Holly blinked repeatedly, trying with all her might to stop the tears from escaping. They weren’t that far away from her parents’, and she just needed to hang on until she got some privacy. Then she’d let it flow.

Right now, she couldn’t even look at Jaxon. It hurt too much. No matter what he’d say later, this silence had already given her the answer.

Jaxon liked her a lot, but if it hadn’t been for these extraordinary circumstances, he wouldn’t have chosen to be with her.

Not that she could blame him. Why would anyone want any of this craziness? She herself only tolerated all the unwanted attention because she had incredibly loving and supportive fans on the other side of the ledger. They and her successful career cushioned the blows.

But what about Jaxon? What did he get out of this deal? Her? Just her?

It didn’t seem fair when Jaxon was already giving up a lot of his time and energy to keep her from getting kidnapped by money-hungry psychos. Like right now, he was hurrying to drive her to her parents’ when he should have never left his office at all. It was a Thursday.

Sooner or later, he’d get sick of all this. No matter how much he felt for her, real-life problems would eventually get in the way. He’d wake up one day and regret sacrificing a lot of things for her—especially when he’d never wanted to date her in the first place.

She didn’t want that for him. He deserved better.

So where did this leave her?

More tears rushed to the surface, pooling in her eyes. She turned her head to the side and pretended something out on the streets caught her attention. Then she surreptitiously dabbed the corners of her eyes.

They arrived at her Mum and Dad’s place, and Jaxon slowed in front of the tall, solid gates, which were already opening.

Holly spotted a familiar face outside, the long lens of his camera trained at them. She cringed at what might come out in the media tomorrow.

Her parents were at the door, smiling.

“Can I ask you something before you go?” she asked Jaxon.

“Sure.”

“Let me ask my parents to go in first.” She got out of the car and asked her parents to wait inside. Then she went back to Jaxon. Good thing the gates had already closed, shielding them from prying eyes.

“Jax…” she said tentatively, not knowing where to start.

Jaxon gazed at her, his distress evident on his face.

The tears she was holding back cascaded down. “This is it for us, isn’t it?”

“Don’t say that,” Jaxon whispered.

“Tell me honestly, is this working for you?”

“This is working for me.” Jaxon indicated the two of them.

“But there’s this whole wide world outside the two of us that we have to take part in whether we want to or not. Can you see yourself with the media following us everywhere we go? Do you want to deal with repeated intrusions to your privacy?”

Jaxon looked away, gulping visibly.

She took his hand in hers, her heart twisting. “I can see the answer on your face. I can tell what a hardship it will be for you, and I totally understand. But that’s what you’ll keep on getting if you stay with me and, goodness, we haven’t even admitted to the public we’re seeing each other.”

Jaxon gazed at her, his eyes anguished. “What are you saying?”

“I think you know,” she said past the lump in her throat. She couldn’t bear to say the words.

She looked down and waited, recognising that little hope in her heart that didn’t want to believe this was the end of the road.

Jaxon lifted her hands and pressed them to his lips, his eyes swimming in tears. “I care a lot about you, Holly. I always will. Please take care of yourself.”

She sniffed. “You too.”

For the first time in her life, she wished she wasn’t famous. But she was, and she couldn’t change that.

“Well, you better go back to work,” she said with a brave smile, still hoping he’d keep her from leaving.

But he didn’t. He simply smiled back.

She opened the door, still reluctant to go. “Bye, Jax.”

Jaxon inhaled deeply. “Bye, Hols. I’ll see you around.”

Merciless fingers crushed her heart, and the dim light of that little hope disappeared, leaving her bereft.

She hurried out and walked briskly towards the house. Her parents came out to greet her. Obviously, they had been watching from the window.

She dared look back, and Jaxon was exiting the gate. She hurried to the front porch, which couldn’t be seen from the outside.

“Darling?” her mother asked worriedly.

She attempted a smile through her tears.

“What happened?” her dad asked, stunned.

“We broke up,” she whispered, her tears flowing unchecked.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Her mother took her in her arms. “We didn’t even know you were going out.”

She sniffed. That was true. No one even knew she and Jaxon had dated except for Xavier and Eve. And even they had no idea just how happy and content she’d been with Jaxon.

Now they were over, and she didn’t know if she’d ever be that happy with anyone ever again.

“What’s he done?” Gerald asked in an ominous tone as they walked to the house.

Holly shook her head. “Nothing. I broke up with him.” And she never got to tell him she loved him.

“Why?”

“Because I know he hates all the attention. He’ll end up being bitter about it.”

“Do you really know that?” Adele asked gently.

“He didn’t dispute it when I asked, Mum.”

“Oh.”

Gerald cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sorry about that, darling. But if it makes you feel better, we have great news.”

“What?”

Gerald opened the door. Inside the front lounge room was a big bunch of flowers, a bottle of champagne, and letter-shaped balloons spelling Congratulations.

