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That was the moment Rafael fell in love with me.
I sat down beside him and spoke softly, “Rafael, it’s time to end this.”
His eyes were filled with longing as he looked at me. “Lily, we can still go back to how things were. I won’t stop you from playing the piano anymore.”
“Come home with me, please. I was wrong. I know I was wrong.”
I shook my head, rejecting him. “Just leave, Rafael. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
The pain he caused me was a scar etched deep in my heart–one that would never fade.
He grabbed my hand, refusing to let go. His remorse seemed genuine, his voice almost pleading. “Lily, if you‘ re staying here, then I’ll stay with you.”
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“I want to make it up to you… and to the child we lost.”
As he spoke, his phone rang.
He declined the call, but the person on the other end was persistent, calling again and again. Rafael clicked his tongue in annoyance before finally answering.
A woman’s sobbing voice came through, and his face darkened.
After ending the call, he hesitated, then turned to me. “Jenna was in a car accident. I… I need to go.”
I let out a cold laugh. “Go. Be with her.”
Guilt flickered in his eyes. “Lily, wait here for me. I’ll come back soon. I promise.”
With that, he hurried away.
After he left, I went to my mentor and submitted my resignation. I told them I wanted to teach music in a foreign country.
My mentor tried to dissuade me. “That
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place is dangerous. You can‘ t risk your life just to avoid Rafael.”
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I looked down at my hand, the knuckles once broken under Rafael’s cruelty, and shook my head. “It’s not about him. I want to bring music to children in need. In their painful childhoods, I hope to offer them at least a moment of warmth. Besides, I know you‘ ve noticed my technique has declined. I don’t want to hold anyone back.”
Hearing this, my mentor realized I was determined and didn’t stop me further.
For three years, I lived a life on edge in that foreign land, but those children brought me joy.
Music became a beacon of hope in their bleak lives, a flower blooming in the cracks of their struggles.
One day, as I walked down the street, someone called out to me.
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“Are you Lily?”
I turned and recognized him—it was one of Rafael‘ s friends.
He stared at me in shock. “Lily, do you know that Rafael has been searching for you like a madman all these years?”
I had cut myself off from any news of Rafael. Occasionally, memories of him would surface, leaving a dull ache in my heart.
His friend continued, bringing up Jenna. “Back then, Rafael found you at the orchestra, but Jenna lied, saying she was pregnant with his child.”
I froze. So that was why he left. I had thought Jenna’s car accident was real.
It turned out he had returned for Jenna and her supposed child. No wonder he had been so invested.
But now, none of it mattered anymore.
His friend went on, “When Rafael found
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out she wasn’t pregnant, and you left the band, he lost it. He used every means to destroy Jenna‘ s life. She’s now drowning in debt, barely surviving.”
“There was even a video of her fighting with a dog over scraps of food.”
He looked at me, expecting some sort of reaction–maybe satisfaction or joy–but I felt nothing.
It was as though all of this was happening in another world, far removed from me.
He tried to persuade me. “I know you hate him, but Rafael isn’t doing well either. Every time he drinks, he calls out your name.”
“He’s bought over a dozen pianos, waiting for you to return. And the baby… Every night, he holds the clothes he bought for your unborn child and falls asleep. He’s been driven to the brink of madness.”
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