Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 53: The Sky Has Fallen

"Mr. Hawthorne..."

Serena Hughes started to step forward to say something, but Hugo Grant blocked her with an outstretched arm. "Miss Hughes, if I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut right now."

Serena Hughes looked at Damian Hawthorne, unwilling to back down.

’Keep my mouth shut? How could I possibly keep my mouth shut?’

’Cecilia Nathan just played "Eye of Love"!’

She knew how important this piece was. Cecilia knew. Damian Hawthorne knew too.

And yet, Cecilia had played it in front of all these people.

’Mr. Hawthorne won’t think Cecilia is Luna, will he?’

At that thought, Serena Hughes’s eyelid twitched violently.

’Cecilia knows this piece, and Luna knows this piece... Could it be that Luna is Cecilia?’

The possibility made Serena Hughes’s vision go dark.

’No, it’s impossible.’

’Cecilia clearly said she had just learned it on the spot back then...’

"Isn’t it perfectly normal to know how to play this piece? Miss Hughes, you can play it too, can’t you?" Cecilia Nathan said, glancing coolly at Serena Hughes.

Serena Hughes gave an awkward smile and turned to Damian Hawthorne. "Actually, I asked Teaching Assistant Nathan for some advice on this piece yesterday..."

After speaking, Serena Hughes looked at Cecilia Nathan with an expectant expression.

Although she knew Cecilia wouldn’t help her, begging Cecilia was her only option now.

If Cecilia spoke up for her, she might still be able to salvage her image.

Otherwise, complete and utter humiliation awaited her.

Damian Hawthorne walked up to Cecilia Nathan and stared at her intently. "Cecilia, this piece... when did you learn it?"

He didn’t ask who the original composer was, but when she had learned it.

Cecilia Nathan met his gaze, not looking away. "Is that important?"

"Damian Hawthorne, you’re not going to ask if I’m that Luna, are you?"

Cecilia Nathan’s eyes crinkled into a smile, looking both playful and adorable.

Damian Hawthorne’s breath caught, and he pressed his thin lips into a firm line.

’If he closed his eyes, Cecilia’s rhythm and style were identical to Luna’s.’

Damian Hawthorne lowered his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You’re overthinking it. My eyes aren’t so bad that I’d mistake you for Luna."

Then, he beckoned to Serena Hughes. "Come here."

Serena Hughes walked over apprehensively. Damian Hawthorne casually draped an arm over her shoulder and gestured toward Cecilia Nathan. "Your teaching assistant is pretty skilled with the violin. You should learn more from her in the future."

Damian Hawthorne raised his eyes, the corners of his lips curving up into a smile that narrowed his eyes. "Oh, right, Cecilia. Let me introduce you."

He leaned toward Serena Hughes with a roguish air, took a stray lock of her hair, and tucked it behind her ear.

It was a gentle gesture, yet his lazy posture carried a hint of flirtation.

"Serena Hughes. My girlfriend."

There was a hint of deep affection in Damian Hawthorne’s eyes as he looked at Serena Hughes.

For a man who was usually so carefree, such a display of affection was rare.

Serena Hughes’s eyes widened, and her heart began to race uncontrollably.

’He admitted it! He admitted it!’

’Mr. Hawthorne admitted I’m his girlfriend!’

Serena Hughes was ecstatic, and her eyes reddened intensely.

’Getting my hands on this piece was the right move after all.’

Hearing this, Cecilia Nathan’s brow furrowed slightly.

Although she had long known this would be the outcome, Cecilia didn’t want to see things develop this way.

She wanted to say that she was the one who gave Serena Hughes the music.

But seeing how fiercely Damian Hawthorne was protecting Serena Hughes, she just felt a wave of exhaustion. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

She had thought Serena Hughes went to such great lengths to get the sheet music for a specific reason.

But now it seemed that even if Serena hadn’t gotten it, Damian Hawthorne would have ended up with her sooner or later.

