Glamour and Sass: A Rejected Bride's Revenge
Chapter 47: Broke the Zither

Chapter 47: Broke the Zither

As soon as she entered the door, Cecilia saw Adrian poised while holding a flute, ready to play it as his eyes were half-closed with a delighted expression.

“Hey, look here, you two. This is a flute, and its sound must be clear...”

Cecilia looked around at the empty hall and mercilessly interrupted Adrian.

“Uh, who are you talking to?”

Adrian suddenly opened his eyes; Alex and Emma’s little faces, who were intently listening to him just moments ago, were now nowhere to be seen.

Those little rascals!

“They were just here, so how...”

Before Adrian could finish his sentence, Alex appeared again, wearing Emma’s clothes.

“Mommy.”

Adrian widened his eyes, seeing Alex dressed as a girl.

Alex and Emma looked very similar; it was normal for most people not to distinguish between them. However, Adrian had excellent observational skills. After having met both of the children, it was not too difficult for him to tell them apart.

Unfortunately, Cecilia couldn’t tell.

She didn’t suspect the “daughter” in front of her and even went over to adjust the slightly crooked butterfly hair clip Alex had hastily put on.

“You little troublemaker, are you teasing Grandpa Keller again?”

Alex chuckled sheepishly.

“Alright, the sun is setting; it’s time to go home.”

Cecilia held Alex’s hand.

“Wave goodbye to Grandpa Keller.”

Obediently, Alex waved to Adrian.

“Goodbye, Grandpa Keller.”

Adrian wanted to say something, but Cecilia didn’t want to listen to his rambling anymore and dashed out the door with Alex.

“The little rascal bullied me old man with stiff legs. Don’t you realize you’re taking your own son away, not your daughter! Of course, he will also be my good disciple soon~”

Unfortunately, Cecilia was already far away by then, with Adrian’s voice still lingering in the surroundings.

In the side hall.

Steven was a bit stressed these days due to the issues around Marianne and Nathan, so he was resting with his eyes closed.

Amy sat on a chair beside Steven, gazing at his profile as she marveled at it.

“You’ve matured a lot compared to ten years ago.”

Steven didn’t open his eyes and replied blandly.

“Hollywood’s top star Soyo puts her work on hold and secretly returns to her country. Did you think nobody would find out about that?”

Amy was taken aback; he knew everything.

Indeed, she did not really return on the news about Grandma Marianne, but had just come back secretly on her own.

Her mother had taken her abroad ten years ago and decided to sever ties with the Lawrence family for reasons she was unsure of, though she knew it was related to her mother’s short marriage.

Moreover, it was true that Marianne had contacted her to handle the will issues, so she had returned to the country without telling her mother.

She thought she had done everything flawlessly, yet Steven saw right through it.

He was as meticulous as ten years ago, if not more so now.

“Are you investigating me?”

Amy tentatively asked.

Steven opened his eyes.

“Why has Alex been gone for so long? It’s getting dark, we need to go back.”

He didn’t directly respond to Amy’s question. After ten years of growing up, including having Alex by his side now, he couldn’t risk any problems.

Luckily, apart from the matter of the will, Amy had no other issues.

He wasn’t that concerned with the will; it was Marianne’s decision, so he would respect it no matter what.

Understanding this, Amy didn’t question further.

As Steven walked into the main hall, he saw his ‘son’ sneakily trying to reach a zither placed on a shelf taller than himself.

‘Why does this child want a zither?’

He approached Emma.

“Alex, what are you doing?”

Emma was eyeing the zither with all her attention. Surprised by Steven, her hand trembled.

The next second, the zither fell to the ground.

Hearing the noise, Adrian came running.

He gasped at the zither with its broken strings sprawled on the ground and screamed.

“Ah! My precious zither!”

This outcry attracted all the disciples.

Seeing this scene, the disciples were dumbfounded.

“This... this is a zither passed down more than a thousand years, and now it’s ruined!”

Emma then realized she had made a big mistake.

She looked at Adrian, her lips pouting.

“Sorry, Grandpa Keller, I just... I realized it was not an instrument I had seen before...”

