Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted by Eleven Jewell

Chapter 1681
Shortly after Vermont's departure, Felicity found herself alone in the empty apartment. She felt an indescribable emptiness in her
heart. Her emotions had shifted from anger upon learning the truth to a current state of bewilderment.
Seeking solace, she decided to call Stella.
Stella had just finished attending a concert with Marshall featuring a well-known orchestra from abroad. Despite Marshall's
enthusiastic introduction of the group, Stella could not recall their name.
The music was beautiful, and the concert hall's acoustics were impressive. However, Stella struggled to discern anything special
beyond that. Marshall noticed her constant nods to the music and realized that something was amiss.
In a low voice, he asked, "Do you not like the music?"
Stella shook her head. "It's not that I don't like it; I just don't know how to appreciate it like you do."
Marshall paused for a moment and whispered, "I'm sorry. I thought you'd like this since you play the piano."
"I learned to play the piano because my family forced me to. I don't really like playing it. When I was younger, I pretended to be
sick to skip classes. In order to make my mom give up on forcing me to learn the piano, I intentionally injured my hand, claiming
that it was a piano practice injury.
"But my mom thought that it was due to the quality of the piano at school. So, she used the money she saved for a car to buy me
a piano. It cost over a hundred thousand dollars. The salesperson told her that a famous pianist was using the same brand. They
said that if I practiced for over ten hours a day, I would become better at it. My mom believed them and extended my daily piano
lessons from two hours to four."
Marshall could not help but chuckle when he heard that.
"It's not funny. I'm telling you the truth," Stella said earnestly.
Marshall responded warmly, "I don't find it funny. I just feel sorry for you. However, it's impressive that you could play the piano
so well despite disliking it."
'That's because you've only heard that one piece I'm good at. Meanwhile, Keegan had to endure all the other torturous pieces
I've played,'thought Stella.

When the concert hall emptied out, Marshall proposed Stella to go up on stage and play the piano.
"What?"
Don't you want to experience how it feels to play in a venue that can fit thousands of people?"
But, it's the orchestra's instrument. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to use it?"
"We just need to ask for their permission," Marshall said, as he grabbed her hand before she could respond.
Stella tried to pull away, but then she noticed a glint of light flashing from somewhere in the venue. She froze and allowed
Marshall to guide her onto the stage.
Only one person remained on the stage, packing up the instruments. Marshall approached them and engaged in a brief
conversation in Deutsianian. After getting the person's approval, he called out to Stella to come over.
As Stella approached, Marshall explained, "I told them it's your birthday today and asked if we could borrow the piano to play a
piece as a celebration."
Stella was surprised. "And, they agreed?"
No. I told them I'd pay, and they allowed it."
Marshall's reply left Stella speechless.
"There's no need to spend your money like that," she said.