Watching Them Burn: My Rebirth Story novel · Chapter 20 of 24
Chapter 20: The Screen
Darby's POV
The gala was in the same auditorium, but nobody would have known it.
The Foundation had hung white curtains along the walls and put a chandelier over the stage.
A film crew had built a tower of lights at the back, and a red sign above the stage door said, LIVE.
I stood in the aisle in a green dress with Luka beside me in a dark suit.
His hand was cold.
His other hand was in his pocket, around his phone.
"Bree's in," he said, reading a text. "She says the pit smells like old carpet."
"Does the line work?"
"She says she's about to find out."
He had sent her the file at midnight, and I had made him send it twice.
Up on the stage, the president of the university finished a speech and handed the microphone to Dane's father.
The whole hall applauded.
He thanked the donors and the swim team and the Foundation staff, and then he put a hand on his heart.
"Two years ago my son went through the darkest night of his life," he said. "He was saved by a stranger. A voice. A girl who hummed him back from the edge and then vanished."
A hush went through the room.
Dane stood at the edge of the stage in a black tuxedo.
He looked pale and very young.
"For two years my son has searched for her," his father said. "Tonight, with great joy, he has found her."
The curtain behind him moved.
Willa walked out in the white dress, with her hair loose.
The applause was so loud that it hurt.
She went to the microphone stand at the center of the stage.
Dane stepped forward and took her hand.
She turned her face up, and I saw her find me in the dark.
"I didn't want to do this," she said to the microphone, in a voice so quiet that the speakers barely caught it.
Keep reading free with an account. Start Watching Them Burn: My Rebirth Story from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 19 · All chapters · Chapter 21 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend