I'm sitting in a bathroom stall having the kind of breakdown that should come with its own documentary crew when I hear the door open.
Heels clicking against marble with the kind of deliberate confidence that makes my skin crawl.
Of fucking course someone's coming in here. Because apparently rock bottom has a basement, and I'm about to discover it.
I try to muffle my sobs, pressing my hands against my mouth like that'll somehow contain the complete implosion of my existence. Maybe if I stay quiet enough, whoever it is will just piss and leave without noticing the human disaster in stall three.
No such luck.
The footsteps stop and I can feel someone waiting, like a predator that's caught the scent of wounded prey.
I have to get out of here. Face whatever's left of my life instead of hiding like a coward.
I unlock the stall door with shaking hands and step out, expecting to see some random coworker who'll pretend they didn't witness my meltdown.
Instead, I find Adelyn leaning against the marble sink like she owns the place, fixing her hair in the mirror with casual precision.
She looks perfect. Not a hair out of place, makeup flawless, that predatory smile spread across her face like she's just won the fucking lottery.
Which, I guess, she has.
"Rough afternoon?" she asks softly, her tone pitched to sound almost kind.
I catch sight of myself in the mirror — face blotchy and swollen, eyes red-rimmed. The deep red dress that made me feel powerful now looks like a cruel joke.
Part of me wanted to smile. Force the sunshine. Pretend I could handle this.
But some enemies don't deserve your light.
"You did this," I said flatly. Not a question.
Her smile widened. "Of course I did."
"Why?" The word came out broken, but I forced myself to stand straighter. "What did I ever do to you?"
"You took what was mine." Adelyn's eyes hardened. "Liam. The position. The way they all look at you like you're something special."
"Liam was never yours."
"He was." She moved closer. "Until he decided I wasn't enough. Until he threw me away like I meant nothing." Her voice turned bitter. "Sound familiar? It should. Because that's exactly what he'll do to you."
"You don't know anything about us."
"I know everything about him." Adelyn laughed softly. "The way he makes you feel like you're the center of his universe. The earnest looks, the gentle touches, the promises he doesn't say out loud but you can see in his eyes." She tilted her head. "I believed it too, once. And then one day, I wasn't useful anymore."
The words hit somewhere deep. That tiny voice of doubt I'd been fighting for weeks.
"He's different with me," I whispered.
"That's what I thought too." Adelyn's smile was almost pitying. "I'm doing you a favor, Jasmine. Ripping the bandage off before you get in any deeper. Before you actually believe you matter to them."
"A favor." I laughed — harsh, broken. "You destroyed my career. Humiliated me in front of the entire industry. And you call it a favor?"
"I call it the truth." She stepped closer, eyes glittering. "Your entire climb up the ladder was a sham. That press conference just exposed you for what you are — an attention-seeking whore who thought spreading her legs for the right men would make her matter."
The word hit like a physical blow.
Something inside me snapped.
My hand moved before my brain could catch up — palm connecting with her cheek in a crack that echoed off the marble walls.
Adelyn's head snapped to the side. For one perfect moment, she looked genuinely shocked. Her hand flew to her face, eyes wide.
"Don't you ever—" My voice shook, but I didn't step back. "Don't you ever call me that again."
The shock melted into something darker. Her cheek was already reddening where I'd hit her.
"There she is," Adelyn said softly, almost admiringly. "I wondered if you had any fight in you." She straightened, composing herself. "It won't matter. You can slap me all you want — it doesn't change what everyone saw today. What everyone will remember."
"Get out."
"The saddest part?" She paused at the door, one hand still pressed to her cheek. "You actually had talent. Those demos were good. But no one will ever hear them without thinking about this. Every song you write will come with an asterisk. That's the girl who fucked the Blackwood brothers. That's your legacy now. Not the music. Never the music."
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
I stood there, hand still stinging from the slap, and felt the fight drain out of me as quickly as it had come.
The music. She'd taken the one thing that finally felt like mine and poisoned it forever.
I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the cold bathroom floor. The tears came harder now, full-body sobs that echoed off the marble walls.
I'd seen the brothers try to help me. Liam moving toward me. Asher grabbing the microphone. Finn pushing through the crowd.
But Adelyn's words kept whispering in my head. I didn't know what to believe anymore.
My phone buzzes against the floor where I dropped it. Probably more messages from reporters, more people wanting to dissect my humiliation for public consumption.
I don't pick it up.
Instead, I just sit there in a bathroom, wearing a dress chosen by a men who's probably already planning how to minimize the damage I've caused to their reputation, and finally understand the truth Adelyn was so eager to share.
I never stood a chance.