<b>Chapter </b><b>55 </b>
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Elliot’s face twisted in annoyance at Alicia’s words. But then he stopped to think, ‘If she’s not here for <b>me</b><b>, </b>why the hell is she hanging around? <b>Isn’t </b>she just trying to get my attention?
‘Smart move, though. Instead of proving herself, she’s flipped the script on me.’
He felt disgusted and red at her. “So if you’re not here for me, why are you standing right in front of me<b>? </b>Don’t think you can y smart.
<b>“</b>I’ve seen right through those little games girls like you y. Let me make one thing clear. I don’t like you, and I never will.
“Being pretty doesn’t mean you can start dreaming about anything happening between us<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Just as he finished speaking, Gloria’s voice cut through the tension. “Elliot, what are you talking about with Alicia? Why are you standing in the doorway? Let her in.”
Elliot looked up, startled. “Mom, she-”
When Elliot called Gloria Mom, it hit Alicia that Gloria was Elliot’s mother. For a moment, Alicia was too stunned to speak.
‘No wonder Mrs. Clifford always favored Tiffany so much in my previous life. Turns out, it was all because of Elliot,‘ Alicia realized.
Back then, Tiffany rose to big–time fame in the music scene after she supposedly restored a fragment of a Roman musical score and yed it herself on the piano.
That performance put her in the spotlight overnight.
But as far as Alicia knew, Tiffany had never even studied traditional scores.
‘How could she magically restore a Romanposition out of nowhere? Did she swipe it from Gloria?‘ Alicia couldn’t help but suspect.
‘Maybe Gloria had already finished the restoration but hadn’t published it yet. Then Tiffany somehow got hold of it and rushed to take all the credit.
‘Mrs. Clifford probably ended up believing Tiffany beat her to it and grew even more impressed by her,‘ Alicia thought, her mind spinning with possibilities.
‘If Elliot ever found out that the person he’s been defending so fiercely had stolen his mother’s hard–earned achievement, how would he react?‘ Alicia couldn’t help but muse.
But for now, it was all just spection. Alicia needed to dig deeper.
Alicia called out to Gloria, “Hey, Mrs. Clifford.”
Gloria nodded at Alicia, then turned to Elliot. “Alicia’s here to help me tidy up the music room today. Let her
Chapter <b>55 </b>
in, and let’s grab lunch first, then we can start cleaning together
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Elliot’s face flushed red, then went pale. ‘Wait, she’s really not here for me? Elliot thought to himself
“Can Ie in now, Elliot?” Alicia asked, giving him a faint smile.
To Elliot, that little smile looked almost like she was taunting him. He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks as he stepped aside, letting Alicia stroll in with her lunch.
Gloria followed them inside.
“Alicia,e on over. Let’s eat here<i>,</i>” Gloria said, guiding her to a cozy corner of the music room<b>. </b>
There was a small table with a few chairs, a shelf along the wall holding some daily essentials, and a curtain draped on the other side, hiding whatever was back there.
Noticing Alicia ncing around, Gloria exined, “I’m researching some traditional instruments and working on restoring fragments of old Roman sheet music.
“Sometimes I just hang out here and take a break.”
Alicia nodded and took a seat at the table, setting her lunchbox down.
Gloria called out to Elliot, “Hey, did your dad bring lunch over?”
“Yeah, he did,” Elliot replied, picking up two lunch boxes from the other table and cing them on the small dining table.
The three of them gathered at the table, and Gloria opened the lunch boxes. She took a container of pickled cucumbers from the shelf and said, “Alicia, give this a try. I made it myself; it’s pretty crisp and refreshing.”
Alicia nced at the pickled cucumbers in the dish and said, “Gloria, I’ve got a sensitive stomach. I can’t handle spicy stuff.”
Gloria nodded and scooped some pickled cucumbers into her lunch box.
But Elliot couldn’t help throwing shade. “She’s the type who only eats at ces like Noble Leaf Bistro, Mom. Don’t bother with pickles; she wouldn’t care for that sort of thing.”