Cecilia Nathan’s lips curved into a smirk. She suddenly felt like a clown today.

"Congratulations," Cecilia Nathan said as she placed her violin back in its case and secured it.

Serena Hughes blushed to the roots of her hair. "Thank you, Cecilia Nathan. And don’t worry, I’ll definitely do what I promised you before."

Cecilia Nathan’s lips curled. "No need. I have somewhere to be. I wish you two an eternity of happiness."

She had come today to thwart Serena Hughes’s scheme, but she hadn’t expected Damian Hawthorne to be so dead set on protecting her.

She only wanted to make things difficult for Serena Hughes, not to confront Damian Hawthorne directly.

Since Damian Hawthorne had declared Serena Hughes his girlfriend, anything more she said or did would be as futile as an egg hitting a rock.

"I’ll walk you out," Hugo Grant said gently as he calmly walked to Cecilia Nathan’s side.

Cecilia Nathan nodded and left without a backward glance.

Serena Hughes looked shyly at Damian Hawthorne, only to find his gaze fixed on Cecilia Nathan.

Serena Hughes’s smile vanished. With a LURCH, a sharp pain pierced her heart.

"Mr. Hawthorne..." Serena Hughes’s whole body was tense.

Damian Hawthorne had suddenly called her his girlfriend, and she still hadn’t processed it.

She wouldn’t have even dared to dream of the scene that had just played out.

"When you said I was your girlfriend just now... was that real?"

Damian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "What do you think?"

Serena Hughes: "..."

"If I hadn’t said you were my girlfriend, do you think Cecilia would have let you off the hook today?"

Damian Hawthorne’s words made Serena Hughes’s heart clench painfully.

Of course, she knew. Cecilia Nathan had come today specifically to ruin her moment.

If not for Damian Hawthorne’s words, Cecilia Nathan would have probably exposed the truth about the music to everyone.

"Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne..." Serena Hughes let out a long sigh.

She didn’t care that much about the music itself, but she was part of the Sinclair Family now. She couldn’t disregard the Sinclair Family’s reputation.

Serena Hughes wanted to ask Damian Hawthorne more, but she didn’t dare.

She desperately wanted to know if Damian Hawthorne truly saw her as Luna.

But she didn’t dare ask the question out loud.

Serena Hughes bit her lower lip, lowering her eyes in jealousy.

’No matter what, I have to marry Mr. Hawthorne.’

’Because I’ve already fallen hopelessly in love with him.’

But right now, she had no idea what kind of feelings Damian Hawthorne truly had for Cecilia Nathan.

Back at the desert race, when Cecilia Nathan’s car spun out of control, Damian Hawthorne hadn’t hesitated for a second, driving straight toward her.

He had disregarded the danger, using his own car to block Cecilia’s tumbling vehicle.

An act like trading a life for a life—if someone said Damian Hawthorne had no feelings for Cecilia Nathan, she would never believe it.

Just now, Damian Hawthorne was ostensibly protecting her, but in reality, he was protecting Cecilia Nathan.

’If I had been utterly humiliated today, Grandma would never have let Cecilia Nathan off the hook.’

’Perhaps it was precisely because he understood Grandma’s methods that Damian Hawthorne had made that reckless declaration.’

Serena Hughes hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage to ask tentatively, "Mr. Hawthorne... on the surface, you were helping me, but in reality, you were also trying to help Cecilia, weren’t you?"

Damian Hawthorne’s sharp brows furrowed slightly as he shot her a glance.

In just a few seconds, Serena Hughes felt a chill run through her entire body.

Her intuition told her she shouldn’t have asked that last question.

’When Damian Hawthorne wants to protect someone, he protects them to the death.’

’Just like how he protected Luna.’

"Serena Hughes, I recall telling you not to provoke her." Damian Hawthorne’s voice was light, almost airy. It sounded like advice, but it carried a distinct thread of warning.

Resentment flared up in Serena Hughes’s heart. "And what if I insist on provoking her?"