Page 77 of Rush

“You okay? You’ve been distracted since we landed.”

“I’m good. Just...thinking about everything coming up.”

She eyes me for a moment longer but doesn’t press. Instead, she flips to the next page on her tablet.

“Well, you won’t have much downtime to think. After your sister’s wedding—it’s all systems go.”

Mark leans in. “It’s a good thing.”

I meet his gaze and smile—genuinely. “Yeah. It is.”

Kylie’s tablet pings, and I see the alert: Alexander Westerberg. She swipes it away, but it’s too late—I’ve already seen it.

“Sorry, I forgot to delete that auto-alert,” she murmurs.

“It’s all good,” I say, squaring my shoulders.Busy. We’re keeping busy. If I keep busy, there’s no space for Alex.

Broderick will keep my mind—and body occupied.

But sometimes the nights are merciless. In the hollow quiet, Alex returns. He lives there, threading himself through my dreams: a constant reel of every word, every glance, every heartbeat we shared. His drunken phone call loops on repeat. I lie awake for hours, picking apart what he said, what I did—until sleep finally drags me under.

And still—I can’t help but miss him.

Even after everything, I don’t know how to let him go.

The roarof the crowd still echoes in my ears as I come off stage, heart pounding in the best way.

I tug a hand through my hair, still catching my breath, when Ava steps up beside me, grinning from ear to ear.

“Youkilledthat,” she says, as the stagehand rips her outfit off her body, helping her into her next.

Another stagehand rushes over to me handing me a water bottle.

I laugh. “You didn’t have to bring me out there.”

She smirks. “Please. My fans areobsessedwith you. I was just giving them what they wanted.”

“I’m not sure anyone’s ever ready for that,” I tease, but Ava catches the slight waver in my voice—the vulnerability—I’ve gotten good at hiding in public.

She nudges me gently as the makeup artist pats her face with power. “It’s a lot, huh?”

I nod, glancing out at the arena, lights dimming and shifting into another color. “Yeah. I mean, I’m grateful—I really am, but sometimes it’s like…as soon as people love you, they want to watch you fail. And with everything that’s happened.”

“Alex?” Ava cuts in gently, and I sigh, giving her a small nod.

“Yeah. And before him? The press has had a field day with me and my personal life. Now that things are taking off…they’re just waiting for me to screw it all up.”

Ava is thoughtful as she gulps down water, then looks me dead in the eye.

“Listen, I’ve been in this game a while. And yeah, it’s brutal. But you know what I figured out? They only get to write your story if you let them. You want to know the secret?”

I tilt my head, curious.

“Keep somethingjust for you. Something they can’t touch. Doesn’t matter if it’s a person, a place, or a feeling. You hold onto that, let it be your anchor.”

Her words settle in my chest, warm and heavy—and immediately, Broderick’s face flashes in my mind, unbidden.

I shake my head with a little laugh, trying to brush it off, but she winks at me.