7. Tugged Strings
Tugged Strings
Sarah
The lights were blinding.
The backdrop read: THE RETURN OF EVAN STONE OF THE WILD STONE: WORLD TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT.
Sarah swallowed hard.
This wasnt what shed agreed to. Not exactly.
Evans hand grazed hers as he adjusted the microphone beside her. Just breathe, he whispered.
It sounded exactly like what hed said before the gala.
But this time, it didnt help.
Miss Mitchell, a reporter called out. How does it feel to be engaged to a rock legend making a comeback?
Sarahs lips parted. She searched Evans profile; his jaw was tense, eyes unreadable.
She smiled. Or something like it. Its been a whirlwind.
Is it true youll be traveling with him on tour?
She blinked. I
Shell be with me, Evan interrupted smoothly. Were keeping our family close.
The word family hit her like a slap wrapped in satin.
Someone else shouted, And what about the little girl? Will she be traveling, too?
Sarahs spine straightened. Piper is not public property. Shes a child, not a headline.
A few chuckles. Then more flashes. The labels rep shifted nervously, gesturing for the moderator to move on.
Another reporter stood. Sarah, can you comment on the photo circulating of Evan with another woman? Looks like it was taken last weekend. Anything you want to say about that?
Evan stiffened beside her.
Sarah blinked once, twice. Im not here to comment on gossip, she said tightly. Or to validate it.
The flashbulbs exploded.
Evan reached for her again, but she stepped back just as a mic picked up her next words: God, I wish I wasnt here.
The audience hushed. The moderator blanched.
Backstage.
Sarah Evan tried, breathless from catching up as she paced the corridor.
You said no press. No spotlight for Piper. You promised that.
I didnt know theyd ask that, he said. I was trying to keep it clean.
You called us a family, she hissed. You threw that word out like it didnt mean something.
He raked a hand through his hair. I panicked. What was I supposed to say? That youre just the nanny?
She recoiled. Wow. Thats good. Keep that one for the next interview.
Sarah
No. Dont Sarah me. You want me to play house, smile for the cameras, and pretend none of this is eating me alive? Fine. But dont gaslight me when I remind you that Im a person, not a press release.
From down the hallway, one of the label execs stepped into the light. Miss Mitchell, a word?
Sarah turned slowly. Actually, I was just leaving.
The exec offered a tight smile. With all due respect, the label expects a certain level of composure from our promotional partners.
She folded her arms. Im not your partner. Im a human being who just got ambushed in a room full of vultures.
Were just trying to sell a love story. If its too much
Its real, she snapped. Thats the problem.
Evan said nothing.
The silence was a crack in the foundation. She walked out before she fell through it.
Later that night, the apartment felt too quiet. Sarah curled on the edge of the couch, the television flickering with muted headlines she refused to watch.
Piper was asleep. Evan was in the studio, probably avoiding the fallout.
She stared at the blank TV screen before switching it off. Her own reflection stared back in the glass.
She blinked, then whispered, "How did I get here?"
Not just in the apartment but in this fake life with real feelings? A life where every day felt like walking a wire strung between hope and heartbreak?
A scene flickered through her mind: another man, another room, a younger version of herself. One who used to shrink in her seat at dinner parties, smile on command, nod along with things that made her flinch. One who watched herself disappear piece by piece.
She swore she wouldnt do that again.
And yet here she was.
The quiet broke when Piper wandered into the living room in her pajamas, clutching her dinosaur.
Sarah?
Sarah opened her arms. What are you doing up, sweetheart?
I had a dream that we were on TV. And people were yelling.
Sarah pulled her into her lap. It was just a dream. Youre safe here.
Did you and Uncle Evan get in trouble?
Sarah hesitated. Sometimes grown-ups have hard days. But that doesnt change how much we love you.
Piper nestled into her chest. Promise we dont have to move again?
Sarahs throat closed. I promise, baby. Ill fight for us.
She stayed like that until Pipers breathing evened out.
When she gently carried her back to bed, her phone buzzed.
