"Evan, could you give us a few minutes?" My tone left no room for argument.
"Of-of course," he stammered, stepping back. "I'll… see you. It was nice meeting you, your majesty."
He beat a hasty retreat, nearly tripping over the edge of the carpet in his rush to leave.
Prince William arched a brow at me. "Does your brother know that I'm not 'his majesty'?"
"He probably got flustered seeing you, your royal highness," I smirked.
"I told you to call me William, didn't I?" His voice carried that unshakably composed manner unique to royalty. It was the kind of presence that made even the most confident person second-guess themselves. I doubted I could ever master that air. Maybe for a role, if I were to ever play a king or noble, but not in real life.
"Of course, William," I agreed, inclining my head. "I hope you enjoyed the party?"
"I did," he replied with a small smile. "And so did Kate. Thank you for inviting us."
"It was a pleasure to have you here." I dipped my head again, aiming for something that looked like dignified formality, though I was sure I missed the mark.
For a moment, silence lingered between us, thick with the weight of unspoken matters, until William broke it. "Have you given thought to how you will proceed with… our plan? I relayed your request for bumping up your honour to a knighthood. There was some reluctance, but everyone seemingly agreed that you deserve it."
Ah yes. The knighthood plan. The one I had nearly let slip from my mind thanks to my hectic life. Thank God he reminded me.
"Of course," I said. "It will go just as we decided. I'll accept the nomination for a KBE if the crown offers it."
"When," he corrected firmly. "Not if. It will happen soon. I'm only unsure about… everything else. If anyone found out I knew beforehand, my own family would disown me."
"I haven't told a soul," I assured him. "And let's be honest, if I wanted to, I could have lied to you and still made it happen. But that's not me. I won't stab you in the back."
He inclined his head thoughtfully, eyes narrowing with measured calculation, then nodded. "That's why I agreed to do it. Even I want my uncle to answer for his crimes, but my hands are tied. Alright then. I'll take my leave. From now on, we don't discuss this again. No calls, no emails, no messages. Not even in person."
"Agreed."
William turned and disappeared into the fading crowd, his security detail making sure he kept a low profile considering his status.
I exhaled slowly, unease knotting in my chest. Was I doing the right thing? This decision would come with consequences. Heavy ones. Still, I couldn't dwell on it now. Award season was upon me. Not just the Oscars, but the Grammys as well.
In my last life, I used to think that the Grammys were fake and never went to the truly deserving artists. But in this life, I had twenty of those myself. I hadn't bribed anyone to win, nor had I used influence beyond legitimate campaigning. Now I didn't know what to think of them.
In the end, I set the doubts aside and kept one thought clear in my mind: awards were just a means of promotion. At least the music awards were. Movie awards, more often than not, existed only to stroke your ego. The real question was whether, in the coming days, I would be promoting my album or stroking my ego. Perhaps both.
(Break)
Marissa bounced the ball against the wall with a steady rhythm, catching it each time before sending it back again. The dull thunk-thunk-thunk filled the small apartment, echoing off the plaster.
"For God's sake, why are you doing this to me?" Austin snapped, his patience thinning. "It's not my fault that no good movie is coming out right now. Remember, Troy Armitage's not the only actor in the world. Why don't we go see [Marley and Me]? It's a good one that's still playing in the cinema."
"Hell no," Marissa said in a flat, unwavering tone. "The only movie I'll go see is [New Moon] next week. But you refused to go with me. What kind of boyfriend are you?"
Austin cringed at the reminder. He had absolutely hated that messy first film produced by Troy Armitage's company, though his protest seemed pointless now. Since then, Troy had gone on to buy Columbia Pictures back from Sony, and now, alot of Hollywood movies were produced under his studio, Phoenix, which was the new name of Columbia Pictures.
"I'm the boyfriend who knows when not to tag along for a movie that's not made for him." He paused, glaring at her over the bouncing ball. "Or would you rather I come with you, sit through it, and then complain for weeks about how terrible it was?"
