Page 305 of Rush

I stand. Slowly. My legs barely cooperate and I’m floating instead of walking. Cheers crash around me—my team, Ava, strangers on their feet—but it all feels far away.

I climb the steps. The lights are blinding.

Then the award is in my hands, and I’m at the podium, though I don’t remember getting there.

The Grammy sits heavy in my palm. Yanking me back to reality.

I won.

A fucking Grammy. A dream come true.

My voice cracks the second I start to speak.

“Um—” I giggle, shaky. “Okay. Wow.”

The crowd laughs with me.

“That was…unexpected. Really. If this is a dream, please don’t pinch me.”

A collectiveawwripples through the room.

“Okay,” I say, laughing. “I should probably thank people before they boot me off this stage.”

More laughter.

I catch sight of Riley—her face blurred with tears.

“My team and producers—you know who you are. Thank you for taking a chance on a girl from Jervis Bay who didn’t thinkanyone would listen. Thank you for fighting for me, even when I wasn’t sure what I was fighting for.”

I pause, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

“I want to thank my family and my best friend…they’re the people who helped me believe in myself again. Especially when I was lost and unsure.”

My throat burns.

“Thank you to the Recording Academy and to the fans—I love you guys. The dreamers and screamers—tonight, we rise together.”

I lift the Grammy, smiling now, arms trembling.

“This one is for my mom in heaven. Mom—I did it!”

The standing ovation echoes through my ears as I walk off stage, still shaking, still glowing.

The moment I’m backstage, a flurry of hands grabs me, ushering me into a changing room and out of my gown and into yet another dress for the after-party—shorter, slinkier, lesslook at meand moretry me.

Red satin, cut on the bias, dipping low at the back and even lower at the front. It clings in all the right places, like it was poured over my body and told not to wrinkle. Thin straps. Open sides. No bra.

I’ve never worn anything so revealing.

Rio gives me a slow once-over and actually gasps. “You’re going to break some hearts tonight.”

Too late, Rio. Too late.

My hair stays slicked back. Diamond cuff earrings. Heels sharp enough to double as weapons.

I barely recognize myself, but I like her. I look strong.

Rileyand I arrive at the after-party, already packed—the kind of scene where the room vibrates. Music thumping. Crystal glasses everywhere. Skin, sweat, and perfume tangled in the air.