Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Abby

The stage lights feel even more blinding now from the tears in my eyes. A

makeup artist darts around, dabbing my face with powder to cover the streaks

from crying. In more ways than one, I’m glad this hell is almost over; right now,

I’m just looking forward to getting this damn makeup off.

Finally, the director counts down from three, and it feels as though we’ve done

this a million times before. The crowd cheers, the music plays, the announcer

struts across the stage. And me? I’m standing here like a statue, my smile just

as fake as my manicured eyelashes.

Enter title…

Daniel stands next to me, shoulder to shoulder, and I can feel the hatred

emanating off of him. He stands tall and proud, the perfect picture of arrogance.

He doesn’t say a word to me, because he doesn’t need to. He already said

everything he needed to say earlier. He got his digs in, made his sharp words

stab me to my core. There’s no point now.

I can sense the satisfaction coursing through his veins as he stands beside me,

the realization that he won—not just in the competition, but in life—washing over

both of us. In just a few minutes, he’ll get exactly what he wants. Not only a

trophy, but to beat a woman down to nothing.

The announcer turns to Daniel first, his voice echoing across the studio. “Daniel,

you’ve shown immense skill throughout this competition. As we come to a close,

how are you feeling about your performance?”

Daniel’s lips twist into a smile that doesn’t even come close to reaching his

eyes.

he says without skipping a beat. “The true winner

than just a lovable personality…”

me. “He will be a

the gleam in his eye is sharp,

into my cheeks as the crowd applauds. The

his eyes meeting mine. “Abby, you’ve

what has this experience meant to

lifts to the audience, to the sea of faces that

signs with my name now thanks to my failures,

a hole in my

is—the little girl in the

and bright as ever, and she still holds up

tiny hand, a

the lump in my throat, but I push through… because

even

I’m here for her.

my voice

a female chef in this incredible,

happy to have been here. To show that we—” I pause, my

“—that I can stand toe to toe

tasting thick. “And maybe, just maybe,” I

inspire others. That future female

our skills—and our

also respected.”

a ripple through the crowd, a

Or maybe it’s just the sound of anticipation

results.

voice then cuts through

winner is…” His eyes flick to the judges as he pulls a small

of

eyes lock onto mine, his expression an

smile, doesn’t even blink. Instead, his head gives

my world seems to tilt for what feels like

once my champion, now looks on with a cool

for the briefest of

toward me

trick of

at Daniel, can’t afford to

find the little girl in the crowd, her eyes wide

draw strength from her innocence, her belief in

hangs for what feels like

speaks, as though drawing it out