Marissa froze, her hand halting the ball mid-bounce. "Nope. Please don't. I still can't get over how triggered you were after finding out about that Wolverine movie."
The jab landed hard. Austin's face tightened, and he launched into his seemingly well-rehearsed rant.
"Honestly, I still can't believe they would cancel the Wolverine Origins movie just because Troy bought the rights off Fox. Apparently, axing it gave him some kind of tax cut. That's so selfish! I love Hugh Jackman. The guy's practically a saint. And he's a great singer and dancer too. If Troy had kept a good relationship with him, they could've starred in a musical together or something. But no, he had to cancel on him! And Hugh saying nothing about it? That frustrates me even more. I swear, if—"
"Stop." Marissa cut in, her eyes narrowing. "If you go on any longer about Wolverine, no sex for a full month. I mean it. I'm tired of hearing it."
Austin snapped his mouth shut, his jaw clenching as he swallowed the rest of his tirade.
Marissa nodded with satisfaction. "That's more like it. Also, I just got an idea about what to do with my time right now."
She pushed herself up from the couch and disappeared into her bedroom. Moments later, she returned with her laptop, flipping it open on the coffee table. The soft glow of the screen lit her face as she typed quickly. She logged into her premium YouTube account. At first she had hesitated to subscribe, but when they rolled out a three-in-one combo: Netflix, YouTube Premium, and Spotify for just $9.99 a month on buying the annual plan, she couldn't resist. It was far more economical than Netflix's old DVD-by-mail model, which could cost upwards of thirty dollars depending on how many discs you rented.
"What are you watching?" Austin asked, his tone wary.
"Troy 2.0," Marissa replied matter-of-factly, her eyes fixed on the screen.
"Fine. I'll go shoot some hoops with Eric."
"Suit yourself," she said absently, already scrolling. She searched for Troy's latest album on YouTube, though she could have just as easily gone to Spotify. With the two platforms integrated so seamlessly, she could play music videos from within Spotify itself, bridging both worlds without missing a beat.
Finally, she opened the video that had the most views in the history of YouTube.
Troy Armitage – Shape of You
555M views | 4 months ago
The video opened in a gritty boxing gym. A fit young woman in her late teens was throwing sharp combinations at a heavy bag, sweat glistening across her arms. It was easy to recognize her, because she was Jennifer Lawrence, the same girl who got an Oscar nomination for her role in [Juno]. The camera then cut to Troy entering the gym for what was clearly his first day. He looked thin and uncertain, his posture lacking the confidence the girl carried with ease. Their eyes met across the room, a silent spark of curiosity passing between them, though neither made the first move to speak.
~I'm in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is fallin' too
I'm in love with your body~
Later, as they were leaving the gym, Troy spotted her greeting another man with a kiss on the cheek. The guy was massive compared to Troy's lanky frame. Troy looked down at his own body, visibly dissatisfied.
The next sequence unfolded in a training montage. Determined, Troy began pushing himself relentlessly: running until his lungs burned, pounding the bag, lifting heavier weights, and changing his diet. Over months, his body transformed. A rotating dolly shot captured the transition, spinning around him as scenes morphed together to show him grow stronger in real time. It was seamless, stylish, and undeniably impressive.
Fate seemed to intervene when Jennifer was later shown crying in the locker room after a breakup. Troy sat beside her, gently rubbing her back until she leaned against him. Their closeness built naturally until she lifted her head and kissed him.
From there, a montage followed of their relationship blossoming. They went on playful dates, shared hugs and kisses, and even danced together in a dimly lit room, the rhythm of the track carrying them. Just when it all seemed perfect, Troy found a letter in his locker.
"I'm sorry," it read, accompanied by a photo of a fighting dojo far away. His coach explained that if Troy wanted to prove himself, this was the place to go.
Driven, Troy trained harder than ever. The climactic moment came when he finally stood inside the dojo, only to discover his opponent: a massive sumo wrestler. To face him, Troy strapped into a heavily padded sumo suit.
