Page 119 of Hard Rock Muse

“I want it more than anything else.” Tears pricked the back of my eyes.

Julian, looking concerned, took me by the shoulders.

“Ev, what's wrong?” he asked.

“It’s Keith,” I blurted out. “He’s the reason I left the music industry. He ruined my reputation. No one would work with me after I walked out on him. I’m scared of what he might do to the two of you if we go ahead with this.”

“He did what?” Julian’s expression turned murderous.

“That fucking asshole!” Seth cried out. “So that’s why you disappeared all of a sudden?”

“I decided I had to reinvent myself,” I explained. “I came back as Everly Davis and hoped no one associated me with Ever Darling.”

“I can’t believe that bastard fucked with you like that,” Julian growled.

He and Seth seethed, rage on their faces.

Cerise barked out a laugh. We turned to her, surprised.

“Are you talking about Keith Fielding, the producer?” She continued chuckling. “That guy is a washed-up has-been.” She lifted her chin smugly. “You’re forgetting, I’m Cerise Moreau.”

She said it as if she were the Queen of England, as if her notoriety was an indisputable fact. Which, considering, it probably was.

“You really want this?” she asked me.

I thought about all the things Keith had said to me. Had said about me. Thought about all the million ways I’d doubted myself. All the ways I’d stifled myself, trying to be someone I wasn’t.

I clenched my fist, fingernails digging into my palm.

Maybe I couldn’t exactly be Ever Darling anymore. Too much had happened to me, too much had changed. That proud, overconfident girl was gone.

But I didn’t need to be Everly Davis anymore, either. I didn’t need to be that girl full of self-doubt, that girl who couldn’t speak her own wants and needs.

I looked over to Julian.

After all these years, after everything I’d gone through, I finally realized…

It didn’t matter how I thought I had to dress, or who I thought I had to depend on, or what I thought I had to call myself.

I could take control of my own life and be the person I was meant to be.

I turned to Cerise and gave her a determined look.

“I want this,” I told her. “I want to be back on stage.”

Without another word, Cerise pulled out her phone and put it to her ear.

“Kell, hey,” she said briskly. “You know how you were looking for someone for that new project? Yeah, I’ve got someone I think you’ll love. Everly Davis. Used to be known as Ever Darling. Yes, that Ever. Well, I don’t know about that, but she’s been a wonder to work with. Yeah, she’s brilliant. Okay, cool. I’ll text you her info. Awesome, thanks, Kell. Talk later.”

She hung up the phone, that smug expression still on her face.

“Problem solved,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Kell Pierce from Feral Silence will be your producer and backer.”

I put a hand to my mouth, stifling a loud gasping laugh of disbelief.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Completely,” she said with an easy shrug. She went to put her phone back in her pocket.