"..."
Amelia Quinn's mouth hung open, a breath caught in her chest, her face flushed.
Frank Castle almost laughed aloud. He hadn't expected Chloe's blunt truth to leave Amelia Quinn dumbfounded. He, again, felt bewildered, unsure what Amelia Quinn's tantrum was about. Too lazy to bother, he said to Chloe: "Teacher Chloe, thank you for your appreciation. I'll find a recording studio tomorrow, and we can try it out together."
"Okay, thank you, Teacher Frank! I'm so happy to collaborate with you!" Chloe's eyes crinkled in a smile, truly pleased.
Earlier, Chloe had approached Frank, saying she had written a folk song, but singing it alone always felt like something was missing. After hearing Frank sing "The Balladeer," she suddenly realized her song was missing a male vocalist for a duet! So Chloe asked Frank for help, hoping he'd sing with her. Frank initially declined, not wanting to implicate Chloe with his current bad reputation. But Chloe insisted, her small face pleading. She said the song had been bothering her for a long time, and her ample chest swayed as she declared she'd lost so much weight from sleepless nights and loss of appetite. Frank, after confirming she wasn't afraid of being affected by his reputation, finally agreed. After all, she was willing to collaborate with him on her original song; it would be too pretentious of him to refuse.
Chloe was overjoyed and immediately pulled out the score she carried with her. Frank, a music fanatic himself, instantly loved the song upon seeing it. The two then stood together, discussing how to arrange it. Of course, when looking at something together, you need to be close. But both were focused purely on the music, not thinking about anything else. It was Amelia Quinn's sudden appearance, looking like a furious empress catching her husband cheating, that seemed ridiculous.
Now, reminded by Chloe that she and Frank were divorced, Amelia Quinn choked. Yet, seeing Frank and Chloe so close just now, her heart felt like it was on fire. Especially since Chloe was younger than her, and... more endowed. And there was Evelyn Jones, the granddaughter of old Mr. Evans, gentle, serene, and remarkably talented. And Cecilia Rhodes, cute, lively, and genuinely endearing. These three women all seemed to have strengths beyond her own. Frank had been divorced from her for less than two months, and three shameless women were already clinging to him. Could it be...
The incompetent man I threw away... is actually a treasure?
No!
What treasure? Frank is selfish and shameless, he's been hiding it from me all along! The thought ignited Amelia Quinn's anger again. She coldly said to Frank, "Frank, come with me. I have something to ask you."
Frank gave her a "you're crazy" look. "Who are you? Why should I go with you?"
Amelia Quinn glanced at Chloe beside them. "Our marital affairs—do you really want to discuss them in front of an outsider?"
Frank sneered, "Ms. Quinn, we are no longer married."
Amelia Quinn was speechless again. How could she keep forgetting she was divorced from Frank?
"Teacher Chloe, I have some personal matters. I'll contact you tomorrow." Frank apologized to Chloe. He didn't want Amelia Quinn to take her anger out on Chloe.
"Okay, Teacher Frank, Teacher Quinn, goodbye." Chloe obediently left. Once she was gone, Amelia Quinn coldly demanded of Frank: "Frank, we were together for so long. Why did you hide good songs from me?"
Frank looked at her calmly. "The incident with Sarah hitting someone—the internet said I did it. Why didn't you clarify?" It was Amelia Quinn who hit the person during the 'Sarah' event back then. It was Frank who apologized for her and calmed the situation. Now Frank was being slandered, and Amelia Quinn was playing dead. This was simply unacceptable.
Amelia Quinn froze, her voice suddenly dropping a few decibels. "That was so long ago. Why are you bringing it up now?"
Frank sneered, "Yes, it was so long ago. But you and Liam Reed didn't hesitate to use it to slander me, did you?"
Amelia Quinn quickly retorted, "I didn't do it!"
Frank said coolly, "If you didn't do it, then Liam Reed did. You knew, but you condoned it, right?"
Amelia Quinn shook her head repeatedly. "No, I didn't know anything!"
Frank looked at Amelia Quinn's face—beautiful as a painting, graceful and elegant. Yet, why were her actions so disgusting?
"I must have been blind."
Frank tossed out half a sentence, then bypassed Amelia Quinn and walked away. The other half of the sentence was said in his heart: This isn't over. My feud with you two isn't over either. Divorce was due to incompatible feelings, but after the divorce, Amelia Quinn and Liam Reed repeatedly slandered and smeared him, ruining his reputation. This was a blood feud. Frank didn't have the power to seek revenge now, but that didn't mean he wouldn't in the future.
"Frank!" Amelia Quinn looked at Frank's retreating back in disbelief and shouted, "How did you become like this?!" The old Frank was so gentle and meticulous, so tolerant and generous. Now he had become narrow-minded and petty, always holding a grudge. Was such a small matter really worth this?
Frank completely ignored her and quickly walked away. Amelia Quinn clenched her fair hands, biting her red lip. After a long moment, she suddenly smiled. I understand! Frank is playing hard to get! He used to be so gentle and compliant with me, but I still divorced him. So now he's trying a different approach, trying to get my attention.
Amelia Quinn was very confident, because Frank had chased her all the way to the show; this was proof that Frank wanted to reconcile. Amelia Quinn sneered. Frank, since you want to play games, I'll play along. But it won't be easy for you to get my forgiveness. Not unless you kneel and beg me, and produce at least three more songs on par with "The Balladeer"!
Frank Castle didn't leave Capital City Network right away. He called Celeste Monroe while walking towards the mentor's lounge. He had intended to visit Celeste Monroe earlier, but he'd gotten caught up talking about the duet with Chloe and then entangled with Amelia Quinn, delaying him a bit. He wondered if his aunt had left yet. He tried calling, but Celeste Monroe's line was busy. That was normal; how could America's #1 Diva not be busy?
Frank paused, Celeste Monroe's cold yet subtly tired face appearing in his mind. He continued walking towards the mentor's lounge. His aunt clearly wasn't in good spirits. It was only right, both personally and professionally, for him to check on her.
Arriving near the mentor's lounge, he encountered Cecilia Rhodes. Seeing Frank, Cecilia Rhodes's eyes lit up, and she started to run over. "Frank, are you here to see me, waaaah..."
Suddenly, Monica, her manager, clapped a hand over Cecilia Rhodes's mouth from behind. Monica apologized to Frank: "Sorry, Teacher Frank, Ceci has an urgent matter today. We're leaving first."
"Waaah..." Chloe was petite, a head shorter than Monica. She was forcibly dragged away by her manager, only able to wave her small hands and make muffled sounds.
"Okay, Teacher Rhodes, Manager Monica, take care."
"See you, Teacher Frank."
"Waaah..."
Frank watched the stern Monica and the struggling Cecilia Rhodes walk away, calm and unfazed. He understood Monica. Chloe was so young, had such a good reputation, and was single. Getting constantly associated with a notorious divorced man like himself would indeed be problematic. Her manager would be remiss not to intervene.
Frank didn't think much of it. He approached Celeste Monroe's lounge and saw a girl with a bob haircut and bangs standing by the door. Seeing Frank about to knock, the girl quickly stopped him, whispering, "Frank, I'm Celeste's assistant. Celeste is... not doing so well right now. You'd better not go in."