Chapter 151
‘What a shame–it’s all just an illusion.
‘There are too many ticking time bombs between us. Any day now, this already fake marriage could blow apart completely… Valerie pondered.
She didn’t even realize it herself, but the moment she imagined that day possibly arriving, her chest felt slightly tight and suffocating.
Valerie instinctively ignored the discomfort and quickly shifted her focus.
There was still a week left until the competition. Since she had already taken a leave from school, Valerie stayed home in her study, fully focused on preparing her design drafts for the event.
After breakfast, Valerie stayed in the study all morning. It wasn’t until Camille knocked on her door that she realized how tired she was.
Camille walked in carrying a cup of lemon and ginger juice and asked, “Mrs. Walker, is your stomach still hurting?”
Valerie stretched a little and shook her head in response, “I’m much better.”
“Have some,” Camille set the cup down and casually added, “Did you know Mr. Walker had a music room set up for you?”
Valerie paused mid–stretch and repeated, “Music room?”
“Yes,” Camille’s face lit up in a ‘so that’s it‘ expression. “You didn’t know? The backyard has been completely redone. Mr. Walker turned the entire garden into an open–air music room. I’ll take you to see it.”
Valerie truly hadn’t known about this.
The living room and the staircase separated the front and back of the house, and Valerie wasn’t in the habit of going back there. After returning home last night, she had gone straight to her room, so she hadn’t noticed any changes to the house.
‘A music room… sounds nice,‘ Valerie thought, feeling a flicker of joy.
She couldn’t help but remember the piano Aiden had bought for her in her previous life.
That piano had been the first she ever owned. Its tone was exceptional–rumor had it that it was made by a world–class piano artisan and came with an extravagant price tag.
Valerie had composed many songs on that piano. She wondered if the one Aiden had prepared for her in this life would be the same as the last.
They soon arrived in the backyard, and Valerie was instantly stunned by the sight before her.
The entire garden seemed to be engulfed in a sea of flowers. Red roses dominated, but there were also many other rare blooms–among them, her
favorite daisies.
Three steps separated the garden into tiers on the side of the yard closest to the house. A sleek, black grand piano sat at the top of the stairs, quietly elegant in the open air.
Behind the piano stood a whole collection of instruments: drum sets, guitars, bass guitars, violins, ukulele and many more.
Valerie was taken aback and gasped, “There’s so many!”
She couldn’t even play all of them, and yet Aiden had collected so much. Valerie was left speechless by the gesture.
Camille explained, “Mr. Walker had people set all this up a while ago, but you hadn’t been home. I thought he’d mentioned it to you, but turns out he didn’t say a word.
“Look at the wall–he had oil paintings hung on both sides, but that large empty space in the middle, he left that just for something special”
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Valerie looked at the blank section of the wall and subconsciously asked, “Why is it empty?”
“The designer said a wedding photo would look beautiful there,” Camille recalled how Aiden had gong silent when he heard that suggestion. With s touch of sadness, she added, “So it’s been left empty ever since. Mrs. Walker, why won’t you take wedding photos with him?”
When Camille asked this last question, her tone held confusion—and a bit of disapproval
Valerie froze slightly at the question and asked, “I won’t?”
She thought, ‘We’ve never even brought it up. Wedding photos? We don’t even have a single casual picture together.
‘It’s like we silently agreed not to do any of the things normal married couples should do.
‘No wedding photos, no ceremony–nothing.
“We both avoided the topic without saying anything out loud. And besides, someone like Aiden–how could he possibly have the patience for that kind of thing?
‘How did it suddenly become my fault now?‘
Valerie felt a little wronged.
Camille asked curiously, “Would you, though?”
Valerie hesitated, unable to answer right away.
Camille took her silence as agreement and continued on her own, “Mr. Walker would want those wedding photos displayed. He’s someone who really values rituals and formalities.”
Valerie fell silent, thinking, ‘Aiden? Rituals?
‘What could those two words possibly have to do with each other?
She found the idea laughable but said nothing. Instead, she stepped forward, lifted the piano lid, and began playing with cheerful ease.
When the piece ended, the piano’s sound quality was so exquisite that even her casual playing sounded delightful.
Valerie bent down to check the lower–left corner and, sure enough, saw the signature of that renowned artisan.
It was made by the same person as before–and gifted by the same person, too.
A faint smile formed on her lips. Valerie pulled out a sheet of music and began practicing.
Meanwhile, Arianna had been practicing her singing these past few days. She had to admit–her manager really had an eye for this.
The songs they bought from those two online artists fit her perfectly. The style aligned flawlessly with the image she was cultivating. As she sang, Arianna grew more and more enamored with them.
But strangely, the melodies felt vaguely familiar, as though she had heard them somewhere before.
‘Was it just my imagination?” she wondered.
When she mentioned it to her manager, he brushed it off. “Maybe it’s because they sound similar to those two tracks Valerie wrote for An Eternal Summer?”
“Valerie?” Arianna repeated.
Her manager replied, “Yeah, An Eternal Summer was a huge hit, and those two tracks exploded in popularity too. The composer’s name is Valerie.”
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The moment Arianna heard that name, she felt annoyed and asked, “Valerie? That’s the name she uses?”
Her manager, who knew she had someone she couldn’t stand named Valerie Clark, said, “Relax, it’s probably just a coincidence. This Valerie’s a big deal. I heard she’s not even officially signed with Shelton Entertainment–just a collaborator. Her songs are really hard to buy, even Shelton only has licensing rights. Impressive, right?”
Arianna secretly sighed in relief and said, “Good. But I really feel like I’ve heard these songs before. The more I listen, the more familiar they sound–like I’ve known them for years.”
Hér manager reassured her, “Come on, all the famous songs are composed with the same handful of instruments. It’s normal for them to feel familiar. Don’t overthink it. Once the recording’s done and polished, we’ll release it. No stress. Aren’t you going to that event tomorrow? We’ll drop one of your recent tracks then, stir up some buzz. Just focus on showing up.”
The mention of tomorrow’s event improved Arianna’s mood. “Alright.”
“Valerie Clark has been so full of herself lately,” Arianna thought, a hint of resentment in her eyes.
Arianna plotted to herself, ‘Valerie’s been riding high lately. I don’t buy it–once I expose her as the fake heiress she is, let’s see how long she can keep her head held high!‘
On Saturday, Valerie arrived early at the Walker family’s old estate. The event wouldn’t start until noon, and when Vivian Walker saw her, she immediately noticed how properly dressed Valerie was today. She nodded in approval and said, “A lot of my friends will be here today. You need to make a good impression, understood?”
