Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism

The driver came forward. "Miss, please get in the car."

Lucy looked away and got in. "Spring City."

Tonight, not only was Grace throwing a party in Spring City, but another big name in the dance world, Vivian Montclair, was there for the same reason too.

Grace was Violeta and the Nelson sisters' teacher.

And Vivian was Lucy's teacher.

Both of them turned forty this year, became famous dance masters around the same time, and, coincidentally, they even share the same birthday.

Violeta and the Nelson sisters picked up the gift and then took a taxi to Spring City.

"Everyone coming tonight are veterans in the dance world. Our teacher will introduce you to everyone. After all, you are her last disciple!"

They arrived at Spring City.

The three of them got out of the car, and before they even went inside, they saw two signs hanging at the entrance.

Next to Grace's birthday party sign, there was another sign for someone else's birthday party.

Violeta didn't pay much attention and glanced past it.

But when Hazel and Nydia saw the name on the other sign, their expressions immediately changed.

"Vivian!?"

"Why is she at this hotel too?"

Violeta asked, "What's wrong?"

Hazel responded, "Vivian is our teacher's enemy!"

Violeta was taken aback. "Huh?"

Nydia said, "It's a long story...

Grace and Vivian used to be best friends since childhood. In college, Grace started dating someone, but Vivian ended up stealing him away.

That dramatic best friend-stealing-boyfriend situation actually happened.

The worst part was that during the Lotus Competition that year, Grace lost her chance to compete because she got injured and had to take a year off to recover.

That same year, Vivian shone at the Lotus Competition, taking all the applause, honors, and trophies, even getting featured on a TV.

Meanwhile, Grace lost a whole year because of her leg injury and only got better the next year.

So, a lot of people only knew about the dance prodigy Vivian, not Grace.

Plus, the dance world had its fair share of shady stuff. Grace and Vivian had totally different personalities. Vivian was great at networking, while Grace just loved focusing on dance.

Grace was also super straightforward, saying whatever was on her mind, which ended up offending quite a few people.

After a few years, Vivian became a big-shot dance master on screen, while Grace pretty much disappeared from the scene.

They were archenemies.

Many people in the dance circle knew about their history.

Vivian's married now. She was married to Declan Ashford, the guy she stole from Grace back then.

Grace couldn't ever forget the grudge from losing her boyfriend and blowing her career chance.

And now, they were both celebrating their fortieth birthdays.

They even booked the same hotel ...

And most of the guests they invited were probably from the same circle. This night's gonna be quite the show!

As Violeta walked into the hotel, she listened to Nydia and Hazel recounting all these old stories from the dance world.

"Our teacher's still single, I thought... I never knew she went through all this."

Nydia said, "Of course! And there's even more infuriating stuff!

"Back when Declan was with our teacher, he promised to set off fireworks for her every year. But after he got together with Vivian, they started setting off fireworks every year on their anniversary! Can you believe it? It's just infuriating! This woman not only stole our teacher's lover but also took away their promise. It's disgusting."

Hazel agreed. "Yeah, I'd be furious if I were in her shoes.

"Vivian must be doing it on purpose, silently rubbing it in our teacher's face every year."

But Grace wasn't a pushover either. Over these years, she had been focusing on her dance, participating in numerous competitions abroad, often taking Nydia and Hazel along. Their reputation and market presence overseas far surpass Vivian's.

Every year, Vivian set off fireworks in Hoiten.

Meanwhile, Grace took the two of them to competitions abroad, and when they return, they come back triumphant.

In the industry, the name Grace holds much more weight than Vivian's.

But Vivian had much higher exposure on the screen compared to Grace, mainly because Vivian enjoy appearing on shows while Grace didn't.

It was because of this that a few years back, Vivian's top disciple, Lucy, broke up with Jasper and went abroad. Officially, she went to study dance, but in reality, she went to compete and boost her fame

overseas.

Lucy came back with a bit of fame from her overseas competitions.

But at the same time, Lucy also understood just how popular the name Grace was overseas!

Whenever Grace took her team for commercial performances abroad, they'd sell out every single time.

"Vio, tonight you're definitely going to be the talk of the town. I can already guess what they're up to. They have their ways."

Baizi was taken aback. "Me?"

Hazel nodded. "Yeah.

"You're our teacher's last disciple, and you know how demanding she used to be. Now that she's singled you out, they're gonna pick on you for sure. You're still new at this, so they'll find something to nitpick about later. Just don't let it bother you. Stick with us."

Violeta responded, "... Got it."