The Fame Paradox

. The wind pulled at her hair, pulling at the sides of her dark thoughts. It was

ff's edge, looking at the big space be

o the edge, where the

cks below, the infinite drop that

d between two worlds, ne

s and adoration, it felt

he fu

ike her; it had no room for

t air filled with saltwater from afar, the m

hear the hum of t

seemed so

ista

om what remain

om the fall that had been creeping into her thoughts for days, if not wee

t her-standing on the edge of no

ights below, but her hea

he nasty, ugly words rang in h

nts like these, each memory a specter e

rassment to this

nd resonated through her head as if he was next to

ted him-for someone, anybody-to help her throug

en she was at her most vulnerable. But instead, she

He had barely looked at her as he spoke.

u've ruined everything. No

ruck her like a knife

r knees before him, completely uncomprehending of how th

pment, something to be thrown away once

a failure

abil

hild, the perfect daughter to

et out of

e said before

stupid, she had turned and walked out of hi

her no matter what - could so casually discard her? Her fingers gripped the railing

an't do anyth

ed to have struc

him for comfort,

so she had thought, who would

hing with him-her hea

came, he was the first to

ntinued, the silence that came after

bed, Scarlet. You'

er, to stand by her side, but Max was

ed her the way s

a romance which had crumbled

as another flash o

through her brain like a tolli

sted more than anyone, had turned on h

rayal so well documented, was s

arlet? You were just a stepping stone for m

her apart, and yet,

r image, her place in the world. To her, Scarlet

len, Sydney had stepped

her knees gave way, and she leane

d believed in them, in their words, in t

doned her, and she w

the edge

as Matthew Fletc

with one, well-placed act of betrayal. He framed her,

e ghost who had faded into the ba

onal, Scarlet.

ine

always

d - every treachery - had been personal. She had given them everything

of the memory flooding bac

from her-everything she had come to love an

ldn't b

uldn't

is the on

sed her mind lik

hing left t

no family,

had fors

y before her, wai

rt raced around and around in her chest and the lig

re she stood and where she wanted to be - far, far aw

es again and took

s shattered by a de

nal decision? Yo

ry, sharp as a k

ed from

blackness concealed who spoke. The