Page 63 of Broken Harmony
Knowing she’s going to be locked up for life makes me so damn happy.
Seeing her walk out there in an orange prison uniform looking like she hasn’t slept in years is the cherry on top.
Now she knows how I fucking felt.
When she sees me, her face pales.Yeah bitch. Be afraid.
The guards forced her to sit in the seat in front of me. Plexiglass with a few little holes drilled into it separates us.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, voice sounding tired and defeated.
I know it sounds stupid, but just seeing her like this has me feeling a million times better. I’ve spent hours thinking of what I wanted to say to her, to tell her how much she hurt me, how what she did to me was wrong, and she had no right.
But the facts are, she knew all of that. And she doesn’t care. No matter how much I share with her that she hurt me, she won’t care. If she did, she wouldn’t have done what she did.
She doesn’t deserve to have that power over me anymore.
“I’ll make this quick,” I say, a feeling of acceptance settling over me. “First, I want you to know, you didn’t win.” I smile. “All that power you had over me was for nothing. Because I’m out here, living the best life I could have ever asked for. I’m thriving. The band is better than ever. I’m taking on more jobs, making a difference in the world. Have all the money I could ask for.” I give her a smug grin, loving how pissed off she’s getting. “And you? You get to rot away behind these four walls. All the hard work fucking with people's lives was for nothing. Because that's what you ended up with. Nothing. No power. No money. You are a nobody, Julia. And that's all you will be remembered as. Ha.” I laugh, shaking my head. “No. You won’t even be remembered at all. Because you're not worth the space in anyone's mind. How's it feel to be in your late twenties with your life already over?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.
“You are what you are because of me!” she shouts, making the guards step forward. “You’d have nothing if it wasn’t for everything I’ve done for you.”
“No,” I growl, getting to my feet and leaning over. “I have what I have because ofme. Your demands, your manipulations didn’t give me the voice to sing, or the talent to dance. That was me. All fucking me. You only used the talent that was already there for your advantage. And guess what? It’s been years since you’ve had any control over me, and I’ve not been doing a single thing of the kind of shit you forced me to do, and I’m bigger andbetter than ever, baby. And you can’t take credit for any of that. See this guy to my left? He’s my manager. He’s done a million times better job than you ever have. And guess what? He’s never had to fucking force me to do any of it. I’m done with you, Julia. I’ve said my piece. When I walk away from here today, I won’t think of you again. You will be nothing to me. To the world. Goodbye, Julia. May you rot in hell.”
Turning around on my heel, I stride out of the room with my head held high, Liam and Nate right behind me.
When the warm summer air hits me, I breathe in, feeling the weight of the world being lifted off my shoulders.
“How do you feel?” Liam asks, placing his hand on my lower back. I try not to shiver in pleasure at his touch.
“Like I can breathe again,” I whisper up at him.
“Good,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head. “I’m glad.”
“What do we do now?” Nate asks.
“Whatever the fuck I want.” I grin, laughing. “I’m free, baby! I’m fucking free.”
And for the first time in a very long time, in a way, I really feel that way.
There might be a lot of things going on in my life that will never be solved, never be put to rest or satisfied, but at last, one demon has been brought down. And for that, I’ll sleep a lot better.
Chapter 12
“It’s weird without the guys,” I say as we walk through the studio we’re working in today. We’re working with a new producer. He’s been wanting to record something with me for a while now, and I thought, why not?
“It’s just a few songs. You're going to be fine,” Nate chuckles. “You’ve done it before.”
He means going solo. But it’s only been for a few songs over the years; for the most part, I try to have the guys involved with anything I create. Occasionally, there are times I work solo with other artists on collaborations.
“Okay, let’s do this.” I nod when we get up to the top floor. “Wait.” I come to a halt. “I need to pee. I’ll meet you in there.”
“I’ll wait,” Liam says.
I roll my eyes. “Relax, big guy. It’s literally right there.” I point to the bathroom with the woman’s image painted on it. “I’m going to be fine. Only people with clearance can come into the building.”
He stares at me like he wants to argue, but thankfully, he doesn’t. “Fine,” he huffs.
Smiling, I give him a wink and rush to use the bathroom. By the time I’m done, the guys aren't in the hallway anymore.
