Long ago, she held a sacred admiration for the piano, believing it to be Hayden’s favorite thing.
But now, she understood the story behind it.
Had that man been driven by a desire to win from the very beginning?
Hayden seldom mentioned his uncle in her presence. The real reason was that Julian was too perfect, his brilliance overshadowing all of Hayden’s qualities. From his youth, Julian was the benchmark Hayden strived to surpass in everything.
“It’s always me who love the piano, while he practiced relentlessly only to get better than me. Since you like him so much, haven’t you noticed that his piano playing rarely carries any emotion?” Julian said, his voice tinged with a cold laugh. “No matter how skilled or dazzling his techniques are, or how flawlessly he plays a piece, he will never become a master. Because he doesn’t truly love the piano. It’s merely a stake in his competition with me.”
Julian’s words reminded Aurora of something. She had always thought Hayden’s performances were perfect, yet their perfection seemed somehow amiss. It was only through Julian’s playing that she realized Hayden indeed infused no emotion into his music. It was like a finely crafted vase, beautiful yet cold. She discovered she hardly knew the man she thought she was familiar with.
“It seems you’ve remembered,” Julian observed. “Hayden has always wanted to defeat me and surpass me, not realizing he cared too much about me, to the extent that all his preferences became similar to mine.”
Julian saw the situation most clearly.
His reminder brought to Aurora’s attention details she had previously ignored. Hayden’s dressing style was just like Julian’s. Even the way they held cutlery was the same. The way they cut steak and their favorite foods were strikingly similar.
Initially, Aurora had ignored these details, only realizing their true significance today.
“Since we’ve become so similar, do you think it’s possible we might both fall for the same girl?” Julian’s words sent a shiver down Aurora’s spine. This simple statement was laden with implications.
Hayden was merely a copy of him.
Did Hayden like her because Julian did first?
“No, that’s not possible… Except for that one night three years ago, I didn’t even know you. The first person I knew was Hayden, and whatever he did later, at least our feelings during our youth were genuine.” This was the most precious memory of her youth, one she did not want tainted.
As he saw Aurora covered in cold sweat, Julian’s eyes suddenly showed a hint of pity. The secret he had kept for many years seemed ready to be revealed. “Was that truly our first meeting?” Julian’s question perplexed Aurora. Had she really met him before?
“Do you remember, fifteen years ago, that stormy night with lightning and thunder as well as the shipwreck?” Julian provided a clue.
Fifteen years ago, Aurora was only seven, her mother still alive, and her father’s mistress yet to appear. Like a princess in a fairytale, she lived a life of luxury. That summer, Magnus took them on a vacation.
Magnus told her that since she loved the sea, he would take her to the sea for a trip, and that night was one she would never forget in her life. That night, she went to bed early as usual. The cruise ship sailed on the vast sea when suddenly a loud noise shattered the night’s calm. The weather over the sea changed in an instant, and no one could predict when it would suddenly turn. The sky roared with thunder and flashed with lightning.
Aurora woke up amidst the lightning, frightened, and clutching her teddy bear as she left the cabin. By then, she had become quite independent, sleeping alone in a cabin. “Daddy, Mommy…” She ran out barefoot, the boat rocking with the swells of the sea. “Rory, Mommy is here. Don’t be scared,” her mother said, holding her in her arms as crew members hurried over. “Sir, madam, don’t be afraid. It’s just bad weather, and we have encountered a thunderstorm. Please do not walk around to avoid getting hurt by the turbulence.”
Aurora, still too young to understand the force of nature, naively said, “Mommy, is Mr. Sun catching a cold and sneezing now?” Her words made her mother laugh endlessly, gently pinching her little nose. “Yes, Mr. Sun has a bad cold.” Despite the stormy night, her childlike words warmed the atmosphere.
Soon, a crew member’s voice came again. “Sir, there is a cruise ship in distress across from us, and many people in the sea are calling for help. Should we rescue them?”
“The weather is so bad right now. Staying here longer will also put us at risk. No need to save them,” said Magnus, a very typical shrewd businessman, always considering his own interests first.
“Sir, so we are not going to rescue them?” the crew member asked again, as there were so many lives at stake.
Normally, rescuing people would be a simple act of lifting a hand, but now, with such terrible weather, no one wanted to stay longer.
“We will save them. We have to save them!” Aurora ran out barefoot and continued, “Daddy, if we leave, they will definitely be eaten by sharks!” She had watched many documentaries and knew that people who fell into the sea would be eaten by sharks, not understanding they could also die from the cold, drowning, or starvation.
“Rory, this is not a game. We need to leave quickly,” Magnus said sternly.
“No, Daddy, our ship is big enough to rescue them,” Aurora said, already running toward the deck.
She had read so many stories where the mermaid saved the prince, the princess saved the Frog Prince, and the prince awakened Sleeping Beauty. Now that those people were in trouble, she definitely wanted to help. She climbed onto the deck, threatening, “Daddy, if you don’t save them, I’ll jump off here.”
“Rory, don’t be foolish. Come here. The storm out there is so severe!” The boat was rocking violently, frightening everyone pale.
Aurora had only meant to scare him a bit, similar to the plots in fairy tales, thinking this would definitely make her father save the people. Little did she know, a violent tilt of the ship caused her tiny body to actually fall through a huge gap in the ship’s rail.
“Rory!” A heart-wrenching scream came from the ship. “Magnus, save Rory!” her mother cried out in panic.