I couldn't remember how I left that day, lost and disoriented as Stella took me back to the hotel. She held me close, gently patting my shoulder, but words of comfort eluded her.

Eventually, my tears flowed uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst, and I clung to Stella's hand, sobbing heart-wrenchingly for the first time. The unfamiliar and distant look in Damian's eyes at the bar was like a blade, carving away at my soul.

I hardly slept that night. The next day, we returned to the bar. Calista was on stage again, singing with the same soft, lyrical tone as before. I scanned the room and finally spotted...