When Maddie received her college acceptance letter, she took a deep breath and confessed her feelings to Rico.
But Rico’s response wasn’t what she had hoped for. His brow furrowed, his voice calm but firm. “Maddie, the company has a strict rule: artists aren’t allowed to date. I can’t be with you.”
Maddie refused to give up. If 21-year-old Rico couldn’t fall in love, maybe 31-year-old Rico could. She told herself she could wait.
She could wait forever.
But that hope was shattered when Rico gave his love to someone else—Jane Harper. Maddie watched helplessly as Rico and Jane held hands, hugged and kissed in front of flashing paparazzi cameras. The final blow came when the tabloids plastered pictures of them entering the same hotel late at night.
Her five years of unwavering devotion suddenly felt meaningless. Maddie remembered all the sacrifices she had made for Rico, including abandoning her search for her biological parents and it all seemed ridiculous now.
That evening, Maddie dried her tears, stood tall and tossed the bouquet of flowers she had been holding into the trash. She was done. Done waiting. Done hoping. It was time to go home.
***