“What are these for?” Holly asked in confusion.

“Christine was here half an hour ago. She said your last album just reached fifteen million copies sold worldwide. And counting!”

Despite her gloom, Holly had to smile at the pride in her father’s voice. “Thanks, Dad.”

Gerald’s brows furrowed. “What? You’re not excited? That’s huge! Fifteen million people love my daughter’s work!”

She hugged her parents. “Thank you.”

Gerald continued to frown at her.

“Oh, darling,” Adele said to her husband. “She’s not in the mood for that right now.”

“Is it okay if I go to my room? I just want to be alone for a while.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” She dialled Christine’s phone as she walked up the stairs to her old bedroom.

“Congrats!” Christine said.

“Thanks!” she said, ensuring she sounded suitably enthused. “Sorry I missed you. Just imagine me giving you a hug right now for the balloons, flowers and champers.”

“Where were you? I went to Xavier’s house to surprise you there, but no one was home. So I rang him, and he said you’re at your parents’. But when I got there, Adele said Jaxon was driving you home. Where did you guys go?”

“Oh, I wanted to pass by the shops. Xave and Eve were running late for their flight and Jaxon happened to be at their place. He offered to drive me.”

“Right. Anyway, I got a request for you to sing live at your favourite show next week to celebrate your milestone. I think you should do it.”

“My favourite show?”

“I’ll give you a clue,” Christine said dryly. “It’s the show that launched your career.”

“Oh, right,” she said with a laugh.

“They also made some noise that they might invite you to be a judge for next season.”

“Really?”

“Of course, the price has to be right. So we’ll see what they put on the table first.”

Holly suppressed a sigh. She appreciated all this, but right now, all she wanted was… to lie in her bed and reminisce about Jaxon.

Bad idea, yes, but she didn’t think she’d be able to help herself.

“So, I’ll confirm your live performance next week?”

“Okay.” She didn’t feel like it, but she owed it to her fans.

“Congratulations, on the success of your album,” Rover Ocean said.

“Thank you,” Holly said graciously. “And I’d like to thank all my wonderful fans for continuing to support me. From the bottom of my heart, I love you all.”

The audience clapped hard, cheering.

“And I’m sure these guys would love to hear you sing tonight—a song that we’ll be hearing for the very first time.”

“That’s right. This is the show that made everything possible for me. So even though this song hasn’t been officially released yet, I’m happy to sing it for everyone right now.”

“Holly, we are deeply honoured. Ladies and gentlemen, here she is. The one and only Holly Stirling.”

Holly filled her lungs with a calming breath as the stirring intro music of her new song started playing. She’d meant her words of gratitude and love for the people who’d helped get her to where she was. But even though she looked joyful on the outside, inside, she was the saddest she’d ever been. She couldn’t forget Jaxon’s answer to the media waiting outside her parents’ house when he’d dropped her off last week.

“Holly and I are just friends. No matter how much you speculate, that’s the truth.”

She looked down briefly, focusing herself on the task at hand. Then she started singing the lyrics she’d written six days ago, the day after she’d broken up with Jaxon.

The words washed over her, and every single note was the heartfelt expression of every single cell in her body.

She shut her eyes to hold back tears as she sang the chorus.

When she finished the song, she became aware of the thunderous applause in the theatre. She bowed, smiling brightly as the audience gave her a standing ovation.

This was the reason she couldn’t be with Jaxon. This adulation—this one side of a coin—came hand-in-hand with intrusions to her privacy and personal attacks from some quarters.

And while performing to an appreciative audience used to erase her blues, this time it failed to cheer up her empty heart.

No one else but Jaxon could fill the space he’d vacated. And she knew he wasn’t coming back.

She left the stage, giving the audience a final wave, and met Christine at the back.

“Wow,” her manager said. “That was a phenomenal performance.”

“Thanks.”

“I thought you were shooting yourself in the foot by insisting on singing this song tonight when it’s not even recorded yet. But with that audience reaction, I won’t be surprised if your record company rings and says they’re fast-tracking this song. They’d be wanting to release this ASAP.”

“Yeah. Have you seen Xavier?”

“Yes, someone pulled him over for a chat. Anyway, I have to say I can’t wait for our trip to Byron Bay next week. I’m so ready for some Heavenly Music spa treatments.”

“Hey, don’t mention that in front of Xave,” Holly said in a low voice.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want him to know we’re going. He’ll insist on coming to play bodyguard. I don’t want him neglecting his work for me.”

“But he’ll notice you’re gone.”

“Sure, but it’ll be too late. Mum and Dad are in cahoots with me, and they promised they won’t tell.”

“I can’t believe your parents are happy for you to go to Byron Bay without a bodyguard.”

“I’m not going to Byron Bay without a bodyguard. I’ve asked for Bryce Green to accompany us for the two days.”