Broken Melody to Rising Star

This was likely the first time Owen had ever knelt. Years ago, when he was building his career abroad, his sponsors demanded that he kneel as a gesture of respect. He risked being blocklisted by the industry to stand his ground.

Even when his father passed away and we returned to his hometown for the funeral, he only bowed deeply in front of the portrait.

But now, he was kneeling before me.

"Aria, I can’t live without you."

Could I not forgive him?

It was just one time.

I reached out, tempted to touch him, but then my eyes landed on the bruises on his knees.

A sudden thought struck me. I grabbed his phone and sent a message to Tessa.

Owen: [Don’t contact me anymore. Aria found out.]

As expected, she took the bait.

She invited me to meet her in a private karaoke room. When I arrived, she was mid-song, singing "Delightful."

Her lips curled into a smug smile as she raised the microphone to her mouth. "I knew you’d come."

She stood, placing both hands on the table. "Did he tell you it only happened once? He lied."

Tessa lit a cigarette, the smoke curling lazily around her.

"Remember when he went to the countryside to record the sound of rain? He spent those nights with me. We got so carried away one day that the recording equipment picked up the sound. Later, Owen had to buy a replacement audio track."

Her words struck like a thunderclap, each one louder than the last.

"You’ve seen that viral joke online, right? The one about how Owen’s knees are as strong as steel? What they didn't know was that we used that position a lot."

"I'm not interested in what you're saying." I forced myself to remain calm, turning away to hide the storm of emotions raging inside me.

"Aren’t you curious how it all started?”

She chuckled, moving closer to drape an arm around my shoulders. “Remember that overseas performance of his? I waited for him at his hotel and was the only one there for him in that foreign country. I didn’t expect to give him the A-flux, though."

She exhaled another puff of smoke, her voice dripping with mock sympathy.

"That’s why I've been bothering you and you had to fly over to take care of him. Sorry about your voice, by the way. Didn’t mean to ruin it."

Her fingers tapped lightly on my shoulder as though dismissing me.

So that was how my voice had been damaged.

I calmly lifted my phone. "Owen, did you hear all that? It’s clear there's really no way I can make up with you now."

From the speaker came his furious voice. "Tessa, are you looking for death?"

Tessa froze, the confidence she had just shown vanishing in an instant.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and mimicked her earlier gesture, patting her shoulder. "Smoke less, Tessa. It’s bad for your voice."

Her composure cracked as I turned to leave.

"Aria, don’t get too full of yourself! You can’t let him go either, can you?"

I paused at the door and glanced back, my voice steady. "I almost forgot to tell you—meeting you here was just a coincidence. No one’s interested in garbage except you."

Tessa came out after me. “No way!”

Her shouts of disbelief followed me as I rounded the corner and saw Theo, who was on the phone around the corner. Gently, I took the phone from his hand.

"No need to call. I’m here."

Tessa’s stunned expression burned in my peripheral vision as Theo and I walked away together.

"Uh, Miss Aria Miller, I was just calling my mom," he said, looking slightly sheepish.

"...Sorry."

I had misjudged him. Theo wasn’t a paparazzo. That day at the studio, he was there to record his own song.

I intended to end our interaction there, but he surprised me by asking for a favor.

He took me to the recording studio.

“Sorry, I can't help you.”

As I turned to leave, "Just listen." Theo brought headphones to my ears.

The track began and I was greeted by a smooth R&B melody. His voice was highly recognizable, magnetic and soft, just like a treasure in the singing world that filled my ears.

"This is a song I wrote. It’s almost complete, but I need a female voice for one short operatic line. Would you try it?"

He even emphasized, "Just one line."

I looked into his earnest eyes and for the first time in a long while, I felt a spark of curiosity stir within me.