Everyone had their eyes glued to Selena, thinking she wouldn''t dare step up.


    In the high society scene, Selena was a nobody. If it wasn''t for Raymond, no one would even know her name.


    Right then, everyone was ready for some drama, throwing mocking nces her way.


    Austin was getting jittery on the side, but then he caught a glimpse of Selena heading towards the stage.


    Everyone''s jaws dropped. Was Selena nuts? If she went up now, she''d totally embarrass herself.


    Selena wasn''t dressed to impress tonight. She was here for business, so her simple outfit was a stark contrast to Aria''s mmed-up look.


    These high society shindigs happened a few times a month. Selena wouldn''t have shown up if it wasn''t for business.


    Once Selena got on stage, she gave a slow nod to the crowd, then looked at Aria with confidence.


    Aria''s face turned sour. ''Selena actually has the guts toe up. Fine, tonight she''ll be theughingstock of the whole circle!''


    "Selena, I''ve decided to y Kiss the Rain. You can y The Devil''s Tremolo," Aria said with a bright smile, lifting her skirt and taking a seat at the piano.


    The stage lights were all about Aria, making her look even more stunning.


    But where Selena stood was in the shadows, clearly showing no one cared about her spot.


    Selena picked up the violin next to her and asked, "Ms. White, are you sure you want me to y this? It doesn''t really match what you chose."


    Aria''s eyes were full of sarcasm. It seemed Selena didn''t know that The Devil''s Tremolo was known as the hardest violin piece, with crazy difficult sections, especially the three modted tremolos. Aria''s suggestion was a setup to make Selena look bad, and she was sure Selena couldn''t pull it off.


    Soon, Aria would be ying beautifully, while Selena would be making a fool of herself. Perfect.


    Aria replied with a slight smile, "I''m very sure, Ms. Fair. If you can''t y it, then step down and don''t waste everyone''s time."


    Selena picked up the violin. From her movements, it didn''t look like she was clueless. She closed her eyes slightly, looking totally rxed.


    The stage lights were all on Aria, making her the star.


    Aria nced at Selena and saw she was ready, sneering. ''What a poser!''


    The piece Aria was ying was super soothing. They said the musician wrote it on a starry night after a sudden rain, and the whole piece was calm and refreshing.


    But the piece she picked for Selena, The Devil''s Tremolo, wasn''t just tough-it had these crazy fast modtions.


    The crowd saw both of them ready, and someone couldn''t help but snicker.


    "If I were Selena, I''d bail now. She probably has no clue how hard that piece is."


    "How embarrassing, she''s acting all confident, but she''s gonna crash and burn soon."


    "Tonight, it''s not just her who''s gonna be embarrassed. Steve''s gonna be mortified too. They only invited her because of him."


    "Step down, girl! She really doesn''t know her ce!"


    Amid the crowd''s chatter, Aria''s performance kicked off.


    As soon as the piano started, the violin followed.


    The first part of The Devil''s Tremolo was a slow melody, which actually went well with Aria''s piece.


    Aria didn''t expect Selena to actually y, and her lips tightened. She sped up on purpose, thinking Selena couldn''t keep up.


    The crowd was surprised, thinking Selena would mess up with the violin.


    Just when everyone thought Selena would choke, a few powerful notes suddenly sted out, totally overshadowing Aria''s piano. Few people there could y The Devil''s Tremolo all the way through. Everyone knew it was tough, let alone ying it solo.


    When Aria realized her piano was getting drowned out, she panicked and tried to catch up.


    But the violin had this fierce determination thatpletely wiped out Aria''s love song on the piano.


    Aria''s face went pale. She was so nervous she hit several wrong notes, while Selena had her eyes closed, totally in the zone.


    The violin soared higher and higher, like a celebration.


    The lights above shifted, no longer favoring Aria, now all shining on Selena.


    Selena kept her eyes closed, looking super calm, while the audience below was dead silent, staring at her in awe.


    The final exaggerated tremolo and eerie melody were packed with performance techniques, making everyone feel a sense of tragic grandeur. Selena yed that section with a sense of desperate wailing, shaking everyone''s hearts. Solemn and grand! Magnificent! The music stopped, and Selena put down the violin, bowing to the audience.


    It wasn''t until Selena stepped off the stage that the crowd snapped out of it.


    As the lights in the hall came on, everyone seemed to wake up from a dream, and some even wiped away their tears.


    Aria, sitting at the piano, couldn''t say a word, trembling all over, not daring to touch the piano keys again.