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!"

across the

a brief introduction before Madge

"Ms. Madge is stunning!"

my God! She's

person scaring the pants off me with those novels would be

in a black dress she'd bought the day before, with a white chiffon scarf tied around her waist,

everyone, I'm Madge, and I'm thrilled to be here

a deep bow, Madge captivated the audience with

venue erupted into thunderous

crowd, her heart swelling with pride as her mother shone brightly on stage,

own smile mirroring" nov

the Q&A session came the moment everyone

the crowd surged

was pushed along, trying to sidestep

from

about to fall, a pair of hands reached out, steadying

see the man in front of her. Owen coughed lightly, retracting

waist - just as he remembered, his hands could easily encircle it. Owen picked up a book he'd

for your

her