Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Lizette gave Yolanda a knowing wink.

You must’ve thought the same thing, huh?”

Yolanda cracked a smile, grabbed Lizetta’s hand, and bubbled with excitement.

“C’mon, what’re we waiting for? She’s practically asking for a facepalm moment. We’re both drop–dead gorgeous with hearts of gold – gotta help a girl out! You go freshen up, and I’ll pick out something fab for you to wear.”

Half an hour later.

At the Hawthorne family villa, Evelina was clenching her phone so hard that the veins on the back of her hand were popping out in pure fury.

April tried to calm her down, “Eve, maybe you should just stop looking at it; give it to me!”

Evelina was fuming over a live stream Lizetta had started on Twitter.

The netizens had been led by an army of trolls to trash talk and mock under the Twitter post about Maestro Adagio’s appearance, demanding Lizetta to respond.

And respond she did, with a live stream, where she played the very piece she had composed, live for everyone.

In the stream, Lizetta was dressed in a sleek, forest green gown, a fox mask covering her face, revealing just a hint of her chin. Her hair cascaded freely down her back as she stood elegantly in the sunlight streaming through the floor–to–ceiling windows, violin in hand.Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

As sh

coaxed the strings, the music flowed out like dew in the dawn or a gentle stream, emotive and captivating. Both the melody and the graceful scene in the live stream were intoxicatingly beautiful.

[Damn, this is too good.]

[I’m tone–deaf; can someone tell me, is this the same piece Evelina played? Why does it sound different?]

[It is the same piece, so it’s not the music that’s bad, it’s just someone with butterfingers pretending to be a maestro.].

[Didn’t Evelina have a few solo concerts abroad? That’s the level?]

[Answer from a pro: Evelina’s concerts were just pay–to–play, no real prestige, those in the know, know.]

[The one fishing for fame has been caught, folks. Case closed.]

[Does Evelina have no shame? Does Mr. Dashiell know about this? @the Starlight Group official]

It just wanna know if the violinist is the real Maestro Adagio? Just that silhouette in the sunlight and I’m head over heels, wifey check on me!]

[That mask is such a tease! I bet Maestro Adagio’s a knockout beauty.]

Why can’t us esteemed VIPs see behind the mask C’mon, take it off!]

(I kneel to ask! Maestro Adagio, you’ve ruined me for life, you owe me!]

[No wonder the woman my Hamilton crushes on is amazing!]

Watching the comments and gushing praise pile up in the live stream chat, Evelina was shaking with rage.

“Ah! That bitch Lizetta!”

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and hurled her phone away, screaming and pounding the bed like a madwoman.

Her words were muffled, her face still swollen from a beating, and her teeth aching.

The identity of “Maestro Adagio” was a mystery to others, but Evelina knew. The first time. she called Maestro Adagio, the voice on the other end sounded familiar, but she didn’t think

much of it then.

After Maestro Adagio caused her to lose followers and posted lots of donation receipts, Evelina had April trace the donations back to Yolanda.

Yolanda had zero expertise in dance or music, so Evelina figured out that Maestro Adagio was actually Lizetta, whom she had bumped into at Skyward Studios.

Evelin

ell aware that Lizetta landed the Skyward Studios collaboration by hiding behind Maestro Adagio” alias. Jealous and resentful, Evelina had snatched the opportunity from her.

And now, after Lizetta had slapped her and Remington had taken Lizetta’s side, to add insult to injury, Evelina was being ridiculed online. She wanted to shift the blame onto Lizetta, to teach her a lesson.

But Lizetta had clapped back so effortlessly, leaving Evelina boiling with anger.

April tried to soothe her, “Alright, stop freaking out; do you want your face to heal or not? I’ll handle the negative buzz online asap. You know, if you’d spent a little more time practicing the violin, it might not have been such a disaster.”

“Even you think I’m worse than her, don’t you?!”