Chapter 77 Cheated On?
Quentin couldn't believe it. How could she be so strong?
He felt Amelia's grip tightening around his fist, and the pressure was increasing bit by bit. It was like she was going to crush his hand bones.
Quentin gritted his teeth, trying not to scream in front of everyone. It would be too humiliating to be overpowered by Amelia like this.
Seeing Quentin's shoulders trembling from the effort to hold back, Amelia suddenly let go.
The moment she released her grip, Quentin felt like he had narrowly escaped death.
Quentin couldn't help but look at her in horror. Who exactly was this Amelia? How could a normal girl have such quick reflexes and so much strength?
"Amelia, you okay?" Tobias immediately grabbed her hand with concern as soon as she let go. "Let me see if your hand got dirty."
Quentin felt like he was about to explode with anger. He was the one whose hand was almost crushed! And Tobias went over to check on Amelia, asking if she was okay?
Gilbert, seeing that the two had stopped fighting, finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped in. "Alright, you two. Students should get along peacefully. No fighting."
Then Gilbert sternly added, "Tobias and Quentin, both of you write a self-reflection and hand it to me. The rest of you, disperse and get ready for class."
With Gilbert's words, everyone finally started to scatter. Tobias shot Quentin a glare before reluctantly heading back to Class E.
As school was about to end in the evening, Amelia received a text message.
[Hey Amelia, it's Osborn.]
[Just got to River City and settled into my hotel. Would you join me for dinner tonight?]
Osborn was already in River City? Wasn't he supposed to come next week?
Before Amelia could question it, Osborn explained himself.
[Couldn't wait to see you, so I had Soren change my flight to the earliest one available. Nice surprise, right?]
[Already booked a restaurant. Can't wait to see you, Amelia.]
Well, that was a pleasant surprise.
After nearly a year of exchanging emails, in a way, this meeting between Amelia and Osborn was like an online friend meetup.
Amelia told Tobias she wanted to go out for a walk and took a cab to the restaurant address Osborn had sent her after school.
The restaurant was a high-end, well-known private dining establishment in River City, showing that Osborn had done his homework on the city's cuisine.
Following the waiter to the private room, Amelia saw Osborn in person for the first time.
Despite being nearly sixty, his face showed the marks of time, but he looked like he was in his forties or fifties.
With striking blue eyes, deep brown hair, and a stylish black coat, he was the epitome of an elegant English gentleman.
Osborn, seeing Amelia, couldn't hide his amazement.
He stood up to greet her, bending down to kiss her hand and sincerely praising her, "Amelia, you're even more beautiful than in the videos."
"Thank you," Amelia smiled. "You're also more handsome than the Osborn I always see on TV."
Despite their forty-two-year age difference, Amelia and Osborn were friends.
Osborn had a youthful mindset, and their previous email exchanges were always friendly, making their conversation now quite relaxed.
"To meet you, I even had my gray hair dyed brown before boarding the plane," Osborn said playfully, winking. "Doesn't it make me look much younger?"
"No," Amelia's eyes curved into a smile. "You were already young; you don't need hair color to enhance that."
"You really know how to talk, Amelia," Osborn laughed heartily and sat down with her.
Their conversation turned to the piano competition. Amelia mentioned she had received an invitation from the organizers that morning, not realizing it was Osborn who had recommended her.
"Amelia, no one is more qualified to participate in this competition than you. You're the most talented person of your age I've ever met, a true musical prodigy."
"Of course, even though we're friends, as a judge, I will evaluate based on the performance. So, Amelia, I hope you won't let me down in four days. I've been looking forward to your live performance for a long time."
"I also hope to hear your new composition. I've listened to every piece you've sent me countless times."
Amelia glanced at the competition rules today.
Most pianists don't compose; they just play from sheet music.
But this competition invited highly skilled pianists recognized by the organizers, making original compositions a basic requirement.
"Okay, I'll write a new piece," Amelia agreed.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Osborn's excitement was palpable, though he looked a bit worriedly at Amelia's right hand. "But Amelia, is your hand injured?"
Amelia smiled lightly. "It's just a minor issue; it won't affect the competition."
After dinner, out of courtesy, Amelia shared a cab with Osborn to drop him off at his hotel.
However, there was a problem with Osborn's check-in information at the hotel.
Being a foreigner, he wasn't as familiar with the process, so Amelia stayed with him at the front desk for about ten minutes, then saw him to the elevator.
But what Amelia didn't know was that during those ten minutes, Kelly, who had just finished checking in with Ben, spotted Amelia's back at the front desk.
"Am I seeing things? Is that Amelia at the front desk?" Kelly immediately asked Ben.
"Amelia?" Ben was taken aback, then widened his eyes upon closer inspection. "Whoa, it really is her!"
Kelly couldn't help but gasp. "And the man with her, judging by his profile and build, must be in his fifties, right?"
"A high school girl with an old man at a hotel? I didn't see that coming."
Ben was equally shocked.
He had thought Amelia seemed quite aloof. Just yesterday, he had shown Quentin a forum video, saying Amelia was beautiful and smart, worth dating.
But now, it turned out this seemingly pure Amelia was secretly meeting an older man at a hotel.
"That man looks wealthy," Kelly said disdainfully. "Imagine selling yourself to an old man for money. Amelia really is a country bumpkin, poor and unsophisticated."
"Bringing an illegitimate child from the countryside to River City was already embarrassing enough for the Martinez family. If this gets out, the Martinez family won't be able to hold their heads high in society."
"And isn't Amelia still Quentin's fiancée in name?"
As Kelly spoke, she quickly took out her phone and snapped a photo of Amelia and Osborn.