Just. One simple word thrown into the mix, so innocent, so deliberate. Then Emily realized what it was Agnes had said. “You know?”

“The whole world knows about you and your little quest,” she replied. “Why else would he keep you so close?” Agnes looked over at Tyler, then back at Emily’s scar.

It was a challenge—something Emily had managed to avoid for most of her life but at one point would have risen to without a moment’s hesitation. Perhaps it was the alcohol firing her spirit, or even the very otherness of this day which made her stand up, snatch the microphone from Agnes, and go over to the screen. Or maybe she was just fed up with the way Agnes was looking at her, with a mixture of pity and amusement, that had Emily scrolling through the list of songs, trying so very hard not to let her mind overthink what it was she was about to do.

“You don’t have to do this,” Tyler said as he came up beside her and bent his head close.

Emily didn’t dare look up at him, knew that if she did all her bravado, all her crazy impulsiveness would simply disappear.

“Yes, I do.”

As the opening bars of “Heart of Glass” filled the small room, Emily closed her eyes and imagined everyone else around her being spirited away. Her hand gripped the microphone as she felt the pulse of bass guitar, allowed it to fill the space inside of her, and she opened her mouth to sing. In that moment, there was nothing but her and the song, nothing but the way that music always made her free and completely detached from her fears. Her voice was soft, but powerful, each word wrapped up in rich tones that escaped from her throat without getting caught around either her scar or her doubts.

The song came to an end, a moment’s pause as the world fell back into place, and Emily opened her eyes at the very same time Frederic, Clementine, and even Agnes leapt to their feet and began to holler their response.

“Wow. Just, wow.” Tyler pushed his hair from his face and stared at Emily. She handed back the microphone and bit down on the inside of her cheek to try to stop herself from smiling, but it did nothing to quell the flush of emotion that spread from her cheeks and all the way down her neck. Bringing her hand up to cover her scar, she started when Tyler pulled it away and squeezed it tight.

“That was amazing,” he said with a slow shake of his head.

“So it’s not true?” Agnes asked with a frown.

“What?” Emily replied as she placed one hand on the wall, aware of how the earlier two shots she had drunk were now spinning through her veins.

“That the accident left you unable to speak properly. Because you can sing, so you must be able to speak.” She held out her phone, showed Emily a photograph taken of her inside Shakespeare & Company along with a headline in French that Emily didn’t manage to translate before Agnes pulled the phone away. “Is it all a lie, for the publicity?”