Part 2Our Six-Year Love, Her New Announcement

Sleep was impossible now, so I scrolled through my phone and noticed an unread message from my father.

[Leo, about that musician girlfriend you kept insisting Stellar Records sign. I never thought she was right for you. I assume you don’t want us to sign her now?]

To help Ava, I had relentlessly badgered my family for resources. They’d finally given in and thrown a few contracts her way, helping her through her toughest period. But I’d thought it wasn’t enough. I demanded our family’s record label, Stellar Records, sign her to a long-term deal.

Stellar Records had an incredibly high bar for talent. Based on Ava’s fame over the past couple of years, she didn’t actually qualify.

But my love-addled brain hadn’t cared. I’d fought with my family for months, even giving them the silent treatment when they refused.

Finally, they’d relented, making a deal with me: if Ava won this year’s Musician of the Year award, they would sign her.

Thinking about it now, maybe I owed Ava a thank you for her little announcement today. If I’d been the one to drag down Stellar’s reputation, I’d be the family’s greatest sinner.

I checked the time. My father was likely asleep. I decided to reply in the morning. But as I scrolled, I drifted into a hazy sleep on the couch.

I was jolted awake before seven by a commotion downstairs. I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. Before I even made it to the stairs, Ava, who had just come in, saw me and her face darkened.

“Get back in your room,” she snapped. “The media is coming for an interview.”

I was leaving tomorrow anyway and didn’t want any more drama, so I turned to go back.

“Wait! Go hide in the storeroom!” she called after me. “They’ll want to photograph the master bedroom. Go clean it up first. Make sure there’s no sign a man has been living here. Hurry up!”

She then turned and pulled Cody in from the doorway. “What are you doing standing out there, silly?”

I needed to pack my things regardless, so I didn’t argue. I went straight to the master bedroom. The packing was done quickly. It was laughable, really. I’d lived here for over two years, but the sum of my possessions was pitifully small.

When I emerged with my suitcase, Ava and Cody were flirting. The moment she saw me, her face hardened. “What took you so long to pack your things? Fine, whatever. Just get in the storeroom. Now.”

But I ignored her and walked toward the front door.

Ava panicked. She rushed over to grab me, yelling, “They’re almost here! Are you trying to get yourself killed walking out now?”

I was sleep-deprived and weak. She easily dragged me to the storeroom, shoved me inside, and locked the door from the outside.

“Don’t come out until they’re gone!”

Soon after, I heard the sounds of many people arriving. The noise was muffled; the villa she’d bought after making it big had excellent soundproofing. I could hear her giving them a tour, her voice fading in and out as she moved from room to room, chattering away.

I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and a gnawing hunger began to set in.

Nearly three hours later, the voices started to fade as the crew seemed to be leaving.

But after that, Ava didn’t come back.

My stomach was now aching with hunger. I wanted to message her and tell her to let me out, but when I pulled out my phone, I saw the battery was dead.

I pounded on the door a few times, but it was useless. Ava hated having strangers in the house, so she only ever hired hourly cleaners. Most of the housework fell to me.

It was ten o’clock at night when the door finally opened.

By then, I was lying on the floor, on the verge of passing out from hunger.