The doctorâs diagnosis put Balfour at ease, and he nodded with a sigh of relief, âWell, thatâs goodâ
Patriciaâs eyes twinkled, âBalfour, the doc says my foot ainât that bad, I wanna go check out Ellinorâs performance, Iâm a bit worried about her Balfour furrowed his eyebrows. âPatri, the doc advised you to stay put and get some rest Patricia pouted âBut I really wanna see Balfour, could you take me there, pretty please?â
Balfourâs brow furrowed even more. âNo can do Patri, Ellinorâs performing in your name, if people see you there, itâs gonna stir up troubleâ
Patricia was taken aback, she hadnât forgotten that. But she still wanted to see Ellinorâs performance. If she screwed up and pissed off old Mr. Bagley she could always pop up and prove that it wasnât her on stage and make up a story about Ellinor pretending to be her to ruin old Mr. Bagleyâs birthday bash.
That way, she could play the victim and frame Ellinor âI just wanna peek from afar We can make sure nobody sees us.â
Balfour didnât budge. âPatri, stop being so stubborn, you need to get treated and restâ
âBut bro,â Patricia whined with tears welling up in her eyes.
Balfour was unmoved Quinton, watching the standoff between Balfour and Patricia, made a suggestion, âMs. Howard, you should listen to Mr. Howard and rest here. I can stream Ellinorâs performance for you on my phoneâ
Patricia, while disgruntled, knew that Balfour wouldnât change his mind and reluctantly accepted Quintonâs proposal, âAlright. Iâm counting on you then, Quinton.â
Quinton replied respectfully. âThatâs too kind of you, Ms. Howard. Itâs no trouble at all.â
Patricia always came across as approachable and understanding in front of others Therefore, almost everyone who knew her thought she was friendly, like an innocent angel. Quinton was no exception.
Balfour didnât stop Quinton; he just watched his seemingly wellâbehaved but increasingly worrisome sister with a complex and seemingly tired expression Backstage at that moment Ellinor had finished her makeup and was ready to go.
Haillie looked at her, thinking she looked more sophisticated than Patricia after getting dolled up. She was more jealous and said grumpily. âEllinor, you better nail your performance, donât embarrass Patricia!â
Ellinor looked at the arrogant Haillie in the mirror. âIâve told you, Iâm not a singer. You guys insisted on having me take Ms. Howardâs place. If youâre worried about me messing up. I think Iâd better not performâ
Haillie was fuming. âEllinor, youâre all made up now, stop being a dival The showâs already started, if you donât go on stage now, what about the other performers?â
Ellinor slowly stood up, âBut, as I recall, my costume for this performance isnât the one Iâm wearing nowâ
Haillie scoffed. âThat costumeâs on Patricia right now, and we only have this one. Just do the performance that goes with this costume.â
Ellinor sighed helplessly. âWell, I guess I have no choice, then. Iâll just have to take Ms. Howardâs placeâ
She took a deep breath to prepare herself, then reluctantly went on stage.
Seeing Ellinor go on stage, Haillie smirked, eager to see how sheâd do.
Excited, Haillie left backstage to watch the performance.