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We all walked side by side as Tyler and other security personnel guided us through the massive corridors.

Everyone was coupled up, Evy clinging onto Emmie like he was going to disappear any second, Mikey almost carrying Lily like she was a fragile porcelain doll, and Sierra skipping beside my brother with awe glittering in her wide eyes.

While Lan and I were on opposite ends.

My friends still hadn’t gotten wind that Lan and I had broken up, but they knew something was terribly wrong. And they knew any intervention and questions they asked would lead nowhere, so somewhere along the way, they stopped.

“Katy.” Chris’s excited voice reached our ears. “Through here.” He pointed at the door behind him that said VIP lounge, which was attached to our box seats. “You’re right on time. The show will start in a few.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Chris.” Sometimes, I had no idea what I would do without him. He was more organized, meticulous, and goal-oriented than me, and deep down, it wasn’t something that I was ashamed to admit.

Yes, I was good at my job, but I wasn’t very exceptional because it wasn’t something I liked.

I did it because I had to.

I did it because I had no other choice.

How long are you going to tell yourself the same excuse, Katy? my subconscious sneered at me.

“Katy, thank you so much for coming in tonight.” Lexie swallowed me in a tight hug, the tiny glittering sequins of her minidress digging into my skin that peeked through the gap of my sweatshirt. “Wow, Katy, you look…” She frowned but plastered on a big smile. “You look… good.”

And I knew I looked anything but good. Lately, playing dress-up with the latest fashion trend was the last thing on my mind. I no longer cared how I looked because why did it matter anyway?

I lost him.

“Thanks, Lexie, and thanks for having us over,” I muttered. “And you look amazing.”

She welcomed the entire band before we swept off to mingle with the rest of the people. Most of them were faces we already knew, and some were close friends from the industry.

And it would be disrespectful of me not to greet them since I’d been chummy with them in the past. My cheeks hurt, and my throat rasped by the time we finished saying hi to everyone and walked over to our seats in the front row.

A rush of screams passed through the air when the fans noticed the band through the box windows.

The boys waved at them while a few flashes snapped at us. They even attempted to throw objects to sign our way, but our security quickly stopped them. We loved our fans, but it was one act we strictly condemned, given that some fans acted rowdy and seriously injured a few artists.

Our security instead went down and gathered everything they wanted to be signed. That way, we maintained peace and still kept them satisfied.

I took the lone seat in the corner with a bucket full of chicken tenders and a huge can of Coke. Although I much preferred alcohol but, lately, even the smell of it made me nauseous, so Coke it was.

My mind didn’t count calories anymore. It didn’t set the strict limit to one thousand two hundred per day while I at least burned five hundred calories with heavy cardio. It all disappeared, and now I ate everything I wanted to my heart’s content. I ate like I’d been starved for the past six years, and it felt good.

It felt more than good.

I think it was the only thing that made the lost Katy happy.

I watched as Mikey carefully settled Lily down in the seat next to him, asking her every second if she was okay, which only annoyed her, but then she ate up all the care and love he showered on her.

It wasn’t just Emmie who gave us a scare; both the Jameson siblings terrified us when they ended up in the hospital, just weeks apart, on different accounts.

But Lily baby, was doing much better now. She had finished her last round of chemo and was fast recovering. At times, I didn’t even have to worry about her. Because her husband watched over her like a hawk and wouldn’t let her lift a finger.

I still couldn’t believe Mikey married her before any of us got married, but then they were the first ones to meet and had been in love with each other forever.

If anyone deserved each other more, it was both of them.

This was Lily’s first outing with the band in months. She still hadn’t gotten the full recovery sign-off from her doctor, but the glow was back in her eyes, and her weary bones were filling up.

I prayed to all the gods that our Lily was one hundred percent healthy.