The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

He wracked his brain, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't recall where he'd seen that face before.

By all rights, a young man with such striking features should have left a deep impression on him.

In the end, he could only chalk it up to old age-his memory wasn't what it used to be.

Just then, faint threads of music drifted from the dimly lit stage.

As the melody began, the stage lights slowly brightened.

A single beam of pure white light fell across the woman standing at center stage.

The beautiful music filled the entire hall.

Marvin snapped to attention and blurted out, almost without thinking, "That's Moonlight-Stella's own composition!"

Neville recognized the violin in Stella's hands and smiled. "Nocturne Stella," he said quietly.

Mr. Burton nodded in agreement. "It's been ages since Stella performed with Nocturne Stella."

Neville added, "Nocturne Stella holds a special meaning for her."

The group soon fell silent, giving themselves over to the performance.

Listening to Stella play the violin was a rare pleasure.

Her technique, her ability to pour emotion into every note-both were simply beyond compare.

Joshua had listened to Stella play more times than he could count.

He loved the sound of her violin.

For years, he'd suffered from insomnia.

But whenever he heard her play, he'd feel the tension melt away, and sleep would come quickly.

These days, he even relied on a playlist Abby had curated-recordings of Stella's performances to help him drift off at night.

Still, nothing compared to hearing her live.

Every piece she played, he cherished, and he no longer limited himself to justnoveldrama

Moonlight as he had in the past.

Joshua couldn't quite explain why.

Maybe her talent was simply extraordinary-greater than anyone he'd ever seen.

Recently, his old insomnia had all but vanished.

His moods weren't as volatile as before.

He suspected it was thanks to listening to Stella's music every day.

Because of that, he treasured her hands

ho would never allow anyone to harm her, or to threel

her ability to play.

MS

Now, seeing her standing on stage, graceful and poised as she played, Joshua felt suddenly dazed.

A wave of déjà vu washed over him-like he'd seen this scene somewhere before.

It was as if the melody belonged to some distant dream.

He hadn't thought of that dream, or the shadowy figure in it, for a long time.

But now, the woman before his eyes seemed to merge with that figure from his memory.

Joshua's breath caught, turning uneven.

He admired Stella's violin skills-truly, he did-but he told himself that was all it was: admiration.

Yes, just admiration.

He kept telling himself that.

For the rest of the performance, Joshua found himself unable to think about anything else.

As so many times before, he was soon completely absorbed in Stella's music.

Nocturne Stella had an ethereal, haunting sound, unlike any other violin.

When playing certain pieces, it could evoke feelings impossible to achieve with an ordinary instrument.

Of course, it had its limitations-not every piece suited Nocturne Stella's unique voice.

But Moonlight was different. Stella had composed it specifically for

Tourne Stella, tailoring every note

to the instrument's strengths.

There was simply no violin more perfect for Moonlight.

Stella's

had returned to their

peakaps she was even

years

than she'd been in competition ago.

When the final note faded, the hall erupted into thunderous applause.

Everyone around couldn't help but break into excited conversation.