Page 134 of Lucky Girl (Dear Rockstar 2)

But there was no way to stop him. Dale was going to tell the truth and force Tyler to tell it too. Finally, a lifetime of secrets would be over. I knew he was putting his career in jeopardy. I knew he was risking the tide of public opinion turning against him, seeing him as a young moocher, trying to take the shortcut to become some sort of rock star. I knew, if the execs at MTV got wind of it and decided to take back Black Diamond’s win at the Battle of the Bands two years ago, it would mar Dale’s career as a musician for the rest of his life. The consequences of telling the truth now were huge.

And I couldn’t have been more proud of him for walking out there and doing it.

“So tell me again, how do you know this man’s your father?”

“My mother,” Dale said simply. “She told me herself. She even left my father for him.”

“Dale, listen to me.” Sidney Clare leaned forward. “I understand that’s the truth you’ve lived with. But what if what Tyler says is true?”

“It isn’t.” Dale shook his head, adamant. “My dad—John Diamond—he’s the best man I know. If I could a pick a father out of all the men I’ve known in my life, it would be John Diamond. I’m proud to have his name. And I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be raised by him.”

I felt my eyes stinging with tears. The camera showed John, eyes glistening. Next to him, Debra took his hand. Chrissy was on his other side, tears sliding down her face as she leaned her cheek against his shoulder.

“But the truth is, John can’t have kids.” Dale sighed. “My parents had problems having kids early in their marriage. They had all the usual tests. My dad has a low sperm count.”

The audience gasped. I blinked in surprise, looking from the Dale on stage to the Dale on screen. He’d never told me that. No wonder he was so sure that Tyler was his real father?

“My mother showed me the lab results when I didn’t want to believe her—when she told me Tyler was my father,” Dale said. “She never told my dad—John. Damn it, he’s my dad. He’s the man I’ve called dad all my life and I’m not going to stop now.”

“Of course not,” Sidney Clare soothed.

I wanted to run out there on stage and put my arms around him. He was so brave.

“So John, the man who raised you—he didn’t know any of this?” she prompted.

“My mother didn’t want him to know about Tyler,” Dale said. “And neither did I. When I found out my younger sister knew, I swore her to secrecy. When they divorced, I thought it would finally come out, but it didn’t. No one talked about it.”

“So you were protecting John?” Sidney asked.

“Yeah.” He looked out into the audience, finding his dad, their eyes locked. “That’s what you do for people you love.”

Now I was really crying, tears just streaming down my face.

“You’re right, son.” Tyler put a hand on Dale’s shoulder. “That’s exactly what people do when they love someone. No one likes to watch someone they love in pain.”

Tyler calling Dale “son.” I felt a lump rising in my throat. Was he saying that he was there, trying to protect Dale?

o;So you had an affair?”

Tyler nodded. “Yes, I did. It was brief—a few months at most. I broke it off. And that’s when things got… crazy.”

“Crazy, what do you mean?”

“You saw the movie that came out a few years ago, with Glenn Close and Michael Douglas?”

“Fatal Attraction?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Tyler nodded, looking out at the audience. The man was a great actor. The look of helpless guilt and regret on his face was textbook. The whole audience was quiet, listening, and even sitting in the green room watching it unfold on the screen, I could feel the tide of public opinion turning. They’re going to blame it on Dale’s mother, I thought. And she wasn’t even there to defend herself. I was starting to feel nauseous.

“Sidney, she was insane.” Tyler looked like he was on the verge of tears. “I did a horrible thing. I know that. And I apologized to my wife and have spent every day since trying to make it up to her. But Stacy Diamond—I guess she’s Stacy Spencer now, she took her maiden name after the divorce.”

“Divorce? Did her husband find out?” Sidney Clare asked the question the whole audience wanted to know.

“I told him myself.”

What?

The camera panned to John, who looked sad, but otherwise gave no reaction.

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