Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128 Beneath the Compliment

Because of her injury and hospitalization last time, Lydia had fallen far behind in training and missed out on a stage production she’d been preparing for over half a year.

Her lead role had gone to the understudy–Tilda Windrow.

What pissed her off even more was that someone had recently injected a large sum of funding into the company, and it looked like there were clear signs of plans to push Tilda into the spotlight.

Tilda was strong and undeniably talented. In the past, Lydia had held the upper hand, but only because Tilda came from an ordinary background and was locked down by a restrictive contract, while Lydia had the powerful Lancaster family behind her, able to bring money and resources to the company.

But Tilda wasn’t like Julie, that useless coward who betrayed Claudia for a paycheck and threw away her career.

No, Tilda had real talent and real vision. She was one of those people who, once given a shot, could rocket to the top.

Every time Lydia saw her, she felt a strange déjà vu, like she was watching Claudia back in her prime–brilliant, magnetic, impossible to ignore.

Genius had a way of looking the same, but talent alone meant nothing if it never reached its full potential.

Watching Tilda across the room, drenched in sweat after rehearsal, still laughing and chatting with the people around her, a flicker of cold malice flashed in Lydia’s eyes.

No matter what it took, she was going to land the lead role in that internationally renowned choreographer’s new ballet.

But before that could happen, her own upcoming solo performance had to blow everyone away.

Lydia was obsessive in preparing for this stage. She wanted everything to be flawless. The Lancasters were all–in on supporting her, pouring in money and running heavy promo across all channels.

She had even paid a top–tier choreographer for an original routine. Technically, it was good, but something about it felt lacking.

It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t memorable.

Chapter 128 Beneath the Compliment

And Lydia wasn’t aiming for “pretty good“. She wanted something unforgettable.

Worried about the performance, Lydia hadn’t had the energy or interest to work on her relationship with Jasper lately either.

Finished

Besides, ever since Claudia had slapped him in front of everyone, Jasper had been in a constant state of depression, and Lydia had zero interest in babysitting his self–pity. Instead, she threw herself fully into preparing for her comeback.

Lydia wasn’t in a great mood. After exchanging a few brief words with Tilda, she left the dance company and headed to her usual massage spot in the nearby mall.

But just as she was approaching the shop, a girl behind a glass wall caught her attention.

Inside an empty dance studio, a young girl–pretty, fresh–faced, probably still in her teens- was dancing alone to music in a simple, clearly cheap practice outfit.

Every turn, every glance over her shoulder was breathtaking, captivating in a way you couldn’t look away from.

It only took one look for Lydia to know–this was it.

She stood silently outside the glass, waiting for the song to finish.

And the closer it got to the end, the more intense her gaze became.

Finally, when the girl finished and sat on the floor to drink some water, worn out but content, Lydia walked around and pushed open the studio door.

“Um… who are you?” the girl asked, blinking in surprise. She looked young and innocent, clearly new to the world.

“Sorry, I was just outside and saw you dancing. You were amazing. Did you choreograph that yourself?” Lydia said with a warm smile.

The girl beamed, completely unguarded. “Yeah, I did! It took me forever. You really saw it? That was my first time performing the whole thing. You’re officially my first audience!”

She lit up like a rabbit waiting for praise.

Lydia’s smile deepened. “You’re really talented.”

She gave the girl a quick once–over, noting the face, the clothes, the setup–then casually asked, “Are you here alone?”

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