Chapter 2

Julian’s fingers traced my broken joints one by one. The slight friction sent waves of fiery, prickling pain racing up my arm.

"Tia was never meant to show off on an international stage anyway. I’ll let Chloe perform instead. Chloe has loved piano since she was a child. Performing with a master will fulfill her lifelong dream."

"Tia stole Chloe’s rightful place as the Vance heiress for twenty years. This concert is what she owes Chloe."

The doctor had no words. Following Julian’s orders, he injected another sedative into my IV line.

【Wait, but the international tour was Tia’s dream too, wasn’t it?】

【She only got that tour because of her family's wealth. If Chloe had grown up with formal training, she’d play circles around Tia.】

【Tia has Julian's unconditional love; that's already the greatest gift on earth. Why is she still trying to steal Chloe's spotlight?】

【Tia was never cut out to be a concert pianist anyway. Julian is doing what’s best for her.】

【Her music only needs one listener: Julian.】

Never cut out to be a concert pianist.

A single, dismissive sentence swept away ten years of blood, sweat, and tears.

I was never a born prodigy, but I poured every ounce of my soul into that instrument. Every scrap of free time in my youth had been spent before black and white keys.

There were days I loved the piano with all my heart, and days I loathed it just as intensely.

Yet I had clawed my way forward, step by arduous step, right to the brink of realizing my dream.

And now, they dared to say my music only needed one listener?

Who gave them the right?

My music belonged on the grandest stages! It deserved to be heard by the entire world!

I refused to be some broken nightingale locked in a cage, singing solely for a man’s amusement.

"Tia? Why are you crying?"

The heavy sedative made it hard to tell whether Julian’s voice was a nightmare or reality.

"Get the doctor in here, now!"

Opening my eyes felt like pulling apart iron gates.

"It might be muscle spasms caused by nerve trauma," a doctor stammered. "Patients in her condition need emotional support. Don't let her spiral."

White coats bustled in and out before leaving Julian and me alone once more.

He gently wiped away my tears, murmuring softly, "Tia, don't scare me like that. You have to stay strong. You’re my entire world."

This wasn't the first time Julian had said something like that.

When Chloe had first been brought home, I had playfully pressed him for an answer:

"Do you prefer having Chloe as your sister, or do you prefer me?"

"You, of course. She’s only a sister by blood."

"You, Tia... you are special. You are my everything."

My everything.

Did "everything" mean I belonged to him completely, to be broken and molded at his whim?

For the first time in my life, the word "love" filled me with sheer terror.

That horrific abduction—I had truly believed it was a random nightmare.

I never could have imagined it was carefully engineered by the person I trusted most.

Julian's hand slid from my cheek down to my jaw, his fingers lingering near the collar of my gown. The moment I felt his touch dipping lower, I furrowed my brow and let out a faint, groggy murmur:

"Julian..."

"I'm here."

Instantly, his face smoothed into an expression of tender devotion.

【Look at him acting like a perfect gentleman on the outside while he’s practically bursting at the seams.】

【He’s been craving her for three whole years. He's finally getting a taste.】

【Come on, Julian, don’t hold back now!】

I looked down toward Julian’s rigid posture and asked softly, "What day is it?"

"July fifteenth. Why?"

I had been unconscious for three days straight.

July fifteenth. Today was the day of my international debut.