resonance. Ten days. The countdown begins now." The system's voice w

felt like a tomb. I wiped my eyes and started to p

world, held nothi

nd a few nicer pieces I'd bought for performances. They all reeked

hem down, one by one. Our wedding photo, taken on a shoestring budget in a small New Orleans cou

lt more precious than any diamond. I hadn't worn it in over a year, not since I saw Kendra sporting a

ng, then threw it into the

I'd handled the contracts, the bank accounts. The band's assets, our small recording studio, even the publishing rights to our early s

nto before the fame, before Kendra. I almost threw them away. But I couldn't. I tucked

me in the kitchen, drinking

asked, his voice rough with sleep a

coffee. "R

rrowed. "You're acting weird

e I'm just tired

a flicker of something in his eyes – concern? Or just annoya

r," I said,

He knew me too well. O

as station carnations, Kendra's favorite color. He tried to initiate a conve

collar that wasn't my shade, at the way his hand, reachi

voice devoid of a

as if I'd

rced politeness and simmering tension. I was a