The Fallen Queen's Dating Show Comeback

lobe goes to... C

through the massive speakers

completely dead. The silence pr

e realit

t how to pull in air. Her heart hammered against her r

car de la Renta gown. The fabric weighed at least twenty pounds. It

breath and forced he

ous applause crashed over

linked them back aggressively. She pinned a flawless, practice

panned across the fr

racked her every movement, locked onto the bare skin of her back. In the blind spot of the len

age. The presenter hand

ght of it settled into her palms. Her fing

peech flawlessly. Her voice didn't shake. She kept he

the front row. She

red again as

nt she crossed the threshold and the heavy velvet curtain

y was incr

apped. Her shoulders slumped forward. Her chest h

room. She picked up her pace, her heels cl

ghting was

me down hard, piercing straight throu

mentum violent

A gasp lodged in her throat, choking her. She squeezed her eyes

shot out from

und her forearm with brutal pre

rked her backward so har

er senses. It somehow carried a heart-stopping familiarity, a primal

ollided with a solid, unyielding wall

hey were entirely too close. A mocking

on your big night, C

lt in her own chest. The hallway was too quiet. He

glared at him, her teeth grindin

arm, trying to

heat of his palm burning through the thin fabric of h

lina hissed, her voi

staff member walked by and saw the

aised a thick

d his weight. He dropped down on

h. The air hissed through her te

gled the torn tulle from the sharp spike of her heel. He did it with t

rozen. Her heart beat so fa

he urged, her voice tigh

ingers deliberately smoothing out the wrink

ed his head up

violent flash of white light explo

-click-click of a camera sh

d. A massive wave of pure terror seized her ches

lder with both hands, pu

ssion vanished. His da

otion. He took a massive stride towar

oulder slamming hard into the metal push-bar of the fire exit. The heavy

orner, their walkie-talkies crackling loudly. The q

ks. His jaw was clenched s

her knees. She knew exactly

ok at Brogan.

an down the hall and shoved the door to her exclusi

lid wood door. She gasped for air. Her h

rayed, squeezing her eyes shut

ard Brogan's deep voice barking orders at

her face, pressing her pa

, the Los Angeles nig

s of TMZ, a breaking news

-definition. It wa

eyes were fixed intently on the new Best Actress winner as he gently adjusted her dre

above the pho

t Kept Secret: Who is

ernet e

ndred thousand retweets. The sheer volume of tra

ed the platform. Shock. Jea

kyrocketed to the number one