The encore wasn't a song. It was a beginning. It was the moment the music stopped, and the real life started. Together, they turned away from the stage and walked toward the exit, leaving the lights behind for a future that was finally, beautifully, their own.
"This is it," Zach whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "The final bow." Encore by Eden Finley
"I'm done being the person they want," Zach said, his voice raw. "I just want to be the person you see." The encore wasn't a song
He had spent years building a career on the foundation of a lie—not a malicious one, but the kind that slowly erodes your soul. He was the heartthrob, the bachelor, the untouchable rock god. He wasn't the man who wanted to trade the screaming fans for a quiet kitchen and a hand to hold that didn't belong to a publicist. Then there was Maddox. Together, they turned away from the stage and