He was just about to slip into the shadows and follow when someone gently

    tugged at his sleeve.

    "Joshua."

    Joshua turned. To his surprise, it was Simone Lerman.

    Simone beamed at him. "Joshua, what are you doing here? Not keeping Ste

    Joshua calmly slipped his arm free from Simone''s grasp. "Did you need

    something?"

    ncing around to make sure no one was watching, Simone lowered her voice.

    "Joshua, I wanted to talk to you. Would you take a walk with me?"

    He wasn''t in any particr rush, so after a moment''s thought, he nodded.

    Simone had always been fond of Joshua. After learning that his background

    matched her own, even herst reservation had melted away. Now, the more time

    she spent with him, the more she liked him.

    They strolled together into the quiet, secluded back garden.

    Joshua''s true identity still wasn''t public knowledge. Simone wanted to seem as

    though she liked him for who he was, not because of his status or connections, so

    she chose her words with extra care. She couldn''t risk asking if his closeness to

    Ste was part of some scheme to acquire shares in The Williams Group.

    Watching Joshua''s expression closely, she asked, "Joshua, is there some

    misunderstanding between you and my brother?"

    After Leonard''s injuries healed, Simone had asked Joshua about the attack. Just

    as Aurora Williams had suspected, Leonard had imed to have seen Joshua at

    the hospital.

    "Maybe there is," Joshua replied. "After all, your brother dide to see me once.

    He told me to stay away from you that I wasn''t good enough for you."

    Simone''s smile faltered. "My brother came to see you? When was this? Why

    didn''t I know?"

    Joshua pretended to think for a few seconds. "It must have been not long before

    your brother was hospitalized."

    That couldn''t be right. She remembered calling Leonard about Joshua around that

    time, and her brother had actually praised her taste, saying Joshua would be an

    asset to the Lerman family.

    Something felt off. "What exactly did my brother say to you?" she pressed.

    Joshua gave a small shrug. "He said

    a lot of strange things. He told me

    maybe I''d picked the wrong person.

    He said your violin ying wasn''t as

    good as Aurora''s. Even mentioned

    Aurora has the same earrings, ys

    the violin too-asked why I was so

    sure it was you. In the end, he told

    me to stay away from you. Said

    someone like me, an orphan with no

    family, waspletely unworthy of

    you."

    Simone''s hands clenched involuntarily.

    No wonder Joshua had been so distant with hertely.

    So Leonard had really confronted him. But why would her brother say something

    like that when he knew exactly who Joshua was?

    A sudden thought struck her.

    Aurora...

    Maybe Leonard had done it for Aurora.

    If Aurora could count on Joshua''s

    help, she''d have no trouble joining

    The Williams Group or acquiring

    Ste''s original shares. And as luck

    would have it, Joshua was now

    spending time with Ste.

    If all of this was for Aurora''s benefit, things would fall into ce far too easily.

    Of course helping Aurora would

    mean Leonard gained another rival

    in love. But if it meant Aurora''s

    happiness, Simone knew her brother

    would dly ept it-even if it

    meant sharing Aurora with someone

    else.

    Most people would never dream of undermining their own sister for the sake of

    their beloved. But Leonard absolutely would.

    Simone had always known that, in Leonard''s heart, she''d nevere before

    Aurora.

    She used to think it didn''t matter. Back then, she''d been so weak—there was

    nothing she could do except ept Leonard''s protection.

    It was only after meeting Aurora that things changed. With Aurora''s support, she

    finally found the strength to stand on her own.