\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the industry blacklisted me, surviving got harder than I\u2019d ever thought. I couldn\u2019t find work anywhere in\u00a0<\/p>\n
music. Not even low-end diners would hire me once they saw my name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My landlord evicted me without notice-claimed the rent was overdue, but I saw the fear in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dragged my suitcase through the streets after midnight, Mom\u2019s urn wrapped in my only coat, pressed tight\u00a0<\/p>\n
against my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had maybe a few crumpled bills to my name. The cuts on my hands had gone untreated too long. They\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
started to fester, hot and swollen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could barely curl my fingers at all anymore. Nowhere in the city would take me. Julian\u2019s influence was a\u00a0<\/p>\n
wall closing in, leaving me cornered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rain hammered down as I hunched under an overpass. Water soaked through my clothes until I was shaking\u00a0<\/p>\n
hard. I held Mom\u2019s urn close. It was all I had left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I resigned myself to the thought that I\u2019d end up dead of infection in some alley no one bothered to check.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A black Bentley pulled up in front of me. The window rolled down. A man with a calm, refined face looked out\u00a0<\/p>\n
at me. \u201cMs. Carter?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped out with a black umbrella and came toward me, shielding me from the downpour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I looked up, I recognized him. Adrian Grayson, the world-famous pianist. He\u2019d been my hero once, everything I\u2019d wanted to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s eyes dropped to my hands. His expression went tight. \u201cPlease. Let me get you to the hospital.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was gentle. \u201cI know what they did to you. I\u2019ve heard you play. The world cannot afford to lose a talent like yours. You don\u2019t deserve this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian took me to the hospital and helped get the cuts on my hands cleaned. The damage was bad, he said, but if I took care of my hands, they would heal. He also arranged for Mom\u2019s burial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Graysons had an estate outside the city, with a quiet cemetery on the grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The day we buried her, the rain finally stopped. I knelt at her headstone and stared at the photo. Mom\u2019s smile looked so soft. I couldn\u2019t stop crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I got a job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be okay. I promise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian stood a few steps back, giving me space, but staying close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5\u00a0<\/p>\n
50.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
He let me stay at his house and hired me as an arranger\u2019s assistant at his studio. My life felt like it was finally stitching itself back together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t last.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian tracked me down. He came storming through the door, eyes bloodshot and wild, and grabbed my\u00a0<\/p>\n
wrist. \u201cYou move fast, don\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready found yourself a new cash machine?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he spotted Adrian, his expression hardened. \u201cAdrian. Of course it\u2019s you. Didn\u2019t take you for the type\u00a0<\/p>\n
who\u2019d pick up another man\u2019s scraps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian stepped in front of me. His voice stayed even. \u201cThat\u2019s enough, Mr. Sterling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s mouth curled, but his eyes stayed on me. He was waiting for me to crack. To stumble through some\u00a0<\/p>\n
excuse, or look at him with those wounded eyes he knew so well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t give him anything. I pulled my wrist free like I\u2019d touched something rotten. I turned to Adrian. \u201cLet\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked past Julian like he was invisible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian just stood there, staring at my back. He\u2019d gotten used to me doing whatever he wanted. Begging when\u00a0<\/p>\n
he shoved me away. Looking at him like he was the only person in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He never imagined I\u2019d stop seeing him. Being invisible to me scared him worse than being hated. He finally\u00a0<\/p>\n
understood I wasn\u2019t coming back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5\u00a0<\/p>\n
50.00%<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
The Blackened Odds by Mark Twain 5 \u00a0 Chapter 5\u00a0 Once the industry blacklisted me, surviving got harder than I\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broken-heart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}