Chapter 4

The roar of the crowd had finally subsided into a low, thrumming hum, the kind of vibration you feel in your chest long after the music stops. The stadium, a colossal beast of steel and concrete that had held eighty thousand screaming fans earlier in the evening, was now mostly empty. The lights were dimmed to a moody amber, casting long, stretched shadows across the polished floors of the backstage corridors. Most of the staff had retreated to their corners, exhausted and waiting for the load-out crew, but I was tucked away in a secluded nook near the VIP box, a space designed for privacy but currently unused. It was a small alcove off the main concourse, lined with soundproofing foam and plush velvet drapes that smelled faintly of expensive cologne and stale champagne. A single, oversized leather armchair sat in the center, facing a wall of glass that looked out onto the empty, darkened pitch of the field. I sat perched on the edge of the seat, my legs dangling, still wearing the silk slip dress I’d put on just for him. The fabric was cool against my skin, clinging to the curves he had spent the last hour