Chapter 270
Mr. Walden looked genuinely surprised.
“Only a high school education? But from what I can tell, she must have at least fifteen years of violin training. Mr. O’Brien, are you certain that’s her only schooling?”
If Stella Cameron had started learning the violin at age five, that would mean she’d spent fifteen years honing her skills-she’d still have been playing at twenty. While natural talent certainly matters in music, nothing replaces years of hard work and formal study. No one could reach that level by teaching themselves alone.
Besides, the variety and depth in her playing-there’s simply no way she developed that in isolation. Even someone like himself, no matter how skilled, couldn’t raise a student to that level without exposing them to the wider world.
There was no doubt in Mr. Walden’s mind: the woman in the video had received advanced training.
Standing nearby, Rachel Pearce couldn’t hide her growing frustration. The entire conversation seemed to revolve around Stella, and it gnawed at her.
She interjected, “It’s absolutely true. Haynie is her husband-he wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Mr. Walden gave her a knowing look. “Or perhaps, Mr. O’Brien, you don’t know your wife as well as you think?”
A faint discomfort tightened in Haynes O’Brien’s chest.
He’d always believed he understood Stella. But lately, her actions had left him questioning that assumption—he hadn’t even known she could play the violin.
Mr. Walden’s voice brought him back to the moment.
“I know families like yours often prefer their wives to stay out of the spotlight. If your wife doesn’t want to perform publicly, that’s perfectly fine. But if she has the time, perhaps she could attend a few music seminars.”
Rachel’s eyes widened in shock.
She knew that when Mr. Walden extended an invitation, it was only the first step- he would observe the candidate for quite some time before deciding whether to accept them as a student. His standards were notoriously exacting, almost impossibly so; over the years, he’d handed out hundreds, perhaps thousands, of invitations, but had only ever taken on about fifteen or sixteen students.
Rachel had assumed that even if Mr. Walden was impressed by Stella’s playing, he certainly wouldn’t take her on. But now, she could hear it in his tone-he was considering it.
Why? Why Stella? She hadn’t picked up a violin in five years! What made her so special in Mr. Walden’s eyes?
Suppressing her resentment, Rachel forced a polite smile. “Mr. Walden, it’s not that Haynie won’t let her go. She’s just busy taking care of the children and really doesn’t have the time.”
“To be honest, Haynie’s wife did work as a violinist before, but after they married and started a family, she quit her job to become a full-time mom. Haynie’s encouraged her to go back to work more than once, but she simply doesn’t want to. And it’s not as if he can’t support her-he just can’t force her to do something she doesn’t want.”
“In fact, she hasn’t even touched a violin in five years. The video you saw was actually recorded half a decade ago…”
Her words implied that Stella had only ever learned the violin to marry into a wealthy family.
Mr. Walden frowned, clear disappointment in his eyes.
“Five years without touching a violin after getting married?”
He remembered a former student of his—a girl with astonishing talent for the piano, but from a background of unimaginable poverty.
Mr. Walden, recognizing her potential, had personally mentored her, bought her a piano, and ensured she attended the best schools with the finest teachers.
He’d believed that after graduating, she would make her mark in the world of music. But instead, she married almost immediately.
Of course, he could understand a young woman wanting to settle down and build
a family. But what disappointed him was that she’d gone straight from marriage to motherhood, becoming a full-time housewife.
After she had her child, Mr. Walden encouraged her to return to her career, to make use of her hard-earned talents. But she’d accused him of meddling, even calling his words moral blackmail.