Gloria shot him a look. “Not even food can keep you from talking. Just eat.”
Elliot kept his head down while eating, a sarcastic twist at his lips.
‘I just don’t get Mom. There are tons of gifted students who’d jump at the chance to be her apprentice, yet she singles out someone as maniptive and malicious as Alicia,’ she wondered.
He’d heard from Tiffany’s friend Nora that ever since Tiffany was weed back into the Lawrence family, Alicia had been crazy jealous.
Supposedly, Alicia bullied Tiffany constantly, even going so far as to slipxatives into her food and hide needles in her clothes, downright vicious.
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Tiffany was such a good kid, talented at music, ying the piano like a dream. She wanted so <b>badly </b><b>to </b><b>study </b>under Gloria, but Gloria <b>never </b>gave her that nod of approval.
‘Let’s see what kind of tricks Alicia pulled tond an invite to the music room, Elliot thought, <b>eyes </b><b>narrowed</b>.
<b>The </b>instruments in this music room were all personallymissioned by Gloria; she spent ages <b>working </b>with master craftsmen to get every detail just right.
There were a few modern instruments for her lessons<b>, </b>sure, but most were painstakingly made replicas of traditional ones.
Unless one <b>was </b>someone Gloria personally approved of, she wouldn’t even let youy eyes on those instruments, let alone actually touch them.
Tiffany had been in here loads of times, but she could only look. Gloria never let hery a finger on anything. And now Gloria had invited Alicia to clean the music room.
‘Did that mean Alicia could actually handle these precious instruments? I’m definitely keeping a close eye on her,’ Elliot thought, his gaze narrowing.
Gloria gave Alicia a friendly, smiling look. “Alicia, do you y any instruments?”
Alicia thought about it for a second before saying, “Yeah, I know how to y a few.”
Gloria’s eyes brightened. “A few?”
Most people found it impressive enough to master a single instrument, but Alicia actually knew a few.
“So, Alicia, which instruments do you actually y?” Gloria asked, her curiosity obvious.
Alicia took a quick scan around the room. Truth was, she knew nearly all the instruments here.
Back in a previous life, Alicia had been the head of a ssical music troupe, a master at both traditional dances and traditional instruments. Of course, no way she could just blurt that out.
So she just pointed casually. “Piano, Appchian dulcimer, and violin,” she replied.
As soon as she finished, Elliot burst outughing. “You really y all three? Or do you just bang on them and call it music?<b>” </b>
Alicia shot him a look but didn’t respond. Gloria kicked Elliot under the table. “Shut up.”
Then Gloria turned back to Alicia with a friendly smile. “So you y all three? Which one’s your specialty?”
Alicia replied, a little self–effacing, “Honestly, I just know the basics, nothing fancy.”
Gloria’s smile faltered. Maybe she’d gotten a little too excited earlier. <fn6e1c> Readplete version only at find?novel</fn6e1c>
Who was I kidding? If Alicia was really a master at any of these, she’d definitely let people know,‘ Gloria thought wryly.
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Take Tiffany, for example–everyone at school knows she’s a whiz on the piano. Gloria was always eager to give her extra lessons whenever she got the chance.
Teachers just loved students with talent. If someone had real skills in a field, one could bet they would go all out trying to turn them into the next big thing.
That was why at school, nobody ever hid what they were good at–unless they were truly just a beginner, like Alicia said.
When Elliot heard Alicia’s words, he curled his lips into a mocking smirk.
He couldn’t stand people like her–dabbling in everything, never sticking with anything long enough to get good at it, ssic jack–of–all–trades who can’tmit to anything.
But Elliot didn’t say anything else, just kept eating in silence.
Gloria leaned in a little, her tone kind but firm. “When ites to learning music, Alicia, sometimes less is
more.
“Really mastering just one instrument is impressive enough; don’t try to spread yourself too thin.”
Alicia gave her a respectful nod. “I understand, Mrs. Clifford.”
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