I shook my head violently. My hands flew up, signing rapidly: *[I'm not feeling well. I don't want to play.]*

Joshua didn't understand sign language, but he understood defiance. He seized my wrist, his grip like iron, and dragged me toward the stage.

"Faith, don't test me." His voice was low, dangerous. "There are important partners here tonight. If you dare embarrass me, I will cut off the payments for your mother's grave."

A chill ran down my spine.

*Mom.*

She was my last soft spot, my only tether to this world.

He shoved me onto the piano bench. The spotlight blinded me, searing my retinas. Below the stage, countless eyes bore into me, waiting like wolves for a lamb to stumble.

Trembling, I placed my hands on the keys. I couldn't hear a thing, but the geography of the instrument was etched into my muscle memory.

I closed my eyes and pressed the first key.

My fingertips registered the resistance, the vibration, but the air remained silent. Flying blind, I relied entirely on memory and tactile sensation, striking the keys mechanically.

One measure. Two measures.

Was I on tempo? Was the pitch correct? I had no way of knowing. I only knew I had to finish.

For Mom.

For the last scrap of dignity I had left.

A rough hand jerked my arm. My eyes flew open to Joshua's livid face. He hauled me off the bench with enough force to bruise.

"Stop! It's hideous!" he snarled, disgust twisting his features. "Did you do that on purpose? It sounds like a dying animal!"

*So... I played it wrong?*

I looked around blankly. Guests were covering their ears, their faces contorted with second-hand embarrassment and scorn. Isabella stood in the center of the crowd, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.

"Faith, are you playing the piano or smashing it? That was hilarious!"

Joshua's reputation was in tatters. He raised his hand, poised to strike. The air in the room grew heavy. But with so many eyes watching, he clenched his fist and lowered it, his knuckles white.

"Get out," he hissed, pointing at the grand double doors. "Get out of my sight. Now!"

I scrambled up from the floor, a mess of humiliation and fear. Amid the silent roar of laughter, I fled that glamorous, gilded hell.

I burst out of the banquet hall and into a torrential downpour. Icy rain lashed against my skin, mixing with the hot tears on my face. I couldn't tell where the rain ended and my grief began.