Chapter 1682

Marshall let out a chuckle. “If spending a little money can make you happy, then I think it’s worth it.”

Stella stayed silent. She avoided his gaze and focused on the piano. “I don’t really know much piano pieces.”

“Do you know how to play Lyphard Melody?”

“I guess so.”

Marshall quickly searched for the sheet music on his phone and placed it on the stand. “Why don’t you give it a go?”

Glancing at the moving shadows in the audience, Stella walked around the piano and sat down. After studying the sheet music for a while, she slowly pressed the keys.

The ethereal melody instantly filled the hall. Stella’s fingers were slow, and the chords barely connected due to her lack of practice. The world-famous piece sounded rather unpleasant when Stella played it.

She considered giving up, but before she could stop, a pair of well-defined hands landed on the piano keys next to hers.

The person had fair, slender, and elegant-looking fingers. The veins on the back of their hand were subtly visible, exuding a sense of refined beauty, as their fingers danced across the piano.

A melodious piano tune gradually filled the air, as those hands started moving.

Marshall turned to Stella and said, “Let’s play together.”

Stella had regained her focus. She slowly found the rhythm and followed along.

However, she was not very proficient. After going through a few sections, she slowly reestablished her sense of the piece, resulting in a smoother performance.

When the music concluded, Stella looked at Marshall and said, “So, you know how to play the piano.”

“I really liked it for a while, so I took a few classes. I only know the basics. It’s nothing impressive,”

Marshall replied.

There was a brief silence. Stella realized that people had different standards.

The idea of taking pride in her piano skills seemed absurd when Marshall, who was considerably better, remained so nonchalant about it.

She was about to get up when Marshall suddenly said,” Don’t move. There’s something on your head.”

Stella instantly recalled the last time Marshall removed a locust from her head, and she froze on the spot.

Marshall leaned in cautiously, extending his hand to grab something from the top of her head and placed it in front of her. When Stella lowered her head to see what it was, she was shocked.

In Marshall’s palm lay a silver necklace with a diamondshaped pendant that could be opened. Inside the pendant was a photo of Keegan.

Stella gasped.

“It doesn’t matter what they say. Do whatever you want. If it makes you uneasy that he’s not here, then keep him close to you. I hope you can get what you wish for,” Marshall said softly.

Stella looked at Marshall with disbelief. His brown eyes seemed gentle and deep.

‘He must’ve known why I’m frequently meeting him. No one believes that Keegan is alive. They thought I was going mad. Since I couldn’t find him, I tried to use my own methods to force him to come out.’

Despite Keegan’s desire for Stella to stay away from Marshall, she insisted on being with him just to see if Keegan would appear.

Tm a selfish person,’ thought Stella.

This was why she did not clarify her relationship with Marshall to the public. She wanted the media to spread this matter, and she hoped that Keegan would see it.

Rumors about their fake romance had escalated to the point where both the Saun and Moore families were probing each other to get some clarification.

Yet, Marshall continued to meet up with Stella every day. He was not oblivious to what was going on;

he just willingly let himself be used.

Stella was overwhelmed with shame. Her eyes reddened, as she bit her lip.

After a long pause, she said, “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t blame you,” Marshall said. His voice remained gentle. ‘Tm glad you thought of me.”

He smiled and continued, “Wanna know something? Every time you’re with me, you subconsciously look around for cameras. Next time, you can just tell me what to do, and I’ll cooperate with you.”