GuiTara

🎵~46

🎶Welcome to the final show, hope you're wearing your best clothes ~ Harry Styles

●Tara Afua Henrie●

"So!" Alana sat down before I did, clasping her hands on the table with a curious gleam in her eyes. "How are things between you and Shaun? I know there was this drama between you and your bandmates some time back, but you seem good now."

"Uh yeah," I hesitated for a second, not sure I wanted to talk about the band right now, given everything that had happened. But Alana’s expectant gaze was hard to resist, and something about her open, friendly demeanor made me feel at ease.

"I mean, it wasn't easy navigating all that confusion and misunderstanding, topped up with the public's opinion. But I think me, Shaun, Jax and Eden, we're all in a better place now," I said, offering a small smile. "We've all gone our separate ways, trying to make the best out of our lives."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Alana nodded, her expression softening. "When you guys broke out onto the music scene, Jax was my favourite person in the band. He seemed like a great guy. Always so put together, like he’s got everything under control, regardless of his badboy outlook."

"Oh the badboy outlook was just for show, trust me," I responded with a laugh. "He tries to act tough and scary, but he's not always as rough as he seems on the outside."

"Aww." Alana tilted her head, smiling. "It's nice that you still have good things to say about him, despite everything that happened between you guys."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged. "Although things ended badly between us, we did have some good times too, and I'm grateful for it all."

There was a brief pause as Alana sipped from her glass of water.

I felt like the conversation was shifting, and my curiosity got the better of me. "If you don’t mind my asking," I began, unsure of how to phrase it delicately, "how did you and Declan meet?"

Alana's face lit up with a soft chuckle. "Oh, it's quite the story," she said with a sigh. "We met at one of those ridiculous high-society parties that his family throws. You know, the kind where everyone's there to see and be seen."

I nodded, already getting the picture.

"He was charming, no doubt about it. Came right up to me, offered me a drink, and within minutes, we were talking like old friends. He had this way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room." Her voice softened like she was remembering that initial spark.

"But," she added after a brief pause, "it wasn’t long before I realized that charm was... well, not always sincere. About a year into our relationship, I found out he'd been cheating on me. It was with some woman from his work—a colleague or something. At the time, I was completely devastated."

My previous relationship came flashing before my eyes, and I shook my head, remembering how I felt. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Alana. That must’ve been terrible."

She waved it off with a shrug, though there was a flicker of pain in her eyes. "It was. But, you know, I wasn't exactly surprised. I think part of me always knew there was something off, but I ignored it because, well... Declan’s Declan. He’s rich, he’s handsome, and he can be very persuasive when he wants to be."

"Did he ever admit to it?" I asked.

"Oh, he did," Alana said, rolling her eyes. "Eventually. He came crawling back, all apologetic, saying he’d made the biggest mistake of his life and that he wanted to make things right. At first, I didn’t want to hear it. I was ready to walk away for good. But then... well, he was persistent."