Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 169

Viola clenched her teeth, frustration simmering on the other end of the line.

It was always about money—she'd missed out on learning an instrument as a child because her family couldn't afford lessons. Now, though, she finally had Philip's love… and money, too! Well, not that much of her own, if she was honest.

But she couldn't let her new music teacher see any weakness. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out Philip's supplementary credit card.

"However much you charge, I can pay it," she said, forcing her voice to sound confident.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'll get your next lesson scheduled right away," Salome replied, beaming with delight. She promptly sent over the newly-inflated lesson fee and her bank details.

A few minutes later, the notification came through—payment received.

Salome stared at the row of zeros on her screen, grinning from ear to ear. "Rich girls really are something else… With a cash cow like you, I can live easy for a while!" she murmured gleefully.

If she could squeeze enough out of Viola, maybe she could even afford to join an orchestra better than Luna's.

Viola, of course, had no clue what Salome was plotting. She glanced at the clock—Philip would be home for dinner soon. Smiling to herself, she picked out a sweet, innocent-looking dress and headed down to the parking garage to meet him.

...

In the parking garage, Celeste pulled into her usual spot, exhausted. Work had been relentless these past few days, and she'd been composing music for her porcelain series late into every night. She was running on fumes.

Tonight, she told herself, she'd finally get a good night's sleep.

As fate would have it, the doors of two cars opened at the same time.

Viola's cheery voice exploded in Celeste's ears. "Philip! What's that you're holding? Is that a violin—for me?"

Philip turned, holding out the violin case to Celeste. "It's for you."

The color drained from Viola's face.

Philip was still chasing after Celeste? But she was the one who'd stuck with her music—Celeste had quit ages ago! Why did he still have eyes only for her?

Viola's gaze burned with jealousy as she glared at Celeste.

But Celeste didn't take the case. "If that's the best you could do, you might as well give it to Viola. I deserve better."

She brushed past Philip without a backward glance.

A sharp pain tightened in Philip's chest. He wanted to go after her.