The search results load.
And my jaw drops.
“Max Donovan Net Worth: $130 Million and Rising.”
“Frontman for Storm & Silence Arrested in Prague: What Really Happened?”
“Max Donovan’s Dating History: From Heiresses to Hollywood’s Wildest Nights.”
“Ten Times Max Donovan Looked Too Hot to Handle (And We Didn’t Handle It Well).”
“The Eyes. The Voice. The Chaos: Why We Can’t Quit Max Donovan.”
Oh. My. God.
I click on the last one, because I’m a masochist.
The article opens with a high-def, shirtless photo of him from some Rolling Stone shoot. He’s leaning against a wall, tattoos on full display, eyes like twin lightning bolts of sin, and his smirk? Criminal.
I clutch the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
He kissed me like hemeantit.
Twice.
I scroll, breath catching as the article dives into his infamous dating history, his year-long disappearance from the spotlight, and how his last album—Reckless Heart—smashed records and, according to oneveryprofessional journalist, “broke a few ovaries too.”
I keep scrolling. One article turns into three.
“Max Donovan Spotted Leaving Hotel with Supermodel.”
“Ten Lyrics That Prove He’s a Secret Softie.”
None of it makes this feel like an easy business transaction.
There are thirst posts. Fan forums. A Reddit thread titled:
“Max Donovan Thigh Appreciation Society.”
I slam the laptop shut.Then I open it again. Because I have no self-control.
The next tab I click is a YouTube video. Him. On stage. Mic in hand, voice rough velvet and fire. It’s a song I don’t know, but the lyrics hit like a freight train.
I built a home in the wrong place
Tried to fill it with noise and neon grace
But silence came anyway—
And I stayed, and I stayed, and I stayed…
I press a hand to my chest. It physically aches.
Another article mentions his stint in rehab. How he came back clean and quieter. One interviewer wrote,“He doesn’t self-destruct on camera anymore, but there’s a fire behind those eyes that says he still knows how.”
I think of the way he looked at me at the masquerade. Like he’d already decided I was real in a world full of fake.
I think of his mouth on mine.
