The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1561

"Have you heard of Summer? She's an international superstar, a singer whose face is never in the spotlight. We were hoping to have her close the show with David - a duet that seemed like a win-win. We thought, with David's influence, she'd jump at the chance, or at least consider it. But her agent shot us down without a second thought."

"Just now?" Arabella asked, her voice steady.

"No, a few days ago. We expected the rejection, so we started looking for someone with a similar fanbase to David's, around the same age. That's when we thought of Merry from the pop scene."

Merry and David were about the same age, both adored by fans, each with their own hit songs and a strong following.

"Our Twitter teased a couple of days ago that the headliner would be a queen of the industry, and many fans guessed it would be her. But then, just now, Merry's agent called to say that some paparazzo dug up dirt on her. They're saying she's been a homewrecker, the mistress of some rich guy, and that she secretly had his baby last month. That's going to blow up tonight. Merry's a wreck, not in any shape to perform a duet. She's holed up at home, scared to step outside. Her agent called to cancel tonight's performance, and now we're scrambling to find someone to fill in."

Jossie's worry was evident; after all, Merry's voice combined with David's was sure to be an auditory delight, not something easily replicated with just any artist.

"There are some big names coming to watch David's concert, but we've advertised someone of his generation, a true diva, and that's tough to find."

In the pop world, there were only a couple of young divas, and they'd have to be in Summerfield and available to make it work.

"What does the agent suggest we do now?" Arabella inquired.

"The agent wants me to talk to David, see if he wants to call up some veterans for an impromptu save, or if he'll go solo," Jossie said, sighing. "If Merry can't make it, David could just be honest with his fans. It's just. David really wanted to do this duet with Merry, because of you."

"Me?" Arabella was puzzled.

"Yeah, the closing song was written by David for his sister, you. He wanted Merry's unique voice paired with his to give you a surprise."