Epilogue
When I got home, Bella and Zoe were waiting for me at my door.
Their eyes were red and swollen. “Leo, please don’t marry someone else,” Zoe begged.
“Bella and I have waited for you for so long. Don’t abandon us. That… that heiress, what does she know about you? She doesn’t understand you like we do.”
Seeing their tear–streaked, “devoted” faces, let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
“Oh, you understand me alright. You understand exactly where to stick the knife.”
“How do you even have the nerve to show your faces here? How dare you compare yourselves to Aurora? What pig farm did you two escape from to get so full of yourselves?”
My words made their faces turn a mottled shade of red and white.
Zoe stared at me, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Leo, how could you say that to us? Don’t you remember when you were a kid…”
She was about to dredge up the past again. I cut her off, my voice filled with disgust. “Don’t you dare bring up the past. You said it yourself: one drink, and we’re ‘even, So we’re done. We have nothing to do with each other. Got it?”
Chapter 2
13:35
My words made their faces turn a mottled shade of red and white.
Zoe stared at me, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Leo, how could you say that to us? Don’t you remember when you were a kid…”
She was about to dredge up the past again. I cut her off, my voice filled with disgust. “Don’t you dare bring up the past. You said it yourself: one drink, and we’re even. So we’re done. We have nothing to do with each other. Got it?”
Bella panicked and pushed Zoe aside to grab my hand. “Leo, she said that, not me! I don’t want us to be even! Come back to me, please?”
Hearing this, Zoe’s eyes, now blazing with fury, turned on her sister. “Bella, how can you say that? It was you who said we had to force his hand, that he would never choose between us otherwise! Why do you think I did all those things to hurt him?”
So that was the truth. That was their pathetic reason for trampling all over my career and forcing me to give up my dream.
I ripped my hand away from Bella’s grasp and pointed down the hall. “Get out. Get out of my sight right now. The very sight of you makes me sick.”
“Leo…” They both moved toward me, unwilling to give up.
Just then, the door behind me opened. My dad stood there, holding a baseball bat.
“Who’s harassing my son?” he growled. “You looking for trouble?”
Bella and Zoe flinched and scurried back. “Uncle, it’s me, Zoe.” “I’m Bella.”
My dad pulled me inside and gave them a dismissive glare. “Don’t know you.”
Then, BAM. The door slammed shut.
Inside, my dad was all smiles as he brought up Aurora. “Her family is down–to–earth. They don’t seem stuck up at all. And her brother is in your line of work, shows they’re open–minded. You love music, so you’ll have something in common with him. Your mother and I approve of this marriage. Just one thing: you not let that girl down.”
My mom, no longer worried, brought out a beautiful white jade bracelet. “This was a gift from your grandmother. It’s very precious. Give it to your wife.”
The following weeks were a whirlwind of wedding planning–dresses, decorations, rings, invitations.
which
Meanwhile, Bella and Zoe faced the full force of public backlash. Their “devoted sisters” persona crumbled, and they were branded as traitors. Online sleuths dug up their history, revealing how I had launched their careers and how their entire brand was built on their “devotion” to me. They had only been famous because they were attached to me. Our three–person “ship” had once been incredibly popular, and now those same fans felt utterly betrayed.
Finn also got a taste of his own medicine. The big fan accounts that had defected from me to him now turned on him. Once Aurora revealed the truth–that we were a couple when he posted that photo–his actions were re–contextualized as a malicious attempt to manipulate public opinion. His “pure, innocent boy” image shatte- red. The internet consensus was that he had been jealous and had deliberately tried to ruin me.
Which, of course, was the truth!
I thought Bella and Zoe would be too busy with their own problems to bother me again. But on my wedding day, they showed up and managed to swap out the sweet, romantic video montage with a spliced–together collection of our old, intimate moments.
There was a moment of chaos, but Aurora handled it with grace. With a wave of her hand, a tech expert appeared and, on the big screen, exposed the clumsy editing
and splicing in their video for all to see.
Her parents, far from being embarrassed, took the microphone. “See that?” her dad boomed. “That’s how you know our son–in–law is a real catch! Everyone wants a
piece of him!”
The guests roared with laughter. Someone jokingly told them they were misusing the idiom, but they just laughed it off and went around pouring million–dollar bottl-
es of wine for everyone.
And I, on my wedding day, sang “Twilight Wind” for my wife.
After the wedding, my parents, their patience finally gone, called the police. The long–standing friendship between our families was over. Bella and Zoe were arrested for public disturbance and defamation. I also hired a lawyer and sued them and Finn for the initial slander. The case against Finn was weak, as he had only guided public opinion rather than directly lying, so I dropped it.
I may have let him go, but Aurora didn’t.
She had her own methods. Within a month, Finn was completely blacklisted from the industry.
It turned out the Kai family had quietly opened several talent agencies when he first started his career. He was the one running them.
He invited me to make a comeback. I was hesitant at first, but with the full support of Aurora and her parents, and with a lingering feeling of unfinished business, I
gratefully accepted.
As soon as the news of my return broke, I got a call from Benny.
“Leo,” he whined. “Did you forget about me? How could you make a comeback without me?”
I laughed and immediately invited him to join me in Aethelgard.
Under Kai’s expert guidance, my voice got better and better. Before long, my achievements in the music world far surpassed my previous success.
I laughed and immediately invited him to join me in Aethelgard.
Under Kai’s expert guidance, my voice got better and better. Before long, my achievements in the music world far surpassed my previous success.
And the fans who returned, returned with a loyalty stronger than ever. They swore they would never again let their faith in me be shaken.
See? What is meant for you will always find its way back, often in a more beautiful form than you ever imagined.
As long as you keep your heart true, and your conscience clear.
(The End)
