, I scanned the sheet music once and beg