Isolde's POV

“So, what? You really want me to call off our engagement?” he threatened.

That was his biggest one, as he knew it could still hurt me.

Well, I used to care. I used to feel unwilling to give up, to lose to someone like her. After all, I was the one who came first.

Even if Alicia had met him before me, she never really loved him. If she did, why did she marry that old man? And why did she come running back to him the moment she realized she wasn’t in the old man’s will?

I laughed bitterly.

“Well then,” I said, looking straight into his eyes, “isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”

His brows furrowed. Without answering, he turned around and picked something up from the desk—two plane tickets for a world trip.

One was his, and the other was...

My heart skipped.

It had my name on it.

I froze. I once told him that I wanted to travel the world before getting married. Could he actually be… fulfilling that wish?

But before I could even breathe out a word, he tore both tickets in half.

Shreds of paper fluttered down over my head and shoulders like cruel confetti.

Then he picked up his phone.

“Book new tickets,” he said coldly. “For me and Alicia.”

He then hung up and gave me one last dismissive glance before brushing past me toward the door.

I stood there in silence. Knowing him, he probably only bought those first tickets to put on a show for his father, to pretend we were a happy couple. Someone like Nicholas would never go out of his way to be kind to me.

My fingers touched the necklace around my neck. It was the only thing my mother left me, the Graves heirloom, passed down through generations.

There was no way I’d give it to anyone.

I unclasped it carefully, placed it inside a velvet box, and packed it into my suitcase.

I was supposed to leave tonight. But before I could go, an email arrived.

It was a digital invitation to a memorial concert marking the fifth anniversary of my mother’s death.

They wanted me, her only child, to perform one of her classic pieces.

I hesitated for a moment, then called Spencer Wilde.

“Would it be okay if I arrived two days late?”

There was a brief silence on the other end before he asked, “Are you having second thoughts?”

“How could I?” I said with a small smile. “There’s just something important I have to do first.”

“Alright,” he replied softly. “I trust you. And I’ll wait.”

Warmth bloomed quietly in my chest.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

The concert was in two days.

During that time, I didn’t send Nicholas a single message and, as expected, he didn’t contact me either.

But it favored me as I got to focus on practicing my mother’s music, determined to play it perfectly in her honor.

I knew every note by heart, but still, I wanted it to sound flawless.

On the morning of the performance, I woke up early, washed up, and got ready.

But when I opened the red velvet box, my heart dropped.

The necklace was gone.

I froze as a terrible feeling crept into my chest.

I called Nicholas.

The moment the call connected, I heard faint music in the background, a live orchestra.

“You’re at the concert?” My voice trembled. “Did you take my necklace?”

His voice came through, calm and detached. “Alicia’s never been part of a concert before. She’s always dreamed of performing, but her family could never afford to support her. While you, you come from a musical family, these events are nothing new for you. Besides, her birthday’s coming up, so think of the necklace as your gift to her.”

“Nicholas!” I screamed, fury shaking my whole body.

But all I got in response was the flat beep of a disconnected call.

I dialed again and again, but no one answered.

Without thinking, I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door.

By the time I arrived at the concert hall and stepped out of the car, the sound of the music inside made every muscle in my body tense.

Isolde's POV

No, this couldn’t be happening. That song shouldn’t be played here. Not today.

Onstage, under the warm glow of the lights, a familiar figure sat gracefully at the grand piano. She wore a delicate mask, but I’d recognize her anywhere.

Around her neck gleamed my mother’s necklace.

The audience waited in hushed anticipation as Alicia lifted her slender fingers and pressed the first key.

“No!” I shouted.

But the concert hall was too large, so my voice was swallowed up by the sound.

By the time I reached the VIP section, chaos had already broken out.

“What are you playing? Don’t you know the composer of that song insulted Agnes Graves?” someone shouted.

“Ms. Graves was a revolutionary musician! How dare you play the enemy’s music at her memorial?” another yelled.

“This concert is to honor Agnes Graves! And her own daughter doesn’t play her mother’s work, but the music of her enemy? What are you doing?”

Voices rose from every corner. People stood up from their seats, furious.

If the security guards hadn’t stepped in, they would’ve stormed the stage.

Alicia froze, trembling. Even from here, I could imagine the panic hidden beneath her mask.

From the front row, Nicholas stood and murmured something to his bodyguards.

Within seconds, his men blocked the angry crowd, holding them back five meters from the stage.

He then rushed to escort Alicia offstage.

I shoved past the curtains and followed them backstage.

“Alicia!” I shouted, lunging toward her.

Before I could reach her, someone grabbed my wrist hard.

“Let go of me!” I yelled, struggling.

Nicholas’s voice came from above, cold and sharp. “Have you lost your mind? Enough already!”

He pulled me back, shielding Alicia behind him. “She doesn’t even hold a grudge against you for taking her place, and yet you target her every chance you get! She doesn’t want your money or fancy gifts, just a simple apology and a necklace you don’t even need. This concert means everything to her, but to you it’s nothing. Can’t you have a little heart?”