Marissa let out a laugh at that scene, just as she did every time.
The fight was brutal. The wrestler tossed Troy around with ease, and the beating only escalated until Troy lay dazed and nearly finished. Just as the sumo prepared for the knockout blow, Jennifer suddenly appeared, soaring through the air with her leg extended in a dramatic kick aimed at the wrestler's face. The moment froze mid-action, and the scene abruptly cut back to Troy struggling on the mat in his padded suit, failing to get up while the dojo emptied out.
Marissa didn't even have to select the next video. She had already queued up the entire Troy 2.0 album.
The second song began, her personal favorite, one she often played in the bedroom with Austin.
Pillowtalk
~So we'll piss off the neighbours
In the place that feels the tears
The place to lose your fears
Yeah, reckless behavior
A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw
In the bed all day, bed all day, bed all day
Fucking in and fighting on
It's our paradise and it's our war zone~
The video leaned toward the sensual side without crossing into anything explicit. Troy and Scarlett shared glimpses of intimacy, captured through abstract visuals. Bursts of color, shifting shapes, and dreamlike imagery gave the video a surreal edge, making it as much an art piece as a music video. Shadowy silhouettes of a naked couple in private moments danced across the screen, suggestive but never overt. For any other creator, the imagery might have been censored. But no one was going to challenge the owner of YouTube.
The next song on her playlist didn't have an out-of-this-world video, but the song itself carried enough weight that Marissa had no complaints. The video was a straightforward recording of Troy performing live in concert. He stood on stage beneath sweeping lights, his voice raw and steady, while the crowd swayed with the emotion of the lyrics. Some audience members cried, others closed their eyes and let the music wash over them. It was amazing to see how many lives Troy's music had touched.
Demons
~I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come~
The next track was unexpected from an artist like Troy, though Marissa remembered reading about it in one of his interviews, which made it easier to understand.
"My brother came out to me as gay, and I knew that this world as it is won't accept him unconditionally. So this song, and especially the video, is a little effort from our end to help make some of the people see the error of their ways."
The video leaned on shocking imagery. Troy himself did not appear. Instead, Jonathan Groff, Troy's co-star from [The Perks of Being a Wallflower], took the lead. The scene showed him dragged and beaten by a group of fanatics who tied him to a stake, ready to burn him alive for sharing a kiss with another boy. Marissa recognized the boy instantly: it was Evan, Troy's brother, for whom the song was meant to be written. The visuals were powerful, raw, and unflinching. Paired with the lyrics, the message hit hard about the injustices that people have to face in the name of religion.
Take Me to Church
~Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Oh, good God, let me give you my life~
The following song also drew on religious themes, though this time from a more personal angle. It told the story of a young couple wrestling with the meaning of their physical relationship in light of teachings that condemned it. The video again left Troy absent, instead casting Emma Stone and Robert Pattinson. Their chemistry carried the narrative, portraying moments of tenderness, guilt, and longing. For Marissa, linking the song's lyrics to Edward's philosophy in [Twilight] made the choice of casting the duo all the more poignant. Perfect promotion for the upcoming movie by casting two real-life lovers, who were living together in sin.
Daylight
~Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time
You and I drink the poison from the same vine
Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time
Hidin' all of our sins from the daylight
From the daylight, runnin' from the daylight~
And then came Marissa's favorite video of the entire album, hands down. It resonated deeply with her, and it made perfect sense why Troy would write a song reminding the world that he was also just a human being.
The video opened with a heated argument. A girl stood in Troy's trailer, her face etched with frustration. After a tense silence, she pulled a ring off her finger and hurled it at him before storming out.
A tear slid down Troy's cheek. He wiped it away quickly, forcing a smile onto his face. Then he opened the door of his trailer and stepped outside, only to be met with a barrage of flashing lights. Cameras clicked furiously, their harsh bursts illuminating the cracks in his carefully constructed façade.
