Chapter 3

Evelyn headed to the dance troupe after finishing her business. She headed to the office of her superior, Rowena Green. There, she saw the awards their troupe had won and photos of everyone dancing lining the wall. She ran her fingers over them, and her gaze was filled with reluctance. She thought she would spend the rest of her youth and life with this dance troupe, but the separation came so abruptly. "Evelyn." Rowena entered the office and patted her shoulder. The bitterness Evelyn had just suppressed welled up again when she saw Rowena. Rowena had guided her for the past decade. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "I'm here to turn in my resignation, Ms. Green. My birth parents found me, and I'm migrating abroad to be with them." Rowena's eyes widened in surprise. Then, joy replaced it. She sounded happy as she said, "That's great news! Will you continue dancing when you're abroad?" She'd watched as Evelyn had gone from being a shy, timid girl to a beautiful young woman. She knew that Evelyn had poured her heart and soul into dancing. It had made her blossom and gave her confidence. That was why Rowena didn't want Evelyn to give it up. A hint of determination flashed in Evelyn's eyes as she looked at the photos on the wall. She smiled and nodded. "Dancing has always been my dream. I won't give up on it so easily. I'll continue dancing in the future." Rowena nodded approvingly. She'd always admired Evelyn's determination, so she'd given her the troupe's principal dancer position. She'd done it to train Evelyn to take over for her in the future. It was too bad that the plan had fallen through. Rowena couldn't exactly stop Evelyn from leaving the country to be reunited with her family. Rowena asked tentatively, "Are you leaving immediately? The dance you've spent the last year choreographing is about to make its first run. You put your heart into it. You must show it on stage." Evelyn nodded. "I've already discussed this with my parents and told them I'll join them after settling everything here. I have two weeks before I leave. I have enough time to dance first." Rowena was relieved to hear that. She patted Evelyn on the shoulder. They chatted for a while longer before Evelyn went to practice. She only grabbed her things and headed home when it was late at night. Surprisingly, she found that Jocelyn was still around when she got home. As she listened to the conversation, she realized everyone was discussing the wedding gown and accessories. "My head is spinning from all those designs and accessories, Mrs. Ford. Evelyn and I have been best friends for years, and I was hoping she could help me pick. She knows my likes and dislikes, anyway," Jocelyn said. Evelyn happened to enter at that moment. Ivy beckoned her to join them. "Josie was just talking about you, Evelyn. How about you accompany her for the next few days so she can pick out the things she needs for the wedding?" Evelyn looked at Jocelyn. Jocelyn was smiling, but her smile turned provocative when she met Evelyn's eyes. Evelyn lowered her eyes and decided to turn them down. "I'm sorry, but I don't have the time. I have things to do at the dance troupe." She only had half a month left and was due to perform soon. She had many things to deal with before leaving, so shopping with Jocelyn wasn't something she had time for. However, the cheery atmosphere died down at her words. Cameron looked at her icily and said, "Your best friend is getting married. Can't you set aside your things for her? You're going with Jocelyn, and that's final. I'll ask the troupe to give you some time off starting tomorrow!" What right did she have to say no when he was forcing her to take time off? She smiled bitterly without saying anything else. For the next few days, Evelyn had no choice but to set everything aside to focus on shopping with Jocelyn for the things she needed for the wedding. She thought Jocelyn would only need to head to the shopping mall to select a few things. However, Jocelyn brought her from one end of the city to another. She wanted Evelyn's opinion on everything from the wedding gown to a hairpin. Whenever Evelyn suggested she send someone to ask Cameron what he thought, she would give Evelyn a chiding look. "What's the point of asking him? All he does is give me money. He knows nothing aside from that. You're the one who knows what I think. I asked him to pick out our wedding rings with me last time, and do you know what he did? He had someone send an array of rings to my house so I could pick whichever one I wanted!" Jocelyn sounded like she was ranting as she tried on a headpiece, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that she was boasting. To her dismay, Evelyn listened silently without reacting the way she expected. She bit her lip and was about to say something else when she saw Cameron standing at the door. She turned and cried in surprise, "Cameron? What are you doing here?" Evelyn looked up to see Jocelyn run to Cameron and throw herself into his arms. She kissed his jaw sweetly. He caressed her hair and said dotingly, "You said you wanted to go to the chapel outside of the city, right? I took half a day off to come pick you up." They whispered sweet nothings to each other, making Jocelyn blush and burrow deeper into his embrace. Then, she seemed to think of something and went back to Evelyn. She held Evelyn's hand but spoke to Cameron. "Evelyn's been with me for the past few days. How about we bring her with us?" Cameron didn't even spare Evelyn a glance. He merely picked up the things Jocelyn had bought and turned to leave. "Whatever."