Which isn’t true.
The truth is, I remember the first night she asked me to sleep nearby because she didn’t feel safe. I remember holding my breath every time she faltered in public. I remember thinking I couldn’t be what she needed.
And now she’s here. In my sweatshirt. Humming. At ease.
“I didn’t know life could feel like this,” I admit.
She sets her pencil down and stands, stepping into my space. Her arms wrap around me, easy and familiar.
“This is my favorite part,” she whispers. “Being home with you.”
Chapter forty-one
Epilogue - Lila
The lights drop, and fifty thousand people fall quiet at once.
The sound of it used to overwhelm me.
That collective inhale. That suspended moment where every eye turns forward and waits for you to hold the weight of them.
A year ago, silence like this made the edges of my vision blur. A year ago, my pulse would spike so fast my body forgot how to stay upright. A year ago, I walked onto stages like this feeling hunted. Exposed. Alone inside a spotlight that didn’t care if I survived it.
Tonight, I step forward with steady legs.
The stage blooms with light, warm and familiar. The crowd comes into focus. Their faces upturned, expectant, buzzing.
I lift the mic, smiling before I have to remind myself to.
“Thank you,” I say, my voice carrying clean and strong through the stadium. It doesn’t wobble. It doesn’t catch. “Tonight is special.”
A ripple of excitement moves through the crowd.
“I’m debuting a new song,” I continue, fingers warm around the mic, “one I never imagined being brave enough to write.”
I breathe in slowly.
The air doesn’t fight me anymore. Neither do my fans. They all seem to lean in with me.
“This song,” I say softly, “is about love.”
A few cheers. Some laughter. Familiar reactions.
“And it's about the person who showed me what it feels like to be safe.”
The crowd murmurs, warm and approving, like they’re holding the moment with me instead of demanding it from me.
They’re willing to listen.
I nod once to the band.
The first notes drift out into the stadium, gentle and warm, like they’re testing the space before settling in.
My shoulders stay loose.
And I let the music carry me.
The melody swells, and with it come the memories.