“How dare you touch what you haven’t seen before!”

“This is Master’s most cherished instrument!”

The disciples’ complaints rang once more.

Steven furrowed his brows and looked respectfully at Adrian.

“My apologies, Master Keller. It’s my fault for not teaching him properly. It’s the child’s responsibility for making such a mistake, but Alex is still young. I’ll make sure to educate him better in the future, so I hope you can grant us some leniency. As for this zither, I’ll do my best to find a replacement of similar quality globally. If it’s really not possible, I’ll compensate you at three times the price.”

Adrian gazed at the zither with a heartache and walked slowly toward Steven.

The disciples sensed a brewing storm coming.

“Master...”

Steven took a deep breath, prepared to face the consequence of Alex’s mistake.

Adrian stopped in front of Steven.

Everyone held their breath.

“Or if you have any other requests, I can also...”

“Forget it,” Adrian uttered.

What did the Master say? Forget it?

Steven’s eyes showed a flicker of surprise; knowing how open-minded and generous Adrian was, he did not expect him to be this forgiving.

It was not something just anyone could do.

On the other hand, the other disciples by Adrian’s side couldn’t understand.

“Master, why let it go? This zither was passed down from your grandmaster with a millennium of history. The craftsmanship of the wood and the silk strings are rare to find even globally; no matter how influential someone is, they shouldn’t be able to...”

While speaking, the disciple glanced at Steven.

Steven understood what he meant. Perhaps Adrian was afraid of offending the Lawrence family.

“Master Keller, I would never use my family to pressure you. The Lawrence family has always...”

However, Adrian only glanced at him before turning toward the tearful Emma.

“It’s not because I’m afraid of the Lawrence family.”

Then why?

“It’s because I adore him!”

Adrian pointed at Emma. If it weren’t for her being Emma, he would have been livid by now.

But since it had happened, no amount of money could bring back the zither, and it would just make the child feel more guilty.

He had no choice but to let it go.

“Forget it. It has happened, so all of you should just leave.”

If they stayed a moment longer, he would start crying.

Steven picked Emma up.

“Thank you, Master Keller.”

Emma also thanked him.

“Thank you, Grandpa Keller~”

As they left, Adrian finally couldn’t hold back his tears anymore as he wiped them away with a sigh.

After stepping outside, Steven instructed his assistant Zane in the car.

“Search globally for millennia-old zithers; buy it no matter the price.”

Cecilia had just returned to the hotel and was about to make dinner when she received a message from Elena.

[Cecilia, I’ve got the keys to your mom’s previous residence. Come over to my place for dinner tonight; I’ll give them to you.]

Cecilia turned off her phone and looked at Alex.

“Emma, we will be eating dinner at Great Aunt Elena’s place tonight.”

Half an hour later, Cecilia and Alex arrived at the Mitchell home.

Gazing at the warm yellow light emanating from the quaint little villa, she felt a touch of warmth in her heart.

This was her first formal visit at Mitchell’s house.

Walking through the charming little garden, they soon entered the living room.

Inside, Elena was setting the table while James was cooking the food.

There was also someone she had never seen before sitting on the sofa.

She approached politely.

“Great-aunt.”

Alex followed suit obediently. “Great Grandaunt.”

Elena saw them and broke into a smile.

At that moment, the person on the sofa stood up. She seemed to be early into her forties, but she was dressed luxuriously and had heavy makeup on.

Beside her was a young girl, initially obscured by the sofa. Being around ten years old, she had the same air as the woman beside her.

The woman spoke first.

“Oh, is this the distant granddaughter you mentioned? And her tag-along child?”

The young girl chimed in.

“So you’re the country bumpkin? Come over here and solve this Rubik’s cube, then maybe I’ll let you have dinner at my house!”

Alex didn’t say anything, which pushed the young girl to be even more arrogant.

“I bet you don’t even know what a Rubik’s cube is, huh? Get out now!”

He raised an eyebrow, then picked up the Rubik’s cube from the sofa.

‘You must be joking, right? I didn’t reply because the Rubik’s cube is just too easy for me, but now I’ll just have to make you eat your words!’