Chapter 14


    Zoe was good-looking and she yed the violin very well. The person in charge paid her three


    hundred dors for each show. He would ask her to y for three or four shows every day if


    business was good. That resulted in her ying violin for six hours a day. Calluses and blisters


    formed on her fingers from it.


    It was a hard life and she was upied all the time, but she had never regretted her actions. She


    never gave a call to Mason, nor did he call her. From time to time, she would read news about him


    attending banquets and acquiring otherpanies.


    He looked stunning and arrogant in these events. She used to apany him to such events in the


    past, her heart leaping from ncing at his dashing looks. Be that as it may, all she felt now was


    distant and strange.


    …


    It was evening. Zoe sat quietly on the top floor of the hospital. A can of iced Coke stood next to her.


    She rarely used to drink sodas because it was not exactly healthy, but she would drink one from


    time to time now.


    Cecil, tall and d in a white coat, came over and stood by Zoe’s side, watching the sunset with her.


    Zoe turned around as thest trace of light vanished from the sky and saw Cecil. She rose


    immediately and said hurriedly, “Greetings, Dr. Cecil.”


    He looked at her, his eyes full of nostalgia and warmth. Zoe was a little unsettled. Then, Cecil cast


    his nce at the far side of the sky and said softly, “You called me by my name when we were


    young, Zoe. You loved sleeping in the tent in the summer. My mom always gave you shaved ice.


    She misses you.”


    Zoe was startled for a long time before she finally recalled and muttered, “Cecil…”


    She felt a twinge of sadness as her mind was cast back to the time when she was just a child who


    was pampered and loved by her family, without a care in the world.


    Now that they had met each other again, everything had changed drastically. Cecil tilted his head


    and looked at her quietly. Then, he took out a bank card from his pocket, “There''s two million dors


    on this. The password is the date of your birthday. That should be enough to cover your father’s


    medical fee.”


    Zoe refused to take it. “I can make my own money. I mean it.”


    He looked at her hand which was all bandaged up. It was no longer tender like it used to be. His


    throat tightened a little, “There’s no reason you have to make it hard for yourself, Zoe.” Then, he


    treated her wounds with some salves.


    Zoe curled her fingers slightly and said softly, “I used to live under other people’s protection and lost


    myself somewhere along the way. It’s true. I have nothing now, but I’m only twenty-four years old. I


    want to start my life anew.”


    She raised her head and looked at Cecil, who was looking at her warmly.


    …


    Zoe stayed at the hospital for two hours. It was seven o’clock now. She needed to perform for a


    bar’s opening. It was already past midnight by the time she was done. Carrying the violin on her


    back, Zoe walked on an empty street. A cold breeze blew past. She had to hold herself tightly so


    she would not tremble.


    The neon lights dimmed in the dead of night. One of the skyscrapers had a big screen that


    disyed tabloids.


    “Business Tycoon, Mason Lockwood, Flew All the Way from Brookesville to Hucksburgh to


    Celebrate Summer Solstice with Lilith”


    The screen showed footage of Ava standing behind Lilith in the elevator as the reporters trapped


    them in the elevator. Mason looked annoyed. He must have been irritated that the reporters got


    pictures of them together, Zoe thought.


    Then, it showed an interview about Lilith. She was smiling sweetly in front of the camera. “I had a


    wonderful Summer Solstice. My next wish is that my legs could be cured. Also, I hope I can learn


    from the violin virtuoso, Aiden, one day. Mason? He was the most important man in my life.”


    There was a sh of guilt in her eyes as she said it. She impersonated Zoe and made him think she


    was the one who yed violin for him every day four years ago. She was afraid he would find out


    about it, but she convinced herself otherwise.


    She was the one who held onto a violin and sat in the ward when he came around. There was no


    way he would know the truth.


    …


    Zoe stood quietly on the street in Brookesville in the dead of night. Her head raised slightly, she


    trained her gaze at the screen. Mason was protecting Lilith.


    She was cold all over by the time she snapped out of her trance and muttered, “It’s already Summer


    Solstice.” Then, she turned around and left with the violin on her back, the street lights casting a


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