Page 55 of The Pursuit of Happiness (Satan’s Angels #2)

Aria

Three months later

“Here we fucking go,” Ivory squeals as she squeezes my hand under the table. We’re at the Muse Awards and they’re about to name the winner for the best rock album of the year. We’re seated at a large, circular table surrounded by hundreds of other famous artists from all genres.

Ivory sits beside me and Brody sits beside her. Sly’s hand is on my thigh over the silk of my baby-blue dress. I squeeze Ivory’s hand so hard and I notice she and Brody are doing the same. We’re all holding our breath.

Across the table from us is Nate, Selene, Miles, and Miles’ wife.

Brody’s fiancé sits beside her with a hand draped over the back of her chair, his black eyes trained only on the side of her face.

The announcer starts, “And now, the nominees for best rock album of the year.” She smiles at the audience as she raises a piece of paper and starts reading, “Thunderstrike’s ‘Follow the Lightning,’ Satan’s Angels’ ‘The Masks We Wear,’ and The Silverbirds’ ‘Clipped Wings.’”

Sly leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Marry me.”

I laugh, shaking my head at him. We’ve been doing this everyday for months. He asks, I say ask me again tomorrow, and then he asks me again the next day and we repeat.

“And the winner is,” the announcer reads the name and smiles as she looks up.

This is it. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.

Brody, Ivory, and I press our heads together and Brody grabs my other hand, creating a sort of circle between us.

Her giant marquise diamond ring is digging into the back of my hand, but I don’t complain.

I’m too anxious to hear the name that’s about to come out of her mouth.

“Satan’s Angels’ ‘The Masks We Wear!’”

Brody leaps out of her chair and screams in excitement. Ivory jumps up and down, clapping her hands. I rise from my seat and feel so much happiness wash over me. I look down at Sly and he’s smiling so wide. He’s so happy to see me win even if it meant he had to lose.

As Brody and Ivory start walking closer to the stage to accept our award, I lean into Sly’s ear and whisper, “Yes.” Before I turn and follow them.

We step onto the stage and make our way to the microphone. Sly’s eyes are the first I find and the wide eyed, shocked expression on his face says it all. We accept three, giant music note shaped awards that are way heavier than they look.

Brody gestures with her head towards the mic, “Go ahead.”

She wants me to do the speech? I shake my head, but Ivory shoves me forward.

I stop in front of the microphone and hesitate, looking across the sea of faces before me.

When I look at Sly, I relax and take a deep breath.

“We are so honored to have been chosen for such an award. This will easily be one of the most memorable and important moments in our lives and careers. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs while making that album and in the end, it turned out beautiful.

To us, it isn’t the album winning that’s important.

It’s about what it means to win. What it means to be the first female band to win a Muse Award.

“The rock industry has always been centered around male rock stars and when people think of rock, they think of men and the icons who were there before us.

It was hard to rise to fame in such conditions, but we managed to do that.

It was hard to earn the respect of our fans and peers, but we managed to do that too.

It was hard to make that album when we had our own personal issues going on, but we managed to create something beautiful.

“What I’m trying to say is that we’re proud to honor all those little girls who are sitting home right now, dreaming of being a rock star when they grow up.

You can do it. You can do every and anything you want to and you should never be afraid to be doing something different than what is already being done.

You should never be afraid to inspire change.

” I take a step back from the mic and the room is silent.

Brody nudges my shoulder, “That was fucking awesome, dude.”

Ivory whispers, “Eleven out of ten.”

The room erupts into claps and cheers and I blush as I feel hundreds of eyes on me and the eyes of people watching from home.

As Brody, Ivory, and I march off the stage with our awards in hand and back to our seats, Sly is immediately on me, kissing me on the cheeks, nose, forehead, everywhere. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” he beams.

Brody and Harvey are huddled close together and Nate is patting Ivory on the back. Selene is ecstatic, no doubt proud of my speech and of the achievement we’ve just earned.

