Chapter 15
hapter 15
Even though she’d been plotting in her head to team up with Daddy and freeze Mommy out, Yolanda still gave Naomi a sweet smile.
“Miss Naomi, I’m fine. I just want to hear you play the piano again.”
Naomi’s expression softened. “As it happens, I have a performance tonight. How about I call a friend and have them set aside two tickets for you and your daddy?”
Yolanda’s face lit up, clapping her hands. “Yay, yay! Miss Naomi, you’re the best!”
Then she launched herself into Naomi’s arms, wrapping her neck and rubbing her cheek against hers.
Charles found himself drifting for a moment, caught off guard not only by Teresa’s reaction, but by how cool she was toward their daughter.
In his mind, Teresa’d always been hopelessly devoted to Yolanda–the kind of mother who couldn’t even run to the bathroom without lingering for one more hug.
He could still picture the time he’d taken Yolanda to visit his grandfather at the Logan Manor. When Teresa came home and couldn’t find her, she’d rushed over in a panic, snatching their chicken–leg–munching daughter into her arms and bursting into tears.
Back then, Charles had thought Teresa was overdramatic.
But now?
She didn’t even spare Yolanda more than a passing glance, let alone a word or two.
If it were before, she’d be clinging to their little girling
“Charles?” Naomi straightened, noticing the faraway
look on
to let go.
his face.
He blinked back to the moment, his tone even. “Come on, let’s sit.”
Once they’d ordered, Charles glanced across the table at Yolanda. She was nestled up against Naomi, heads bent over a phone screen.
Yolanda couldn’t read much yet, but she was determined to keep Miss Naomi company while picking out tickets.
Miss Naomi smelled so nice. Her fingers were so pretty.
Naomi navigated to the ticket page, and after a quick glance, her smile faltered, and she looked a touch sheepish. She turned to Yolanda, a touch apologetic. “Sweetheart, the front row’s gone. Only second row left.”
Yolanda’s face fell. “Huh?”
Charles had no idea Naomi was buying concert tickets, but he was certain this was something he could handle.
If it made Yolanda and Naomi happy, no price was too high.
“I’ll get the tickets,” he said without hesitation.
Naomi quickly explained the concert to him, and Yolanda chimed in that she wanted to hear Miss Naomi perform.
The two of them went back and forth, and Charles watched them with a faint smile before pulling out his phone to call Liam.
“Two front–row seats for tonight’s piano concert at the Riverdale Auditorium.”
Liam didn’t ask questions just replied, ‘OK, Mr. Logan‘
When he hung up, Naomi glanced over at Charles with a smile. “Front–row seats are pricey and there are only two. Usually, unless you two are there, they stay empty at my shows.”
Her concerts were always sold out, but she kept those two prime seats at a sky–high price.
It wasn’t about the money–just a way to make sure that if Charles and Yolanda wanted to come, she could comp them the best spots.
Tonight was different, though.
1/3
11:28 AM P
Chapter 15
Someone had actually bought them. Naomi figured it was probably some rich kid trying to impress a date.
Whoever it was, they didn’t matter in front of Charles.
Charles’s phone rang, it was Liam calling back.
He picked up. “Just get it done, no need to call me about it.”
- 4.
Pict
“Mr. Logan, I couldn’t get the tickets.” Liam said. “I reached out, but the buyer won’t let them go.”
Charles’s brow furrowed. “You can’t manage something this simple? Offer more, he won’t turn it down.”
“I tried,” Liam said, a note of resignation in his voice. “They still refused.”
Outside the hospital, Hector ended
a call- -the one
E
arranging the sky–high offer he’d just made for a pair of concert
tickets.
Teresa, thinking it was work, waited patiently a few
May.
They’d just walked back from lunch, ambling through the streets while talking about college days, professors, and friends they hadn’t seen in years.
For the first time since her marriage, Teresa found herself speaking this much, this easily, with another man
When Hector closed the distance between them, he gave her a warm smile. “How about we go to a concert tonight?”
