Crash and Burn

35. Epilogue

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One year later

Demi and I came out as a couple a few months after we got engaged. When the public saw her wearing her ring, shit went down. We got a lot of love and support but there also hate. Suspicion rose round our relationship and the tabloids started trying to figure out our relationship timeline, then dubbed it as a PR stunt. It all died down when the theories that it was a promise ring or long engagement surfaced, but neither of them were true. "You ready?" I took a deep breath and nodded. We hit post and the responses came in immediately. "Now to turn off our social media for the next three weeks as we enjoy our honeymoon." We logged off our public accounts and pocketed our phones. "Let's hope that all the shit dies down after we're back." I looked down at our linked hand and smiled at the sight of our wedding rings proudly donning on our fingers. We posted the same simple picture that was taken on our wedding day. We were standing at the end of the aisle with our arms wrapped around each other as we smiled into a sweet kiss. The caption followed the simplicity of the picture and it said everything that it needed to. 'Mrs and Mrs Lovato-Johnson.'

Four years later

I smiled as I walked into the room and saw the group of people. "Hey guys." I sat down on the barstool that was set up for me and started reading through the speech again. "Rolling!" I took a deep breath as I handed the script to my assistant. "Action!" I waited for the camera to pan around the room before starting to speak. "Welcome to the battles! I want to take quick moment to say thank you to all of you. You're all at least two-chair turns and you picked me as your coach despite the fact that I'm a rookie and the lack of experience I have compared to the rest. It means a lot that you guys believe in me." I clapped my hands together and smiled excitedly. "Now let's cut straight to the chase. You guys probably already know who's behind that door but I have to give an introduction anyway. She's a multi-platinum selling artist and a 5-time Grammy winner. With over 22 years of experience, she's taught me a lot and supported me through my career. We released an album together called 'Crash and Burn', which debuted at number 1 and got me my first Grammy, then we went on a sold out world tour together. Even though she announced recently that she was going to step away from the spotlight for a few years, she didn't hesitate when I asked her if she wanted to do this and I can't wait for you guys to learn from her too." I slid off my seat and started walking towards the door. "Now I gotta open the door for her because I vowed to treat her like the queen that she is for the rest of our lives. With that being said, please welcome to The Voice, my lovely and beautiful wife, Demi Lovato!"

I swung the door open and cheers erupted across the room when she stepped in smiling and waving. I took her hand in mine and led her towards where the barstools were set up for us. After making sure that she was safely seated, I turned around to the group and held up my pointer finger to them. "One sec." I turned back around and gently placed my hands on the small bump, leaning in for a sweet kiss. "How's my baby mama doing?" She grinned and wrapped her arms loosely around me. "Much better now that I'm with you." A chorus of aww's were heard and I chuckled. "Time to get to work, baby mama."

---

I had just came back from a long day of being on set for the battle rounds on The Voice when I got a FaceTime call from Mel.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I need to ask you something but you can't make a big deal out of it. Nothing is set stone yet and I'm just exploring my options."

"Sure. What is it?"

"How much did you spend on Demi's engagement ring?" I heard Demi gasp and my eyes widened. I snapped my head over and saw her standing in the doorway of the kitchen. I cleared my throat and turned back to Mel. "You're proposing to Chloe?" Mel shrugged and she let out a long sigh. "I don't know. We were talking about our future last week and all I've wanted since then is to actually make it happen. We've been dating for 5 years but I don't know if it's too soon. I mean, we just started our careers." Mel and Chloe graduated college a year ago and just as planned, Chloe started her own business and Mel took over my shares. I pursed my lips and hummed in thought. "Well, it's not like you guys can't afford it. You're both making good money but if you're worried about it being too soon, have a long engagement. No one said that you have to get married right away." Mel nodded as she took in my words and I glanced over at where Demi still stood. "So how much did you spend?" I shot Demi a sheepish smile. "Can you go back into the kitchen?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Nope." I pouted but she stood her ground. "Okay, but you have to promise not to kill me." She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'll kill you now if you don't tell us." I gulped. A pregnant and angry Demi was not one to test. I faked a cry and groaned before blurting it out. "$38,100." Demi gasped and I heard Mel let out a low whistle. "Didn't you only have like 40,000 in your bank account?" Not helping, Mel. Then she gasped. "Is that why we had to carpool everywhere until the restaurant paid you? Because you couldn't afford gas?" My eyes widened and I glared at Mel. "Are you trying to get me killed?" She sealed her mouth shut and sent me an apologetic look. "Oops. Sorry, Al. Oh would you look at the time? Chloe is coming back any second now so I gotta go. Good luck!" I gaped at the blank screen. This bitch just threw me into fire and left me to die.