After I Vanished, He Finally Realized What He Lost

Chapter 11

Blood dripped from his hands, but I remained motionless until his friends finally pulled him away.

"Sorry for using you as a shield," I murmured to Jarren, guilt creeping into my voice.

To my surprise, he smiled. "Naia, I've never minded. I actually hope… that everything was real."

His words hit me harder than I expected, and for a moment, my thoughts swirled in chaos.

"It's okay," he continued. "We have plenty of time. I'll make sure to perform well."

Just like that, we slipped back into our familiar rhythm, collaborating like we always had.

With my efforts, Jarren's influence in the domestic market grew exponentially. He quickly rose to the top of both the national and international piano scenes, his reputation and income soaring.

Meanwhile, I occasionally heard updates about Linus through friends and news reports. After our airport encounter, Linus discovered that a client had been exploiting other female musicians in the band, me included. He confronted the client directly, engaging in a violent confrontation.

After reviewing the band's surveillance footage, Linus uncovered the shocking truth: Themis had framed me for everything.

What Themis had done to me, Linus now repaid a thousandfold. She faced a brutal fate: scalded with boiling water, locked in a room covered in broken glass, and had her hair shaved off.

The incidents were reported, and Linus was arrested for intentional injury. When he was eventually released, it was clear that his mental state had significantly deteriorated. He withdrew from the world, drinking heavily in isolation until he succumbed to alcohol poisoning.

I couldn't help but remember a late-night call he'd made, where he said he understood my feelings, the weight of his actions, and the consequences of everything between us.

During the sober light of day, I heard that he had often been found by the river, desperately searching for a ring he could no longer find.

The client Linus had assaulted wasn't someone to take lightly. Soon after, the man hired ruthless individuals to destroy Linus's hands. His dreams of a piano career evaporated, just like that.

Not long after, he was seen playing a public piano with his injured fingers in a shopping mall. It was whispered that he muttered, "This is the song I wrote for Naia. She will forgive me and come back."

Out of nowhere, a woman, scarred by burns, ran toward him, setting herself ablaze while clutching onto the delirious Linus.

"Brother Linus, if you treat me this way, we'll plunge into hell together!" she screamed.

"Even in hell, I'll be tied to you for eternity!" she cried.

Reports of the former piano virtuoso's quest for vengeance through self-immolation sparked a wave of sympathy online.

But I remained focused on my work, determined to move forward.

Then, after a celebratory banquet, Jarren approached me. His eyes held a quiet intensity, and he confessed, "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Fate kept us apart for so many years, but from now on, I want to be there for you, every step of the way."

"Naia, will you be my girlfriend?"

With a soft smile, I nodded. And in that moment, I embraced the deep, late-blooming love that had finally found its way into my life.

(The End)