At seven o'clock, students began to gather outside the medical community, signaling it was time to consider ending the music practice.
Milo Sinclair stood up and said, "I have a class upstairs. If you look up and see my office window open, you'll need to keep it quiet. Once the window is closed, you can continue, and if you get tired, you can rest in my office."
Shea Thorne nodded, looked down to continue practicing, and when she estimated that enough time had passed, she looked up at Milo Sinclair's office. The window was slowly opening, and though Milo's face was distant and his expression unreadable, Shea gathered her things and lifted the violin case to head upstairs.
Just earlier, Milo Sinclair had sent her Miles Crawford's schedule. Now was the time to go up and give him his clothes whenever he was free.
The hallways on the sixteenth floor were empty. Following her memory, Shea first went to Miles Crawford's laboratory. Through the glass window on the door, she could see Miles standing inside with Milo Sinclair seated in front of him, flipping through printed A4 papers and speaking softly.
Miles Crawford appeared entirely different from the proud and confident person in her memory; in front of Milo Sinclair, he seemed cautious, as if fearing to say the wrong thing.
Pity rose in Shea's heart—a feeling of empathy for Miles from Ariana Thorne. Shea turned her face away, quickly walked to Milo Sinclair's office, and twisted the doorknob without having to knock. It wasn't locked.
In this office, doors hardly ever needed to be locked; people avoided it if they could.
The shopping bag containing clothing was just under the skeleton model's foot in the office; Shea sat on the swivel chair on the other side of the desk, waiting for Milo to return. Once he did, she would go to find Miles.
Wearing noise-canceling headphones, she flipped through sheet music, occasionally using her phone to search for music to listen to with the score. Knowing she couldn't make any sound, Shea closed her eyes, imagining as if her beloved violin was still in her hand, playing beautiful sounds.
Milo Sinclair entered, noticing she was still in her own world, unable to hear the outside world with her headphones on.
He motioned for the students following him to return to their places as he entered, bending down to admire her enraptured expression.
She increasingly resembled the image in his heart; if only Miles Crawford weren't involved.
For a long moment, she showed no sign of stopping. Glancing at his watch, Milo saw he had a public lecture in ten minutes.
Despite his personal wish for her to stay until he returned so they could leave together, he couldn't bear not speaking to her all morning. So, Milo reached out, taking the left Bluetooth earpiece from her ear and placing it in his own.
Shea opened her eyes, seeing Milo Sinclair's smiling face enlarge before her, as he said, "When I first met you, it was 'Aria,' and it still is now."
He referred to the day they met at the mall, when he asked if she was of age. Shea intentionally asked, "So, what's the difference between my performance and the master's?"
They were very close, with Shea smiling radiantly, and Milo dropped his eyes to her slightly parted pink lips as he drew nearer with a solemn look.
As he got increasingly close, just a finger's width apart, an intense needle-prick pain pierced Shea's heart. In that moment of distraction and pain, Ariana Thorne seized control of the body, pushing Milo Sinclair away!
Unexpected, Milo took several steps back before steadying himself, seeing her clutching her chest, struggling to breathe, he immediately lifted her to lay flat on the single bed in the office.
With the stethoscope placed on her chest, he could only hear her heavy breathing—no other noises—her heartbeat and pulse were within normal range.
"How do you feel?" Milo Sinclair tidied up the equipment, asking, "In the afternoon, come with me to the hospital for a check-up; your condition is severe."
"No need, I'm healthy. This sudden episode is just a psychological reaction," Shea shook her head, unable to explain it was pure Ariana Thorne, who couldn't bear the thought of her body being defiled and resisted with all her strength.
"No, you must go," Milo insisted, "Stay here quietly until I get off at twelve o'clock. Then we'll go immediately."
Her condition didn't seem urgent, and she seemed well aware herself.
"Go ahead, being late might damage Professor Sinclair's reputation." Shea steadied her breathing, urging him to leave quickly. If they missed the timing, she would just leave it in the lab if Miles wasn't there later.
Milo Sinclair touched her hair, saying, "I'll head out first; don't wander around. Wait for my return."
Shea instinctively resisted, unsure if it was Ariana or herself.
After Milo left, Shea took a moment, picked up the shopping bag, stepped out, heading towards Miles Crawford's side.
Miles was still inside, visible through the doorway's glass window, comforting a girl—Zoe Wymond, whom he personally sent home a few days ago.
With a tissue in hand, Zoe Wymond was looking down, saying something before leaning toward Miles, who gently wiped her tears.
Shea's heart began to ache again, so she intentionally barged in as they were getting closer.
"Miles, what are you doing with her?!"
...
The entire office was silent—how quiet, you might ask?
Miles Crawford and Zoe Wymond sat together, startled by Shea's sudden entrance, unable to react in time to separate. Other classmates also paused their activities, turning to look at Shea.
They recognized Shea halfway, having seen her visit Miles on occasion, without ever talking to her.
Now, Shea stood with a large shopping bag in one hand, pointing at Miles with the other, appearing on the verge of tears, and asked, "What's your relationship with her?"
It felt like a young wife bringing clothing to her husband, only to stumble upon an affair at the office.
Miles, taken aback by her entrance, quickly recovered, frowning, "What are you doing here?"
Beside him, Zoe Wymond quickly adjusted her collar, slid her chair backward to create more distance from Miles. She didn't want to be labeled a homewrecker.
Zoe explained, "Don't misunderstand, little sister. I was just feeling down and chatting with Miles Crawford."
"Do chats require such closeness?" Shea immediately demanded, "Why lean on him and not anyone else?!"
This Zoe Wymond, quick to marry Miles after Ariana Thorne's second death, seemed like a premeditated act rather than a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Enough! Haven't you embarrassed us enough?!" Miles broke in as Shea continued interrogating Zoe, "Where are your manners?! Accusing people indiscriminately—who are you to question my affairs like this?"
Shea looked at Miles, her doll-like face heartbreakingly tearful, asking, "You're scolding me? Have you forgotten we have an engagement, and yet you're treating me like this?"
This engagement was truly a disgrace; Ariana Thorne's father often worked away, leaving young Ariana under Mrs. Crawford's care. Liking Miles, she persuaded her father to arrange a marriage contract at the Crawford Family.
Mrs. Crawford, of course, approved and agreed to the engagement. However, once Miles learned about it in school, he developed an intense dislike for Ariana.
Being engaged means she's the fiancée, yet Miles showed such tenderness to Zoe Wymond! Other classmates looked at Miles in disbelief, including Zoe, who blamed him with her eyes for approaching her knowing he was engaged.
She wouldn't want to be a mistress!