Maybe it''s true: a womanpletely absorbed in her work is always the most beautiful.


    Haynes'' gaze, dark and intense, never left Ste. There was something prating about the way he looked at her-impossible to ignore. Yet Ste barely spared him a nce.


    As the conversation wore on, Rachel started to feel thirsty.


    "Jasper, could you grab us a few bottles of water?" she asked.


    Jasper, who had been yawning out of boredom-music discussions were never his thing was already looking for any excuse to make his escape. Rachel''s request felt like a godsend.


    "Sure, I''ll go get the water. You all wait here," he replied, then shot a look at Haynes. "Haynie, they''re talking business. Let''s not get in the way-why don''t youe with me?"


    Haynes nodded quietly and followed Jasper out, leaving the women alone.


    By the time they''d finished going over the details of the piece, more than ten minutes had passed.


    Ste closed her music score. "Ms. Pearce, if there''s nothing else, I''ll head to rehearsal now."


    By then, night had fallenpletely.


    The wind off theke carried a chill, lifting strands of Ste''s hair and sending them dancing around her face. The water, which had looked so gentle in the daylight, was now a ck, gaping abyss.


    That was when Rachel''s gentle, innocent-sounding voice drifted over.


    "Ste, you saw it earlier, didn''t you?"


    She smiled, just a hint of smugness beneath the sweetness. "No matter what happens, Haynie will always be on my side. Anyone who dares hurt me—he''ll never let them off the hook."


    Ste''s expression stayed neutral. "I''ve known for a long time how much Haynes cares about you, Ms. Pearce. There''s no need to keep boasting."


    Rachel''s tone grew softer, almost syrupy. "When the ident happened, Haynie chose to believe me. Even after he learned the truth, he didn''t me me-he didn''t even hold me ountable."


    She leaned in, voice almost a whisper. "Ste, you''re just like thatst pianist. If I want you gone, Haynie will toss you aside in a heartbeat."


    "And by the way, I''ve already moved into your


    W studio. See? Anything I


    want, Haynie will do whatever it takes to get it for me."


    She paused, a victorious smile curling her lips.


    "Even your special guest artist."


    Ste looked straight into Rachel''s eyes and, almost unexpectedly,ughed.


    "Ms. Pearce, you really overestimate


    your own importance. Haynes does


    care about you, but if you think


    about


    it, he doesn''t love you all that


    "If he did, then back when I got pregnant, it wouldn''t have


    mattered he could''ve just told me to get rid of the baby. But he didn''t. Instead, he married me. And he


    never stayed faithful to you for your


    sake." V


    Rachel''s pupils shrank, her voice turning icy in spite of herself.


    "Ste, I''ll admit it-I''m not as important to Haynie as his career."


    Her words flowed soft and eerie, almost chilling.


    "But as long as I''m more important than you, that''s enough."


    She seized Ste''s wrist, her smile twisting strangely, eyes full of challenge and arrogance.


    "Do you believe me? Whatever I do, Haynie will never me me."


    She leaned closer, her words slow and deliberate: "Even if I want you-dead?"


    Before Ste could react, Rachel shoved her hard.


    With a ssh, Ste hit the freezingke.


    Instantly, she heard Rachel''s voice, shrill with feigned shock.


    "Ms. Cameron! How did you fall in?!"


    Haynes, who had just returned with Jasper, caught the sound of Rachel''s panic.


    His expression darkened immediately.