Stolen Melody, A Love Betrayed

ad poured my soul into for three years. It was my masterpiec

through the half-open do

the Vanguard Award, Brit," Jake

but she can' t handle the pressure," Brittany said, quot

ot a daughter or the woman Jake was

been feeding on my talent since the day I was born. And the baby I was carrying? It wasn

oncern. He pulled me into an embrace, murmuring into my hair, "We

a call. As Jake listened in on another line, his voice cracking

e to confirm my appoi

or the...

pte

e Edwar

ndtrack to my life' s greatest betrayal, and I heard it all throug

s voice was a nervous whisper, thin and reedy, so different from

ough his perfectly styled dark hair, his brow furrowed with that

dent rumble that used to make my heart feel sa

e. Everyone knows it. What if so

ck. Once we have it, I' ll handle the rest. I' ll make sure the right people know this song ca

ago. "Jake and Brittany are here. Acting weird. He keeps asking fo

adn

way. I wanted to see for

trange, cloying pity. "She' s the talent, I know, but she can' t handle t

rittany. You have the beauty, the charm. She was never meant for the spotlight. This song will be launched

Not a sister, not a partner, not the woma

t seeped in, a slow, freezing poison that started in my gut and sp

e doorframe. My knuckles were white. The sharp edge of the frame was digging into my p

... empty. A hollowed-out space w

tle bakery near our apartment, a small gesture to celebrate the near-completion of the so

risp. But now, the chill I felt h

is drafty building. I should have been thinking about the final

tal understanding slic

ray

the taste of ash in my mouth. It was the faces of my mother, my father, my sister, and the man I loved, all blu

smearing through the rain that had started to fall. My feet moved one

weight of my rain-soaked coat as I shrugged it off

id down the wall, my back scraping against the cool

started to tremble. The cold from the floor seeped throug

e I' d been holding must have been thrown away somewhere

n. I didn't have the energy to wipe them away. They just fell, drippi

knob turning made my

e leather shoes echoed on

slow and gentle. "Juliette? Honey

masterpiece of

on my shoulder, warm and heavy. Alaina must have c

s thumb stroking my arm in that sooth

is familiar scent of sandalwood and clean linen filling my s

get lost in, were filled with a carefully constru

lecks of gold in his irises. He cupped

e whispered, his voice soft a

for the first time, I saw it

thing. It was the very foun

an. A rival musician, desperate for a record deal, had falsely accused me of plagiarism. The m

tep back, to fade into the background, "for the good of the family name." They

e world that the songs were a collaborative effort, that I was the shy composer, and he was the fa

awards show that cemented our image as a power couple. It felt like salv

world. In reality, he was just

mposed, I arranged. My music, filtered through his name and brand, made him a rising star in the industr

iful apartment overlooking the city. We talked about

e had the p

new. I was just the most

rapping around my trembling shoulders. H

my hair. "We have so much to look forward to. Soon it won

d to make my knees weak, wa