That summer, Elmer accompanied Niamh to the piano competition finals in Aldenville. They’d booked a modest hotel not far from the venue, just enough to get
- by.
On the day of the finals, Niamh was waiting backstage when she suddenly realized she’d left the good luck charm Elmer had gotten for her back at the hotel.
Elmer promised he’d fetch it and get it to her before she went onstage. If he didn’t make it in time, he told her not to worry–he’d be waiting with the charm when she finished her performance.
She believed that with Elmer and that charm by her side, nothing could stand in her way–she was destined to win.
Niamh stepped onto the stage, played her heart out, and earned the highest score of the night.
But as she came offstage, the world collapsed: Elmer had been in a car accident.
She gave up the championship, rushing straight to the hospital–only to be hit with something even worse.
Elmer had fallen into a coma. He was unresponsive, trapped in a world she couldn’t
reach.
Outside the ICU, Elmer’s mother slapped Niamh across the face.
Niamh didn’t fight back. She didn’t even flinch.
She thought she deserved it. Because of her, becausé of her competition, because of that charm, Elmer’s life had been shattered.
In that moment, she almost wished she could take his place–wished it had been her instead.
From that day forward, Niamh couldn’t bear to touch the piano. She never played
again.
She didn’t audition for a conservatory, either. Instead, she enrolled at Aldenville University, majoring in jewelry design.
Niamh knew she was running away.
She felt as if Elmer’s fate was a burden she’d been forced to carry, one she could
never repay.
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Chapter 370
She considered swallowing her pride and asking the parents who had long ago cut her out of their lives for help. But deep down, she knew–they wouldn’t give her a dime.
Elmer’s parents, especially his mother, blamed Niamh for everything. They hounded her for medical bills, for anything they could get.
Gemma Rivers, her adoptive mother, didn’t have much. Niamh had no choice but to rely on herself.
She juggled multiple part–time jobs, scraping together whatever she could to send to Elmer’s mother every month–no matter how little.
Things only turned around when Peter discovered one of her accidental designs and loved it. That was the beginning of the Grand Piano Collection; overnight, she became a darling of the fashion world.
The first major dividend from FY–ten million dollars–she sent every cent to
Elmer’s mother.
Maybe it was the taste of easy money, but after that, Elmer’s mother began demanding the same sum every year.
Niamh agreed.
If money could help Elmer, if it could ease her crushing guilt, she was more than willing to pay.
“Hey, enough tears now… look, I’m awake, aren’t I?”
Elmer gently dabbed her tears away with a tissue, but Niamh only sobbed harder, clinging to him like a child.
“I accept your apology. You’ve paid more than enough for my medical bills. If you still feel you owe me, then I guess you’ll have to marry me.”
Niamh knew he was joking, and through her tears, she laughed at last.
Elmer had woken up. It was a miracle, a happy ending.
But what if he hadn’t?
The truth was, no one–Niamh, Lana, Elmer’s parents, or anyone at Aldenville High–had believed Elmer would ever wake up. People in a coma for that long almost never did.
Even Elmer himself could hardly believe it when he opened his eyes.
10:18:
Chapter 370
“You’re the one who saved me, Nia…”
Elmer’s smile was gentle and warm, the same as always.
Niamh froze, then looked away, shaking her head.
He must already know about the millions she’d sent for his care.
