The moment Aria stepped into the studio, she didn’t even sit.
She locked herself in, disconnected every possible device from the room, and made sure nothing was connected.
Because in her past life, she had never understood how the woman stole her music when they had never recorded together.
Maybe the problem had been her label.
Maybe they had told the thief about her music.
Maybe Caspian Graves had given it to them.
But not anymore.
She would never let them sell off her hard work again.
She recorded new songs, discarding the old ones.
She wrote from the experience of the past, the pain she felt today, and everything she had endured.
She even cried mid-recording.
“Ashes of Me”
(Verse 1)
You held my hand, then let it burn,
Promised love but gave no return.
In your shadow, I lost my name,
Branded a liar, drowning in shame.
(Chorus)
But I won’t break where you left me torn,
I’ll rise from the night like a bitter dawn.
Your love was a blade, it cut me deep,
But out of the ashes, I’ll learn to breathe…
Once she was done recording, Aria grabbed her phone and called Mr.
Margin, her manager, a man who loved her like his own child.
“What’s going on, Aria?
Everyone is looking for you, where are you?”
“I just sent a track, Mr.
Margin.
Listen and tell me how you feel.” She sent just the first verse and chorus so no one could steal it.
“Are you going to ignore the scandal you created?
What is going on, Aria?”
“Please listen to the song, Mr.
Margin, and tell me what you think.
Forget the media and what they have to say,” she repeated, hearing him sigh.
“Alright, I’ll get back to you.”
After a few seconds, Margin called back.
“What is this, Aria?
Are you trying to show me how fast you are at stealing people’s music?”
The new artist Leah just submitted her music a few minutes before Aria called and had sang the same thing.
The song was super identical, the beat, lyrics, flow, every freaking thing.
It’s obvious Aria was the one who stole it because she submitted hers late.
“What do you mean?” Aria asked wondering what he was talking about.
“It’s okay if you have no inspiration after what happened.
But stealing music from the newer artist we just signed is diabolical.
The song is already released, Aria.
If you keep this up, we might drop you.” He hung up.
It was the first time Mr.
Margin had ever sounded so disappointed.
Aria quickly turned on her cellphone to check the new artist he was talking about, and there she was.
The birth of her arch-nemesis.
The one person she had never met but who had stolen all her music.
The woman hadn’t just released the first verse and chorus on her new song, she had miraculously released the second verse and chorus too.
But how?
She has only recorded the song just now…
(Verse 2)
Stolen songs, a voice not mine,
A thief wore my soul, called it divine.
They called me whore, they called me wrong,
But pain is the ink of my next song.
(Chorus)
No, I won’t fall where the world believes,
I’ll carve out the truth that no one sees.
Your lies tried to bury the heart in me,
But I’ll turn this pain into melody.
This was Aria’s music, and she had stolen everything again.
Aria couldn’t believe it.
Who the hell was this woman, and how did she get her music?