Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

Sylvia watched Rupert walk away, his figure growing smaller with each step. Her eyes went cold, but her face showed no surprise. She tilted her head up at the overcast sky, letting out a bitter smile that looked pale even to herself.

Well, it all happened just as she expected.

Back in her previous life, Naomi and Edwin's car crash had to be linked to this partnership. Rupert had lied to her, saying the crash happened because Naomi and Edwin were helping her dig up dirt on Bridget. But that was just a distraction —a way to keep her from noticing the real story.

She never realized that the mysterious husband Kay married was actually Edwin. She didn't catch on to how, right after the accident, Rupert started a big business venture with Kay.

Looking back, the clues were all there. Bridget had never mentioned the accident to her, and with Bridget's two-faced personality-sweet in public, vicious in private —she would have jumped at the chance to rub Sylvia's nose in it. But Sylvia had been too consumed by the image of Naomi's broken body, unable to sleep, barely holding it together.

The only things keeping her going were her hatred for Bridget...and Stella.

But in the end, Stella died too.

It was only now Sylvia realized: her whole life had been built on one big lie. She took a deep breath, tore her gaze from the gray sky, and walked away.

The Parking Lot.

The car door was flung open. Reese clung to it, struggling to catch her breath. Rupert steadied her, pushing a handful of pills into her mouth.

A few moments later, color returned to Reese's cheeks. She leaned against Rupert, reaching for him and hugging him tight.

my purse in your car and didn't realize until I needed my

to take you to the

time in hospitals. Just let me stay like this for a

nodded, settling into the backseat and letting her rest

even nuzzled into his jacket, as if trying to

Until...

the silence, cold and sharp.

beat. She opened her eyes and looked up

hard she searched his face,

overseas for

in the hospital too-he got injured fighting ff a burglar

visited me often, and

how she met him."

fo s

Winslet invited you to dinner today. Do you

Even

widened. She stared down

then, Rupert pulled away from her. The warmth and safety

gust of cold wind blew through the open

Panicked, she grabbed Rupert's