She bursts out laughing, burying her face in my chest because she knows my brother and Daisy likely heard what I just said. I don’t care, though, because she’s smiling again, even if it’s only for a brief moment.
“Welcome to dating my brother, Quinn,” Miles says, walking down the short corridor. “The guy who doesn’t get embarrassed about anything.”
“And why would I?” I ask as we follow Miles into the kitchen.
Daisy is waiting with beers for all of us, pulling Quinn into a tight hug the second she walks into the room.
“Thanks for this,” I say to my brother. “I know you don’t like talking about the shit that happened over there, but I really appreciate it.”
Miles smiles, a hand on my shoulder. “It’s all good. Giving you shit on that asshole will be good. Prick never made us sign an NDA either, so it’s on him that I’m gonna do this.”
“He was bad, huh?” I ask, knowing Miles has never really told any of us everything that went down on the mainland when they toured with Sean’s band.
All we know is that for the first six months, things were fine, great even. They were getting heaps of exposure, and their album was hanging out in the charts, with a second one promised as soon as the tour was over.
Then suddenly, nothing was being posted on their socials. The Provocation had to cancel a show before eventually announcing a new supporting act, and Miles showed up back on Maui. Lacey, too, apparently, although no one knew it at the time.
I think a part of us always thought it had something to do with Isaac and Daze hooking up, which brought Miles back, but then a couple of things were said when the band got back together, and now, seeing what Sean is really like, it feels like there is way more to the story.
“He was definitely a piece of work,” Miles says, turning to Quinn.
“Piece of shit, more like it,” she says, taking a sip of beer.
Miles chuckles. “I mean, yeah, there’s that too,” he says, glancing quickly at Daze. “So I can tell you what I know, but there’s probably stuff the others know too. I can text them to come over if you want, or we can chat with them later. Some of it is...well, let’s just say it wasn’t always a good time on the tour.”
Quinn huffs out a breath. “Yeah, I can only imagine. I only went once when we first started dating, and it was...eye-opening to say the least.” She pauses, taking a sip of beer as she looks at me before turning back to Miles. “I was stupid to pretend he’d change when we got married,” she says, sadness in her voice. “He didn’t, so I can’t even begin to picture what kept happening.”
I pull her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as I drop a kiss to the top of her head. Quinn leans into me, taking another sip of beer.
“So you want me to text the others?” Miles asks.
Quinn looks up at me before turning to Daisy and then my brother. “Is it okay if we just talk first?”
The four of us chat for hours, with me sharing a lot of what I had been through with Sean—things I’ve never told anyone because I was embarrassed. For so long, I portrayed that everything was fine, that we were the perfect couple, that I snagged a rockstar with a storied past and a playboy image.
But behind closed doors, it was all falling apart. I had lost myself, and I had let him do that, but it’s not something that happens overnight.
It’s slow and unnoticeable, which is scary as hell. There will be people who question why I didn’t leave earlier, why I stayed and let it all happen. The truth is, I don’t know why I stayed. I don’t remember being happy for a long time—at least not the kind of happy I am here with Kai.
Maybe I stayed because I was scared, afraid to leave, afraid of what he might do, and just a few hours ago is proof that he’s capable of things people shouldn’t have to deal with.
I have full trust in Kai, Miles and Daisy as I unload on them, and it was even more reassuring listening to Daisy talk about the toxic relationship she left recently.
She talked openly and honestly about it all, and Miles was nothing but supportive. It helps to find people who have dealt with the same thing—almost like I needed to know I wasn’t alone. Because at times, it feels like that, especially when all my friends slowly disappeared. Even Isla got sick of it.
But during all of this, Miles told me what it was like to be on tour with Sean and all the shitty things he saw firsthand: the drug use, the cheating, the abuse.
He even admits it was probably one of the reasons the band fell apart. None of them could handle the lifestyle—something I completely understand.
I hated the one time I went with Sean. All the excess and the fame became too much, and as someone who isn’t used to it, it’s hard to cope.
“Going on tour with an already established band, one that is massive around the world, takes a special kind of person,” Miles had said. “None of us were it. We wanted to make music and wanted people to love our music. Sean was there to take advantage of every woman he met—not to mention, treat us like shit.”
It wasn’t just women, though. All those NDAs that were signed by his staff and crew, ex-girlfriends, and really anyone he came in contact with.
He works hard to silence anyone that could take away the life he’s built.
As Miles talks, I get curious, asking if he had been asked to sign an NDA. I can’t imagine Sean’s tour company wouldn’t have had this in the agreement Miles and his bandmates signed.
