Page 298 of Rush

I stand in the middle of the room, phone to my ear, hoodie sleeves balled in my fists.

Please pick up.

The voicemail box is full.

“Fuck.”

I drop flat to the floor, Broderick’s hoodie twisted around me like armor. The music box sits open a few feet away, still humming the last bars of“Sparks”on a loop—too slow, slightly off-key now.

My phone blinks quietly on the carpet.

The door creaks open.

“Babe?” Riley’s voice floats in “We’ve gotta go soon…”

She steps closer. I hear the paper rustle as she lifts the card. The soft click of the music box lid follows as she shuts it.

I stare up at the ceiling.

“Riley,” I say, my voice stripped raw. “I think I fucked up.”

She crouches beside me, her hand warm against my arm.

“You okay, babe?”

The question is so loaded I don’t even know where to start.

When the gift arrived, hope crept in—quiet, treacherous. Hope that maybe he was thinking of me. That I still livedsomewhere in his mind the way he never left mine. Hope is a fragile thing, though, and now I’m lying here praying for his forgiveness…and for proof that I mattered enough to deserve it.

The longer he’s away, the more he consumes me.

Every thought. Every pause.

And the strangest part? I hadn’t thought about Alex these past few days. Not once.

But now they’re both gone.

Maybe I deserve it—for being selfish. For not choosing. For ruining something good with Broderick because I couldn’t let go of what hurt me first.

I swallow, my chest tight.

Do I actually want love?—

—or do I need to prove to myself that I’m not unlovable?

We arrivein L.A. and settle into a luxe three-bedroom penthouse suite—ours for the next week.

“Wow,” Riley gasps, dive-bombing onto the oversized sofa.

“Settle in today,” Mark says, already flipping through the itinerary. “Rio wants to finalize fittings for your Grammy outfits. Then you’ve got dress rehearsals.”

He keeps going—interviews, photo shoots, and eventually the Oscars.

“I’ve got a list of questions for you to review and vet forWake Up with Cali,” Kylie adds, handing me a sheet of paper while scrolling through her tablet. “We should also practice some red-carpet answers so you don’t get caught off-guard.”

“Sounds good.”

“You’re scheduled for facials and vitamin infusions with Dr. Bronte,” Mark adds. “We want you glowing.”