Before I could think, my hand moved, and the sound of the slap echoed in the room.

“Nicholas!” Alicia gasped, rushing to him. “Nicholas!”

Nicholas looked at me in disbelief, his cheek reddening. “You… hit me?”

I was shaking, my voice coming out uneven but firm. “First of all, this concert was meant to honor my mother. My mother. Second, that necklace is my family's heirloom, passed down for generations. Since I’m the only family member left. I’m the only one who has the right to wear it!”

For a moment, Nicholas seemed stunned. Then Alicia burst into tears.

“Stop lying!” she cried. “Why didn’t you ever honor your mother before? Why wait until now, when it’s my birthday and I planned a concert, to suddenly care about her?”

Her voice cracked as she sobbed harder. “You just don’t want me to have my moment. You could’ve just said that, instead of hitting Nicholas!”

I opened my mouth, furious, but before I could speak, the host’s voice came from outside—tense and apologetic. “Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. There’s been a misunderstanding. That woman on stage earlier was not Agnes Graves’s daughter. It was a mistake by our staff.”

“Impossible!” someone in the audience shouted, their voice booming through the speakers.

“She’s wearing the Graves heirloom! I’d recognize that necklace anywhere!”

“That’s right! No one outside the Graves could have that necklace!”

“Unless you bring out that fake right now, we won’t believe you! Do you dare?”

The host stammered helplessly. “W-We’re trying to sort this out, please stay calm—”

“Nicholas!” Alicia whimpered, burying herself in Nicholas’s arms. “Nicholas, I’m scared.”

I glared at him, my voice low but shaking with anger. “Nicholas. Let her go out there and face them.”

“Nicholas.” Alicia clung to him even tighter, tears streaming down her face.

“Nicholas!” I shouted again, my voice echoing through the backstage corridor.

Isolde's POV

I gritted my teeth. “This is her fault to begin with!”

Nicholas paused. Then, he suddenly reached up and unclasped Alicia’s necklace.

“Isolde, change clothes with her,” he said.

For a second, I thought I’d misheard. “You want me to admit I played that kind of piece?”

He gave a curt nod.

My mother was a revolutionary musician. I would never play that music. If Alicia messed up, that’s her mistake. What does it have to do with me?” I snapped.

“She just made a momentary oversight, that’s all!” Nicholas raised his voice and pulled her closer. “She didn’t train in a conservatory. She doesn’t know as much about music as you do, so don’t be so hard on her. I promise, just this once. After it’s over, I’ll marry you.”

“I don't want to!” I stepped forward and lunged for the necklace.

But he was taller and faster. He dodged me easily and pushed the pendant out the nearby window.

“No!” I reached, but he had one hand outside the window and the other holding me steady.

“Do you want her to shoulder the rumors?” he asked.

My eyes burned. “So I can just take them?”

For the first time, a flicker of pity showed in his face. “I’m sorry. I will marry you, and no one will dare bully my wife.”

I clutched at his jacket, desperate.

Then he changed tone as he added, “But if you still refuse, then I’ll destroy the necklace.”

“Wait!” I cried. The pendant dangled from his fingers, drifting in the wind. My hand trembled as I said, “I’ll go out—”

Before I could finish, the backstage curtain ripped open, and I was shoved into the light wearing Alicia’s gown. Before I could react, a microphone was smacked against my forehead with a thud, followed by angry shouts from the hall.

“Traitor! How could you disgrace your mother like this?”

“If your mother could hear that music now, she’d never rest!”

Tears blurred my vision. I clamped my jaw. “I’m sorry—” I began.

“What good is ‘sorry’? If you were truly ashamed, you’d go die!” someone screamed.

“Yeah, go die!” others echoed.

I trembled. Teeth clenched, I bent forward. “I’m sorry,” I said again.

They threw garbage, wilted program sheets, an old shoe, even a phone, and everything hit me. Blood soon slicked my forehead where something struck.

Then, at the edge of the crowd, I saw him. Nicholas stood back there, watching. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw concern in his eyes. Maybe I’d actually been knocked out.

Shortly after that, he turned and walked away.

When I stumbled back backstage, the necklace lay intact in the red velvet box, cleaned, shining like new.

“Here,” Alicia said, and unwillingly pushed the box toward me.

My hand shook as I reached for it. But before my fingers could touch, another hand snatched it away. Alicia’s cold smile flashed like a blade.

Then, with a sharp crack, the necklace hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

“You think I’d actually give this to you?” she sneered. “Dream on.”

Before he could catch on, a bloody handprint had already flashed across her face as I slapped her, causing her to collapse to the floor.

“Bitch!” I yelled and raised my hand again. But someone wrenches my wrist so hard I cried out. Then it was followed by a stinging slap, sending my cheek burning, and I hit the floor.

Nicholas never struck a woman, not even when he openly disliked me before. The worst he’d do was mock me. Even when I’d slapped him once, he hadn’t hit back.