Hey, what am I thinking? His lips were beautiful. They were thin, and most would think people with that kind of lips were hard to get along with, but she got along well with him. She stood beside the piano, closing her eyes and enjoying the music. Eventually, she felt her heart calming down.
Eugene had finished the tune, but since she was still immersed in it, he played another tune. Olivia noticed that, but she stayed quiet. When the second tune was done, Eugene stopped. “Do you like this one?”
Olivia nodded. “The story behind this song made me cry back then. I wanted to learn, but my teacher didn’t teach me.” Eugene said, “Come here. I’ll teach you.” Olivia frowned, feeling a bit embarrassed. “But I don’t know how to play.”
“It’s fine. Sit down.” Eugene sat her down. “I’H teach you step by step.” He held her hand and placed it on the keys. “Lighter. Relax. Relax your fingers and your body.”
Olivia knew that she had forgotten all her basics, and it was worse than she imagined. Eugene had to correct her hand posture a few times, let alone how she played the piano. Eugene would ask her to play after him, but she’d either play the wrong note or forget the notes in the middle. She had to play one bar a dozen times, but she still forgot most of it at the end of the day.
She was getting nervous, but Eugene seemed patient enough. “Take it slow. Being able to play well takes years. Nobody can master it in a day. You can fool lots of people if you master this.”
Olivia smiled. “People would think I’m a maestro if they don’t know better.” “So?” Eugene said. “You’re talented. It’s just a piano tune. Nothing hard, really.” Olivia looked at him. “You’re getting better at praising.”
Eugene answered, “All thanks to you.” Olivia glared at him playfully. “Yeah, right.” Eugene smiled. “You asked Jewel about the necklace, right? What did she say?”
Olivia answered, “It’s the same thing as the one we brought back from Eurosia, but she doesn’t know if it’s real.” Eugene paused for a moment, and he looked at her. “You can’t be a princess, can you?”
Olivia was speechless. “That’s what she said too. If I was really a princess, I wouldn’t have been abandoned, alright?”
Eugene frowned. “Not necessarily abandoned. Maybe they had no choice. You said the necklace is priceless, right? If you were abandoned, there’s no way you would have that necklace on you.”
Olivia nodded. She thought he had a point. “But that doesn’t prove anything. The real article is in Eurosia’s princess’ hands. They probably made a lot of fakes to prevent the real one from getting stolen, and one of them was given to me.”
Eugene didn’t believe it. “They started making fakes twenty years ago?” Olivia answered, “Not impossible. It’s expensive, and they want to keep it from being stolen, so they made a few more fakes to distract the thieves.”
Eugene said, “I’m more inclined to believe that both the necklaces are real.” Olivia said, “Hey, there are fakes. The one we gave was a fake, right? The princess said they made a lot of fakes to prevent theft.”
