Chapter 1
Joseph Salazar's first love, Pearl Sutton, was back. A thousand drones filled the sky, lighting up the whole city with his love confession.
The camera panned to my husband, Joseph. He smiled at Pearl.
I hadn't seen him smile like that in three years.
Everyone online was saying I was in the way.
I didn't argue or make a scene. I called my lawyer, Hudson Mayer. "I don't want the money. Take back the copyrights to all of Pearl's hit songs."
Hudson said, "Ms. VEGA, she's got a huge concert the day after tomorrow—"
"Just do it."
*****
A thousand drones lit up the night sky of Westhaven.
I sat on the couch, gripping the remote, the TV screen casting a pale blue glow over my face.
On screen, Pearl stood in the heart of Westhaven, dressed in a flowing white gown, gazing up at the dazzling lights overhead.
The drones spelled out a message: [That eighteen-year-old boy, I'm back for you.]
The live chat went wild. The comments section exploded. Everyone was trying to figure out who that "boy" was.
The camera panned over and caught Joseph in the crowd.
It was my husband.
He was wearing a gray trench coat, standing about ten feet behind Pearl.
A reporter shoved a mic at him. "Mr. Salazar, are you the boy Ms. Sutton was talking about?"
Joseph didn't answer. But he smiled.
It was the kind of smile I hadn't seen in three years, the kind that warmed his eyes.
The camera zoomed in on him.
He turned his head, and the way he looked at Pearl was soft and indulgent, with that flutter he only got as a teenager, impossible to hide.
Watching him on TV, I suddenly felt like I was a stranger to him.
No, not "suddenly." For three years, I'd always been feeling that way.
My phone lit up with a message from my mother-in-law, June Salazar. [Pearl's back. Don't make a scene.]
I didn't reply.
Another message came through.
June: [Joseph has been thinking about her for over ten years. You know what that means.]
The live stream kept rolling.
Pearl was being interviewed, her voice so gentle that it could make everyone's heart melt. "I've been gone for ten years, but there is someone who has always been in my heart. Now that I'm back, I want to tell him myself."
The reporter asked her who it was.
She smiled without saying a word. But the camera caught that her eyes never left Joseph, locked on him the whole time.
Joseph was standing right next to her. He didn't look away or try to explain or clear things up.
He reached out and blocked the reporter's mic for her, so naturally that it was like he'd done it a hundred times before.
The live chat was blowing up.
[OMG, this is so sweet.]
[Mr. Salazar and Pearl are total soulmates.]
[Who's his wife? She's such a third wheel, right?]
[With a first love like her, Joseph would never remember his wife.]
I kept staring at those comments for a long time. Then I turned off the TV.
The living room went quiet, the soft hum of the fridge in the background.
I sat there for about ten minutes.
I didn't cry. It wasn't because I was strong. It was because after three years, I didn't have any tears left.
Joseph and I had been married for three years, and not once did he give me flowers or share a single breakfast with me.
On our anniversary, he stayed late at the office, so I was alone at home, ate half the cake by myself, and tossed the rest.
I once asked him, "Why did you marry me?"
He answered, "The Salazar family needs a daughter-in-law."
It was never about love, not once.
I took out my phone, scrolled through my contacts, and stopped at a name. Hudson Mayer, my lawyer and one of the very few people in this world who knew my true identity.
The call went through, and I could hear Hudson flipping through some papers on the other end.
I said, "Mr. Mayer, I need you to draft a divorce agreement for me."
Hudson paused. "When did you make up your mind?"
"Now."
"What do you want out of it?"
I took a moment to think. "I don't want a single dollar. But I do have one condition. I want to revoke all copyright authorizations for Pearl's songs."
There was a brief silence, three seconds, maybe.
Hudson lowered his voice. "Ms. VEGA, are you sure? Pearl has a massive concert in Westhaven the day after tomorrow.
"Out of seven songs on her setlist, five are yours. If you pull the rights, she won't have anything left to play."
"I know," I said.
"This is going to shake up the whole industry."
"I know."
Hudson was quiet for a bit, and then I could hear a hint of a smile in his voice. "Understood. I'll have the agreement sent to you by tomorrow."
I hung up the phone.
I leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
Pearl Sutton ranked among the top three pianists in the world.
Ten years ago, she left Westhaven and became a sensation in Valdorna, winning the Chopin Gold Prize and the Van Cliburn Silver Medal.
The media called her "the poet of the keys."
Her fans hailed her as "the most soulful performer of our time."
Funny, really. That soul everyone talked about was given by me.
Every piece she played, including Moonfall, Homeward, Shattered Whale, and Starlight Below Zero, was mine, written between seventeen and twenty-three by me.
I used a pen name: VEGA.
The music world spent seven years searching for VEGA, but no one ever figured out who she was.
Because VEGA married into the Salazar family and ended up as another "ordinary housewife."
My phone lit up.
Joseph sent me a message. [I won't be home tonight. I need to take care of some things with Pearl.]
I typed. [Okay.]
But I deleted it.
Instead, I typed something else and sent it out. [Whatever.]