Sly places a finger under my chin and turns my face to meet his, “Say it again.”

I smirk, “Say what again?”

He gives me a pointed look and I laugh before giving in. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

I lean in so close, our lips are a centimeter apart, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He kisses me immediately and I set the award down to embrace him.

A thought pops into my head and I realize there’s one question I’ve been dying to ask. “Sly?” I quirk my head at him as I gaze into his eyes, my arms still wrapped around his neck.

His smile is so wide, “Yes, Kane?”

“On our first date, well, the fake one, why did you laugh when I said blue was both of our favorite colors? If blue wasn’t your favorite color, why did you get a blue Bugatti?” I ask, curiosity in my tone.

The same smile he sported that day sprouts on his face and he chuckles lowly to himself.

I wait for him to answer, but instead of using his words, he reaches up and grabs a blue streak of my hair and holds it up for both of us to see.

I raise a brow at him because I still don’t get it and he laughs.

“That day, you should’ve asked me why blue was my favorite color and why I picked you up for a date in a blue car.

Because then I would’ve done this,” he twirls the strand of my hair around his finger and I feel warmth spread through my chest. He got a blue car because it was my favorite color.

Blue is his favorite color because it’s my favorite color.

He had me in mind when he got the car and he’s had it for a long time.

I lean forward and kiss him. His love for me runs so deep that my heart feels like it wants to jump out of my chest and into his hands. God, I love this man.

After what we went through three months ago to now being inseparable and stress-free, Sly and I are finally engaged after the chaos Rogan caused.

He surprised me not long ago with a colonial mansion which was rumored to be haunted.

It’s even more gothic and dreary than my old house, not to mention ten times bigger, and we’ve been living there together since.

An added bonus being that it’s on Brody’s street.

Now, when we go home, we won’t be going home as boyfriend and girlfriend.

We’ll be going home as an engaged to be married couple.

And don’t tell Sly, but I knew from the first time he asked me in the hospital that I was gonna say yes.

I just wanted to wait for the right moment to present itself and tonight was that moment.

Selene lived up to her promise of keeping Rogan locked up and he’s currently in jail at one of the shittiest prisons in the country, thank you, Selene.

She also upheld her promise of suing the shit out of John Sweet.

His show was canceled by the first week Selene had him on her list and the rest has just been out of spite.

She also somehow managed to fix my public reputation.

I can proudly say I am no longer being slut shamed online, and even if I was, fuck it. I don’t care.

Brody and Harvey are engaged, no shock there. We all knew that was coming.

My mother and I have definitely improved our relationship, but everyday is a day of progress. It’s slow, but it’s there.

Sly and I get frequent visits from his parents and I’ve grown so close to them. I finally feel like I’m in a real, loving family.

Thunderstrike found a replacement guitarist named Zade, and he’s pretty cool. He’s sitting at our table next to Nate.

We finished the album and it was easily a hit. Selene thinks we have a shot at another Muse Award next year, this time, with Slater.

I look around the table at all the faces I’ve come to consider family.

It started with Brody, Ivory, Selene, and I, and it’s grown to include the men we love and who love us.

I face Sly to find him already staring at the side of my face lovingly.

I smile at him and wonder how the fuck we got here.

Oh yeah, it all started with a sex tape. Who would’ve thought?

A member of the event staff approaches our table with something behind her back.

She looks cheery and showcases a huge smile.

She walks right up to Ivory and outstretches her hand to offer her a light pink rose.

Ivory gulps and her face seems to pale as she accepts.

The woman says something to her, but I can’t hear because her voice is so low.

I watch as the woman walks away and Ivory stares blankly at the rose in her hand. She looks petrified, confused, and startled all at once and I wonder what a single rose could’ve done to cause such a reaction.

Brody must notice the same thing as she nudges Ivory, “Hey, you okay?”

Ivory looks up and gives her a fake smile, wiping the worry from her features. But I saw it. I saw the fear on her face and I want to know what a rose could’ve done to cause it. “I’m fine.”

The End