Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

The front row was filled with people around her parents' age.

"What's going on?"

Her boyfriend was equally confused, blurting out, "Why is it all older folks here?"

That comment touched a nerve-

"What's wrong with us older folks?! Got a problem?!"

Trying to clarify, her boyfriend stammered, "No, I mean... you're into fan culture at your age?"

"We're not chasing after pop stars, we're here for the literature! Got an issue with that?"

"Exactly!"

Her boyfriend was taken aback, exclaiming, "Madge's readership is this diverse?"

"Humph! We've been fans of Madge's novels for over a decade. Sure, we got married, had kids, and got swamped with work, barely active online, not into the whole ranking and streaming hustle like you youngsters, but we've always supported her by actually buying her books."

"Yeah, we've just been busy, not dead!"

girl thought, sweeping her gaze across the venue, the

brief introduction before Madge was

"Ms. Madge is stunning!"

God! She's so

scaring the pants off me with those novels would be such a

dress she'd bought the day before, with a white chiffon scarf tied around her waist, Madge moved with a grace that

and I'm thrilled to be here with

a deep bow, Madge captivated the audience with her sincerity - a killer move that never

venue erupted into

crowd, her heart swelling with pride as

own smile mirroring" nov

Q&A session came the moment everyone was

crowd surged

trying to sidestep the throng

someone shoved her from behind, sending her

fall, a pair of hands reached

help but exclaim, surprised to see the man in front

remembered, his hands could easily encircle it. Owen picked up a book he'd dropped, dusting off the cover to reveal Madge's

your mother's

her