She returned to the couch and picked it up.
brEAKING: EVAN STONE SPOTTED WITH MYSTERY WOMAN NOT HIS FIANCE
The headline blurred. Her breath hitched as she opened the link.
The photo was grainy but unmistakable, Evans arm around a womans waist, their bodies angled like theyd known each other far too well.
Her face was half-turned, lips near his ear, as if whispering something just for him.
And Evan was smiling. Not the tired, tight-lipped one he saved for the cameras, but soft. Familiar.
The headline screamed: EVAN STONES SECRET RENDEZVOUS? Trouble in Paradise for the Rockstar and His Nanny-Fiance
She dropped the phone like it burned.
The air in the room thickened. Her heart pounded unevenly, like her body didnt know whether to fight or flee.
Her chest ached. Not with rage. But something worse.
Doubt.
Had she imagined the way he looked at her the other night while playing her song? Had she made up the moment when his fingers brushed hers, slow and intentional? Had it always been a performance, and she was the willing fool in the wings?
Was she just another pawn in a game hed already mastered?
A placeholder for a story he wanted to rewrite?
She bent slowly, picked up the phone again, and stared at the screen.
The article dissected everything about her background, the age gap, her job title, and her past. She was the simple girl-next-door. He was the complicated rock god. It was a PR miracle, one journalist wrote, but only if it lasts.
She let out a breathless, humorless laugh.
They didnt know it was already breaking.
And maybe maybe she hadnt been enough to hold it together.
Not for him.
Not for herself.
She pulled up the livestream replay of the press conference. Fast-forwarded to her own face. The moment she stepped away. The flash in her eyes when Evan said "family."
She looked betrayed. Because she was. The weight of it settled in her chest like a lead weight, tightening her throat and making her stomach churn. It was the kind of pain that radiated hot, sharp, and far too familiar.
The comments were brutal. She closed it quickly, hand trembling.
Her phone buzzed again.
It was Mags, her best friend back in Oregon. Sarah hadnt heard from her in weeks.
Mags: Saw the video. Are you okay? This doesnt look like you.
Another buzz.
Mags: You always said youd never lose yourself again. Dont let them take your shine.
Tears welled in Sarahs eyes as she stared at the screen. She started typing, then erased the reply. Started again. Still, nothing felt true.
Her fingers hovered above the keys, breath shallow, the hum of the city outside suddenly too loud. A single thought echoed, hollow and terrifying: I dont know who I am anymore.
A noise in the hallway pulled her gaze. Evan was back.
He leaned on the frame of the living room, the shadows turning the sharp lines of his face even darker.
I saw the headline, he said quietly.
Sarah stood, arms crossed. Was it true?
Its not what it looked like.
Thats not a denial.
He took a step forward. It was from months ago. Before this. Before us.
She laughed bitterly. So youre still not denying it.
Sarah, Im not with her. I havent seen her not since everything changed. Since you.
Since you decided I was worth dragging into the circus?
He flinched. Thats not what this is.
She stared at him, eyes burning. Do you even see me? Or am I still just the nanny to you?
His silence said everything.
Sarah turned away. Walked to the bathroom.
She opened the drawer beneath the sink and pulled out her overnight bag.
Then she paused.
Her fingers brushed something else, a delicate gold necklace she hadnt worn in months. It was from her mother. She used to wear it every day. Until she started pretending to be someone she wasnt.
She clasped it around her neck, the chain cool against her skin, like a memory waking up. Her breath caught as the familiar weight settled over her heart like her mother was wrapping her in something unshakable.
On the bathroom counter was one of Pipers crayon drawings. Three stick figures Sarah, Piper, and Evan all holding hands under a rainbow. It was folded neatly with a big red heart in the center.
Sarah picked it up. Her throat tightened. To Piper, they were already a family. That drawing simple, bright, full of belief felt like a mirror she hadnt dared look into. She folded it gently into her bag.
She didnt know where she was going. Not yet.
But she was taking her whole self with her this time.