Page 201 of Fame & Rhythm

“Please don’t call me that.”

She nods quickly. “Sorry. Force of habit. Whenever I talk about you, I call you Acacia, so no one knows it’s you. I’ve always kept that part of my life private.” She hesitates. “You don’t have to tell anyone about me. That can stay between us.”

Relief washes through me before I can stop it. “Okay… yeah. That sounds good.”

For a moment, she just looks at me, almost surprised by how easily I agree. I don’t question it. I don’t have the energy to.

“So… where do you live?” I ask.

“Not far from here,” she says. “I moved to Oxfordshire a few years ago. I wanted to be closer to you.” She gives a small, almost self-conscious smile. “Sounds a bit stalkerish when I say it like that, but… I just wanted to be near you. Even if you didn’t know I was there. I’d see you on television, online… I’ve been watching from a distance for years.”

My stomach twists again. “And how did you find out I was… yours?” I ask.

“I went back to the adoption agency,” she explains. “They wouldn’t tell me anything at first. I had to push… a lot. Eventually, they gave me Deliah’s and Colter’s names, and I worked the rest out from there.”

There’s more to that story.

I can feel it.

But I let it go.

“Okay,” I say quietly.

A wave of exhaustion hits me out of nowhere, heavy and draining. My head feels fuzzy, my body slower, like everything is catching up with me all at once.

“You okay, Annie?” Aston asks softly.

I look up at him, tears already blurring my vision, and nod.

“I think Annie’s had enough for today,” he says, his tone calm but firm. “You’re okay with us heading off?”

Loretta nods quickly, reaching her hands across the table again. I hesitate, every instinct telling me not to, but… she’s trying.

So I try too.

I place my hand in hers.

Her grip tightens immediately, almost desperate, while my other hand curls tighter around Aston’s.

“I’ve missed you so much, A-Annie,” she says, her voice breaking. “I really want to make up for the last twenty years.”

I nod, a tear slipping down my cheek.

Her fingers tighten around mine as her eyes fill. “I love you, Annie. I always have. Just remember that, okay?”

The words hit like a punch to the chest.

Everything inside me fractures.

My heart clenches so tightly it hurts, and then it breaks wide open as a sob rips from my throat. The words I’ve needed my entire life, words I convinced myself I would never hear, spill over me all at once, too much, too fast.

I can’t breathe.

I yank my hand back, and Aston is already pulling me into his chest, holding me as I fall apart against him.

“I’m sorry,” Loretta says, her voice panicked as she stands. “Did I say something wrong?”

“What did you do?” Mum demands, rushing over and pulling me from Aston into her arms.