The instinctive answer on her tongue was no–divorce plans aside, she was still a married woman. But Hector spoke again before could refuse. “Just think of it as keeping me company for a bit.”
She hesitated, then thought, ‘It’s only a concert. And we’ve always been good friends.
“Alright.” she said finally.
No 6 રણ સિવા
she
(དེ་འོད་ཀི་སྐལ་ ལ)པར་གསང་རྒྱ་བ་་་་་ཀ་་ གིས་
He smiled and said warmly, “I’ll pick
up tonight.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’d better get back to work.”
Hector watched her walk away, standing under the shade of a tree long after she’d vanished from sight.
Then, suddenly, he smiled–like a man who’d just found something precious he thought was lost forever. The joy in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Pulling out his phone, he scrolled back to an old chat with Neil, his smile deepening as he read.
“What do you think of this girl? I’m thinking of going after her.”
The message came with a photo–one Neil had coaxed out of her, claiming he needed it as a memento before she moved back to Riverdale.
“She’s divorced, has a little girl. But it’s fine, I can handle being a dad. I’d treat the kid like my own.”
Hector had stared at the photo that day, stunned, before typing out a single word, “Divorced?”
“Yeah,” Neil replied. “She told me herself, why would she lie?”
Hector’s hands had started to shake, and a slow heat welled in his eyes.
He didn’t reply for a long while, until Neil finally gave in and called him on video. “I’m serious, what do you think of her? I kinda like her Neil said.
Hector’s brow eased for the first time, though he kept his tone deliberately earnest. “Neil, she’s not the right girl for you.”
Neil kept pressing for a reason. At first, Hector wouldn’t give one.
But in the end, he let the truth slip. “Neil, she’s the junior I once told you about.”
Hearing that, Neil didn’t ask anything more. He just smiled faintly and said, “Then I wish you luck.”
2/3
11:28 AM P
Chapter 15
That evening, when Teresa finished work, Hector was already waiting at the hospital entrance.
They grabbed dinner first, then strolled toward the Riverdale Auditorium.
Once their tickets were scanned, Hector led her straight to the front row–the best seats in the house.
When the hall filled, the lights dropped to darkness.
A single spotlight cut through, landing on a young woman walking toward the grand piano. The pure white gown traced the curve of her figure; a veil softened her face, but the poise and grace left little doubt she was strikingly beautiful.
Teresa’s eyes stayed fixed on the figure as camera flashes winked across the stage. With every measured step the woman took toward the piano, recognition sharpened–it was Naomi Yates.
She’d spent enough time quietly watching Naomi’s videos, studying her in countless photos, to know for sure in a
Naomi was stunning–graceful, talented, and with the kind of beauty that drew admirers all over Riverdale.
But beauty like that was never meant for public picking.
This rose had already been claimed–by Charles Logan.
The performance began with Naomi easing into Memory of the Rain. Then she played three es
shifting tide of emotion.
Teresa might have despised Naomi, but she couldn’t deny the woman’s talent.
Against her will, the music drew her in, wrapping her in the stories woven between each note.
single glance.
བྲོ་མོར།༽སྐ་་རང་
each carrying
its own
When the last chord faded, applause erupted through the Riverdale Auditorium, accompanied by murmurs of praise for Naomi.
From the second row, Yolanda sprang to her feet, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Miss Naomi, you were amazing- -so dazzling!”
Her small voice was swallowed by the roar of the crowd, unheard by Teresa and just as easily missed by Naomi.
Charles Logan, however, sat quietly in his seat, gaze fixed on the stage. His eyes held a softness that left no room for anything, or anyone
else.
As Yolanda sank back into her seat, her gaze drifted, almost by habit, toward the VIP section where she
One glance, and she froze.
and her daddy usually sat.
Afraid she might be imagining it, she leaned close to Charles, tugging at his sleeve and pointing toward Teresa and Hector. “Daddy, look over there. Is that Mommy?”