PaperHeartedDreamer
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- Parts 14
She's spent her whole life performing. He's the first person who refuses to watch the show.
Sabrina Carpenter has the world at her feet-sold-out arenas, millions of fans, a carefully curated image of confidence and control. But underneath the spotlight, she's exhausted from being "on" every moment, terrified that without the performance, she's not enough. That no one could love the girl behind the glitter.
Xavier Castillo doesn't know who she is. The brilliant neurosurgery resident has no time for pop culture, celebrity, or anything that isn't life-or-death. When his best friend starts dating Sabrina's sister, Xavier treats the famous pop star like she's ordinary-and it unravels her completely.
He sees through her charm to the loneliness underneath. She sees through his control to the trauma he's spent years burying. He challenges her to be real. She dares him to feel something. And neither of them knows how to stop performing long enough to admit they're falling.
But Xavier is convinced he's too damaged for love-that the violence of his past makes him dangerous, that his father's cruelty lives dormant in his blood. And Sabrina is terrified that if she drops the mask, he'll realize she's not worth staying for.
Between his hundred-hour work weeks and her world tour, between his fear of becoming a monster and her fear of being ordinary, they'll have to decide: keep hiding behind their armor, or risk everything for something real.
Some performances are worth breaking character for.