Toad by Cambria Hebert

Aerie Boone is a toad.
At least according to every news outlet and online hater imaginable.
Accusations of lip-syncing.
Rumors of being dropped by my label.
Reports of celebrity feuds and rivalries.
And then there’s my personal favorite…
The pending annulment of a marriage I can’t even remember agreeing to.
When you’re the sweetheart of country music, being a headline is a given.
Living the headline is more of an uninvited surprise.
I’m barely recognized for the massive success I’ve had.
Now I’m famous because people love to hate me.
I’m a public enemy, but no one knows my side of the story.
I’m beginning to think it doesn’t even matter.
I’m burned out, hurting, and everyone thinks I have warts. Ew.
Becoming a shut-in is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Too bad my label has other ideas.
They send me a solution…
In the form of a red-haired, green-eyed man who wears sarcasm like armor.
I don’t want a stranger in my house.
I don’t want Nate.
All I want is to go back to a time when I wasn’t a toad.
When I was country music’s princess.
But going back is impossible.
Moving forward will change everything.