Human
~But I'm only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I'm only human
And I crash and I break down
Your words in my head, knives in my heart
You build me up and then I fall apart
'Cause I'm only human~
The way Troy stretched out that long note on the word human at the end of the chorus sent shivers down Marissa's spine. There was no competition when it came to naming the best male vocalist in the current pop scene.
As the video progressed, the visuals grew heavier. Troy was shown being mistreated by everyone he encountered, whether it was fans clawing at him for more, paparazzi flashing cameras in his face, reporters twisting his words, or producers and directors exploiting his talent. Even his own manager seemed complicit in the cruelty. The worst moment came when fiction mirrored reality. A gunshot rang out, and Troy stopped singing mid-note, collapsing into a pool of blood. The screen showed the undeniable truth: he bled like everyone else. The missing note created a jarring silence that unsettled listeners like Marissa, dragging them into the reality of his world.
Troy himself had come terrifyingly close to being shot in real life, all thanks to some stupid-ass morons. The thought tightened Marissa's chest. She wiped away a tear and decided she needed something lighter. With a quick tap, she played his most uplifting anthem, Unstoppable.
(Break)
Breaking News: Our sources have just confirmed that Troy Armitage was found guilty of… genius!
By Benjamin Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone
Album: Troy 2.0
Rating: 5/5
It is rare for an artist to release one of the most highly acclaimed debut albums of a generation and then surpass it with an even stronger follow-up. Yet Troy Armitage did just that. Even more surprising, his third album has blown the first two out of the water.
As a professional music critic, I listen to dozens of new tracks every day, and over time, the routine becomes predictable. Rarely am I compelled to revisit the same artist again and again. The last time that happened was with Troy's second album, 2006. Now, history has repeated itself with the release of Troy 2.0.
What makes Troy's albums extraordinary is their versatility. He has a song for everyone. Even if you do not connect with the album as a whole, it is nearly impossible to dismiss every track. From romance ballads like Die With a Smile to fast-paced anthems like Unstoppable to dance-floor juggernauts like 24k Magic, each record feels like a complete universe.
The versatility doesn't end with song genres, but also with Troy's voice. Hearing a song like Starboy immediately after Beautiful Things, you would think that they are sung by different singers. Most traditional singers sing to one or two genres or voice types, but Troy Armitage casually forgets that he is a human and bound by the limitations of one's singing range. Be it carried out low notes of Daylight or the high of Human, he does it all with effortless ease.
In Troy 2.0, Armitage delves deeper into spiritual and religious themes, beginning with subtle hints in Beautiful Things and intensifying them in songs such as Take Me to Church and Daylight. His openness in confronting conflicting beliefs and calling out discrimination is both refreshing and bold. Tracks like Pillow Talk, Demons, and Human are intensely personal, showcasing a lyrical vulnerability that even many older artists are unable to portray openly.
If I had to pick one standout, my personal favorite is Shape of You. The decision was agonizing, as nearly every track vies for the top spot, but this one drew me back the most. It is infectious, the kind of song you cannot hear just once, and the music video is simply amazing, which shows a short movie in itself with a start, middle, and a satisfying end.
The only shortcoming is the album's length. At just 11 songs and 40 minutes, it is the briefest of Armitage's career, compared to the 15 tracks featured on his first two albums. Yet those 11 songs are so potent that their replay value far outweighs the concern of brevity.
When Troy first broke into the industry with [Echoes of You], many—including myself—assumed his lyrics were ghostwritten. Today, I can say with absolute certainty that I was wrong. We are fortunate to be living in an era with a musician of his caliber, one who will not only define his generation but may be remembered for centuries to come.
_____________________
Troy 2.0 Songs List (Find the Spotify Link on my Discord /YhQaabzKHc)
Beautiful Things - Benson Boone
Unstoppable - Sia
24k Magic - Bruno Mars
Die With a Smile - Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
Starboy - The Weeknd
Pillow Talk - Zayn Malik
Shape of You - Ed Sheeran
Human - Christina Perri
Take Me to Church - Hozier
Daylight - David Kushner
Demons - Imagine Dragons