Chapter One — The Quiet Between Spotlights
(Sienna's pov)
If you asked the world, they'd probably say Sienna Iris Everglow was living a dream.
But right now, I'm sitting cross-legged on my kitchen counter, eating cereal out of a mug and staring at a song draft that sounds more like a breakup note to myself.
The city outside my window hums like it's auditioning for something — cars honking, heels clicking, somebody arguing about iced coffee versus hot. Lumera never sleeps. It just keeps pretending it's fine.
Kind of like me.
I've been out of the acting scene for almost a year now. One year since I told my agent I needed "a break" — which really meant I can't breathe between scripts anymore.
Now I write music that nobody's supposed to hear yet. I make pancakes at 2 a.m. I learn how to exist without someone calling "cut." And honestly? It's both freeing and terrifying.
My phone buzzes across the counter. Ember Star, my best friend since I was sixteen and my unofficial life manager, has already texted three times.
> Ember: wake up rockstar
Ember: tell me u didn't forget brunch
Ember: i'm outside. open ur door or i'm calling TMZ
I groan, shove my hair into a messy bun, and slide off the counter. When I open the door, Ember breezes in wearing sunglasses too big for her face and a grin that means trouble.
"Your building's security asked if I was here to deliver fan mail," she says, tossing me my own jacket. "I told them yes, but emotionally."
I roll my eyes. "You're impossible."
"And you're hiding," she shoots back. "Music's great, Sien, but you've been ghosting every project offer like it's your ex."
"I'm just… not ready for another set," I mumble. "All the pretending. All the press. I can't go back to playing someone else."
Ember plops onto my couch, scanning the mess of lyric sheets and coffee cups. "Maybe you don't have to play someone else. Maybe you just have to find the right story."
Before I can reply, my phone dings again — this time with a message from Lila, my agent. The subject line makes my stomach twist.
> New Offer: "The Last Page" — Screen Adaptation. Network Series.
The Last Page. I remember that book. A bestselling romance about second chances and forgotten promises — the kind you read under covers at midnight and secretly believe in.
Ember sees my expression and leans forward. "Oh no. That face means something."
"I'm not doing it," I say automatically, though my pulse betrays me. "I'm focused on music."
But as I stare at the email, something inside me stirs — a flicker, quiet but insistent.
Maybe it's curiosity. Maybe it's loneliness.
Maybe it's the feeling that some stories find you when you least expect them.
I close the laptop before Ember can read over my shoulder.
"Let's get brunch," I say, pretending my voice isn't shaking. "Before you start a motivational speech."
She smirks, linking her arm through mine. "Too late. You're glowing, Everglow."
Outside, Lumera's sunlight catches on the glass buildings, turning everything golden.
For the first time in a while, it feels like something's shifting — like the lights are about to turn back on.
And maybe… I'm finally ready to face them.