Novel-novel oleh Love Titus

LYDIAMy phone won't stop buzzing.In almost an hour, I'd already received more than a thousand notifications, and every single one made my blood pressure climb even higher.They were all singing her praises!I had three screens open on my desk, and every one of them was saying the same thing in different languages, with different words."Oh my God, Seren's performance was lovely!""She took that stage by force and conquered it.""I swear, I could taste her dish all the way from here. Did you see how her hands moved? There's no mistaking it. That's a chef right there!"I slammed my phone back down on the desk with force enough to crack it. I was tired of comments like these. My name was still out there, somewhere, but it was obvious who was stealing my spotlight.Seren.A small, hesitant knock sounded on the door, pulling at my focus, and my assistant popped her head in. There was a frightened look on her face as she took me in. Any other day, I'd have chuckled at how chicken she look

EDDIEMy grandmother unfolded the paper slowly, revealing a news article. Then she handed it to my grandfather who looked about ready to tear me to shreds.He held it up with trembling hands. "What is this, Edward?"I squinted at the headline. It was an article about the backstage arguement at the hospital. Written in bold capital letters ere the words: "HOME OR HOME: THE INSIDE STORY OF LYDIA WARREN'S LOVE AFFAIR!" A large photo plastered heavily across the front page showed Adrienne as she tumbled down the stairs while I had my hand around Lydia's waist. Lydia was afving away from the camera, but she still looked so sickly while Arlene on the other hand looked like an alien from space ready to devour us. I cringed at the image, wondering how we never noticed a reporter taking photos of us in a such a situation. Or wait,couldn't be that Arlene and Adrienne already knew about this? Did they hire someone to take all of these photos and paste it online just to make us look - "Don't p

EDDIEI couldn't get my mind off the masked woman.My car rolled through the city quite slowly, catching the lights and scenes of the city. Nathan was driving. He kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, probably wondering why I was so quiet. He asked something about the competition and I answered without thinking. It was something about Miss Warren doing well but I could hardly remember what my reply was. My tablet sat open on my lap. I was supposed to be working but every few seconds my eyes drifted to the window instead, scanning the scenes outside for something. Anything.But there was nothing out there. Just streetlights and buildings sliding past in the same pattern they always did.I couldn't get the masked lady out of my head.There was something about the way she worked with the pots and pans that made it seem like an extension of herself. the sight of it was pulling at not just my heartstrings, but also a string of memory I just have buried. The thing was that, I didn'

ADRIENNEIt wasn't Eddie!The man I saw wasn't Eddie. But that didn't stop my heart from almost falling out of my chest. I was seeing things now? I swallowed nervously, clenching my fist tightly to stop the trembling in them.Clara had left after more apologies and Mr. Hubert sat in the driver's seat. He was saying something, but I wasn't listening. All I could think of was -"Adrienne?" His voice rang out, pulling me out of my head. "Did you hear me?" He glanced at me from the rearview mirror before looking back at the road. "Are you okay?"I forced air into my lungs and cleared my throat, forcing myself to look outside. I hadn't even realized we had begun moving, that we were so far from the theatre."I'm fine," I answered softly. "But I think we need to stop by the hospital."This time, Mr. Hubert stepped on the brakes. His head whipped around and his concerned gaze searched my body. "Are you okay?" He said breathlessly. "Is there -""I just want to see Arlene," I cut in, easing my

ADRIENNE I was exhausted! My whole body ached from exerting myself too much. Sweat rolled off my skin and dropped without a sound on the ground but I couldn't let my smile slip. I forced the smile to stay in place as I bowed stiffly. God, the ache in my back was killing me. I gritted my teeth, wincing as pain shot through me, blinding my vision and blocking out the sound of the excited audience. As soon as the stage hand extended his hand, I took it and allowed him to lead me back stage. By the time Clara sighted me, I was practically trembling. Still, she pulled me into a tight hug. I could almost feel the excitement that poured out of her. "That was - God, I have chills from watching you." She pulled away just to look at me and then pull me into a hug again. "That was so good." "Thank you," was all I could manage in between the pain that wrecked me. Three days was all the rest I'd allowed myself after that very ugly incident. It was barely enough to let me heal. Barely enoug

EddieIt was finally time to leave. I hadn't planned to stay long. Events like this weren't my thing, and I had only come to see Lydia. Now that she was done, I saw no reason to remain."You're not leaving already." A hand caught my sleeve and I glanced down to see Fred Jacobs, one of George's business partners, grinning like he'd caught me sneaking out of a meeting. "The main event hasn't even started.""I saw what I came to see.""Sit back down, Eddie. Trust me." He nodded toward the stage. "This next one's the whole reason half this room bought a table."I hadn't planned on staying, but I lowered myself back into the chair anyway."And now, please welcome to the stage - Seren Ellsworth," the host announced.The name caught my attention. Lydia had mentioned Seren before, calling her George's secret lover. I hadn't thought much of it then. But now, for some reason, I paused."Who is she?" I asked, low, more to myself than to Fred."Nobody knows," Fred answered anyway, leaning in li