Ste was ying her signature piece, an originalposition called Moonlight.
The music floated through the hall, graceful and ethereal, like a sky shimmering with scattered starlight beneath the cover of night.
A luminous full moon seemed to rise slowly over the rippling surface of ake, casting a silvery veil across the water.
Gradually, the room settled into a hush.
This violin solo was tranquil and soothing, tinged with a faint mncholy, but never descending into sorrow or despair.
It didn''t weigh heavy on the heart; instead, it gently pulled the listener into a tide of memories, awakening echoes of the past.
There was something in the melody that resonated inexplicably.
Skyler sat in the audience, eyes fixed on Ste as she yed, his thoughts drifting far away.
In that moment, Ste''s figure ovepped with a shadow from his memories-her mother''s.
He remembered vividly the first time he''d fallen for Ste''s mother; it was when he saw her on stage, ying the violin just like this.
So earnest, so focused, so dazzling.
Even the darkness of night couldn''t dim her brilliance.
He had never told the Williams brothers or Ste herself, but their mother was truly remarkable.
She was gifted, her talent for music nearly unmatched. She had achieved extraordinary things at an age when most people hadn''t even begun to dream.
During the years when he''d lost his memory, she gave up her own career to take over the Williams Group.
Single-handedly, she had steered thepany through stormy waters.
For a woman to hold her ground among the wolves that circled the Williams Group-it was no small feat.
She managed the business, searched tirelessly for him, and cared for their three children all at once.
When he finally returned, she handed the reins back to him-without hesitation, even though his memory hadn''t fully returned.
Later, when he regained his memory, he became ensnared in aplicated rtionship with Aurora''s mother.
Deep down, he always believed that after all they''d been through-after he had nearly died for her, after they''d had three children together, after she''d secured a twenty percent share in the Williams Group-she would never really leave him.
But she did. She left without looking back, taking nothing with her.
All these years since she walked away, resentment festered inside him.
He resented her coldness, her willingness to abandon her husband and children.
That was why he had never tried to find her.
He couldn''t believe she would truly leave behind their three kids.
But she had. She left, and didn''t even grant him a final farewell, not even a single word.
When he was younger, there was always someone else he held in his heart-a distant, untouchable ideal.
But now, listening to Moonlight, the first face he saw in his mind was Nora''s- Ste''s mother.
Ste looked so much like her mother, Nora.
Yet, until now, he had never seen the resemnce.
Ste always seemed gentle and
bet
nothing like Nora''s fierce
detention, her unwaveringe`
ability
to love and to hate.
MS
To Nora, neither money nor power meant anything; she could toss it all aside
without a second thought.
If she decided to leave, nothing could ever make her stay.
He hated her for that. And yet, he loved her for it too.
Aurora''s
wonderful woman as well. If not
the
s her family
on
her, she could have had a far better life.
years,
They had been married for three t his own negligence led her untimely death-a regret that weighed heavily on his conscience.
He often thought back to the happy moments they''d shared.
But even so, the person he loved most had always been Nora.
So after Nora left, he never tried to rece her. Not once.
Back then, when Nora sent Ste back to the Williams family, he thought it was
just a tactical retreat.
Ste was his own daughter; it was only right that he cared for her.