The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

The earlier performances wrapped up quickly.

The contestants all delivered about what was expected of them, with no major mistakes to speak of.

This time, Harry didn't offer the kind of biting commentary he'd reserved for Antoney and Stella. He simply watched in silence, as if even he recognized there was nothing worth criticizing. After all, you have to let the average folks hold onto a little hope, don't you?

Soon, it was Harry and Rachel's turn to take the stage.

Before the contest, Harry had sworn up and down to Mr. Walden that they'd absolutely beat Stella this time. Mr. Walden, along with Rena and several others, had come to watch in person.

Their arrival drew quite a bit of attention-spectators snapped photos, and a low buzz of conversation spread through the hall.

"I heard Rachel's partner today is Harry, Mr. Walden's top violin protégé," someone whispered. "He's basically the best under Mr. Walden himself."

"Isn't that a bit unfair? Harry's basically on the level of a master-why would he bother entering a student competition?" another person said.

"They say Harry's here to back up Rachel, Mr. Walden's last protégé," someone else chimed in.

"Rachel might be Mr. Walden's student, but she's been completely overshadowed by Stella every single time. She's never stood a chance."

why she's never

she's here, then she shouldn't use illness

to Stella, it just shows their skills are

her absolute peak, I doubt she could beat Stella. Some

going all out to help his student take down Stella-he

bit like stacking the deck, doesn't

don't know what Mr. Walden is thinking. It's a

confusion or even disapproval at Mr. Walden's decision. Some even pointed and gestured

on Rachel's team, even if Stella lost, no one could say she'd been embarrassed-she was

was all about skill. As long

lights came up, Harry and Rachel stepped

reputation for being a bit

as Mr. Walden's top

benchmark among the world's most difficult classics. Rachel could never

a performance that left

for