Chapter Twelve
Maggie
My reflection stares back, hollow-eyed and tired, a far cry from the starry-eyed girl who thought she wanted this. Performance night. My big chance. The night I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.
Only now, it feels like a nightmare I can’t wake up from.
I take a shaky breath and smooth the fabric of my dress, but no amount of effort can make me feel ready for tonight. I’m supposed to sing, to dance, to touch Jonah like nothing has changed. Like he didn’t use me. It was all just a PR stunt to clean up his image.
My stomach churns at the thought as I press my hands against the cool edge of the dresser. Jonah’s been calling and texting nonstop since yesterday. I haven’t answered. I can’t. I spent the night here at Rosie’s house, wrapped in the warmth of my sisters and their kids, soaking up every ounce of love they had to give. It helped, but not enough.
There’s no fixing the way I feel. I let myself fall for Jonah, for his charm and his sweetness, and I was stupid enough to believe it was real.
The sound of footsteps pulls me from my thoughts, and Ruby and June appear in the doorway, their identical faces unusually serious.
“Maggie,” Ruby starts cautiously, “uh... do you know what people are saying online?”
“No,” I answer flatly. “And I don’t care.”
June shifts awkwardly. “Well... it’s about you and Jonah.”
I freeze. “What about us?”
“They’re saying you’re a couple,” Ruby blurts out. “Like, there are pictures of you guys together. From the diner and other places, I guess. People are talking about how cute you are.”
The words sting more than they should. Cute? Sure, we looked cute. Too bad it was all fake.
Rosie appears behind them, her voice gentle but firm. “Girls, let it go. Maggie doesn’t need to hear this right now.”
Ruby frowns. “But aren’t you two... I mean, Jonah seemed really—”
“Ruby,” Rosie interrupts, “enough.”
I manage a tight smile. “It’s fine. Really. Let people think what they want. Jokes on them—there’s no ‘me and Jonah.’”
Ruby and June exchange a glance but don’t press further. They slip out of the room, leaving me alone with Rosie, who crosses her arms and studies me.
“You okay?” she asks.
“No,” I admit. “But I’ll survive.”
She steps closer, pulling me into a hug. “You’re stronger than this, Mags. You’ll get through tonight and then you’ll figure out what comes next. I promise.”
I nod even though I don’t feel strong. My heart is heavy as I grab my coat and head for the door.
The drive to the theater feels surreal like I’m moving through a fog. All I can think about is Jonah. About the way he made me feel. About how it was all a lie.
When I pull into the lot, I force myself to take a deep breath. The press will be there. The cast will have questions. And Jonah... Jonah will be unavoidable.
I steel myself as I step out of the car. Time to perform. Time to pretend.
***
Jonah
The backstage air is charged, the usual pre-show buzz amplified by the press outside. They’ve gotten hold of the story about me and Maggie, complete with pictures. Every time I catch snippets of conversation among the crew, I hear our names paired with words like “romance” and “scandal.” I couldn’t care less about the headlines—I care about Maggie.
But she still won’t talk to me.
I’m leaning against the wall near the stage door, waiting for her. Hoping for even a minute to figure out what’s going on. She’s been ignoring my calls and texts since yesterday and it’s tearing me up inside.
When she finally walks through the door, her head is down, her expression unreadable. She looks incredible, as always, but there’s a hardness in her eyes that makes my chest tighten.
“Maggie,” I call out, pushing off the wall to meet her.
She barely glances at me. “I’m fine, Jonah.” Her voice is clipped, detached, and she brushes past me like I’m a stranger.
I can’t let it end like this. Reaching out, I catch her arm gently. “Maggie, wait—”
Her head snaps toward me, her tone icy. “Get your hand off of me.”
The sting of her words hits me like a punch. I drop my hand immediately. “I just need to talk to you,” I plead.
She exhales sharply, glancing around before stepping into a nearby alcove. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
The coldness in her voice is worse than anything I could’ve imagined.
“I don’t understand,” I start, keeping my voice low. “Why are you acting like this? What happened?”
Her eyes flash with anger and something deeper —hurt. “I overheard you, Jonah. You and Vera. I heard everything.”
Panic rises in my chest. “Maggie, whatever you think you heard—”
She cuts me off, her voice trembling now. “I know what I heard. I was just some PR move for you, wasn’t I? To clean up your image. None of this was real. You’re a better actor than I gave you credit for.”
Her words hit like daggers, and I take a step closer, but she raises a hand to stop me.
“Don’t,” she warns, her voice cracking. “Just don’t. I hope you get whatever publicity you need out of this. I hope it’s worth it. But after tonight, Jonah, I never want to see you again.”
“Maggie, please,” I beg, but she’s already turning away.
She walks off, her back straight and shoulders squared like she’s holding herself together with sheer willpower. I’m frozen in place, my heart breaking as I watch her disappear down the hall.
I should go after her, but what would I even say? It doesn’t matter if she misunderstood what she heard. It doesn’t matter if I never meant for any of this to happen. What matters is that I’ve hurt her.
And the worst part? She’s not wrong about why this started and maybe she’s not wrong about me. I was a mess when I met her, all rough edges and bad decisions, and somehow, she still let me in. She made me want to be better.
The truth is, I’ve fallen in love with Maggie Stone. And now, I have to find some way to prove it to her before I lose her forever.