Page 129 of The Sound Between Us

The words ring out over the sound system. Fifty thousand people lose their minds, screaming. But I only care about one person.

She’s crying—just a little, tears catching the stage lights. When she smiles, it’s everything.

“I love you too,” she says. The microphone doesn’t catch it, but I hear it anyway. Feel it when she lets me pull her close and kiss her in front of all these people.

The kiss is desperate and certain. The crowd cheers. When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard, both grinning.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” I say into the microphone, “Seren Rogers!”

I hand her the mic and head for the wings, floating on pure adrenaline. She said she loves me back. In front of fifty thousand people. She could have hedged, kept it private. But she didn’t.

From the wings, I watch her perform her final song. The arena goes completely silent except for her voice. Fifty thousand people hanging on every word.

That’s when Henry appears beside me.

“Quite the show,” he says. “Very romantic. Very public.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes the moment calls for grand gestures.” My heart’s still hammering against my ribs.

“Does it? Or do you just like the attention?”

Something cold slides down my spine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Henry doesn’t answer immediately. Just watches Seren finish her song to thunderous applause. When she starts walking toward us, he finally speaks.

“You know this won’t last.” Conversational. “The novelty will wear off. You’ll get bored, you’ll miss the spotlight, and everything between you will turn to shit.”

My chest caves in. All the air leaves my lungs. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I? You’ve been performing love songs for strangers for ten years, Harrison. How long before you start feeling like you’re performing this too?”

“It’s not⁠—”

“It’s exactly that. You’re addicted to being adored, to being the centre of attention. She’s just the latest way to get your fix.” His smile is cold. “How long before you resent her for making you ordinary?”

“You’re wrong.”

“We’ll see. But when it inevitably falls apart, remember that I tried to warn you.”

The rage comes sudden and white-hot. “I can’t wait for this tour to be over so I can finally live my actual life instead of the performance you’ve been managing.”

Henry’s expression darkens. Before I can react, he shoves me hard. I stumble backward into the sound equipment.

“You ungrateful shit,” he hisses. “I pulled you out of a Manchester back street and gave you everything.”

“Everything I am is a lie you helped me build,” I shoot back, straightening. “And I’m done living it.”

That’s when Seren appears, cheeks flushed, eyes bright, still breathing hard from the stage. She takes one look at the tension between Henry and me and stops.

“Everything okay?” Her eyes flick between us.

“Everything’s perfect,” I say, shouldering Henry aside and moving to her. My arm goes around her shoulders automatically. I press a kiss to the side of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo mixed with stage lights and victory.

“Did I tell you I love you?” I ask, loud enough for Henry to hear.

She laughs, the sound bright and real. “I think you told everyone.”

“Good.” I kiss her hard, desperate. She melts into me the way she always does. I can feel Henry’s disapproval radiating from behind us.

When we break apart, she’s looking at me with concern. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m perfect,” I tell her. “We’re perfect.”

The five-minute warning crackles through the backstage monitors. Jamie and Dex appear, already amped up and ready to perform.

“Ready to close this out?” Jamie asks, bouncing on his toes.

“More than ready,” I say, kissing Seren one more time before heading toward the stage. “Time to finish what we started.”

As we walk toward the entrance, I can feel Henry’s eyes on my back. But for the first time in years, I don’t care what he thinks.

The roar of the crowd hits us as we take the stage. Fifty thousand people on their feet. But as I strap on my guitar and look out at the sea of faces, all I can think about is the woman standing in the wings, watching us with pride and love.

Henry can try to poison this all he wants. But what Seren and I have is stronger than his doubts.

At least, that’s what I tell myself as the opening chords ring out.

That’s what I need to believe.