Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

The butler looked at Tristan, puzzled.

"Didn't we just pull back the people who were keeping an eye on her? She hasn't been scheming to get pregnant, nor is she pestering Mr. Rupert."

"Rupert is my son, and I know him. He's lying."

The butler nodded immediately, hesitating before saying, "At the Carmen Group's celebration party today, some rumors were flying around. People saw Warren and Sylvia having a bit of a tussle."

Tristan let out a derisive snort. "I disliked her the moment she first set foot in the Garcia family. I just knew she'd be trouble."noveldrama

The butler bent down and whispered, "If Sylvia..."

Tristan narrowed his eyes, his voice icy. "Do as I instructed before."

"Yes, sir."

The next day, Sylvia woke up in a haze.

How did she end up in bed?

There was no time to ponder it, as she realized she was almost late. She hurriedly got up to take a shower.

While in the shower, she felt the faint sting of a bite mark on her neck, the indentations still painfully evident.

Luckily, winter was approaching, so wearing a turtleneck wouldn't seem out of place.

But when she opened her wardrobe, she was dumbfounded.

Rupert!

He had taken all her turtlenecks and scarves!

No, he hadn't just taken them-he had hung his own scarf prominently in their place.

Sylvia, seething, got dressed and wrapped his scarf around her neck with gritted teeth.

She stormed into the studio, nearly colliding with Freya.

Freya was carrying a cardboard box, presumably clearing out her stuff as she was leaving the job.

Her forehead was wrapped in bandages, and her cheeks were bruised a sign she'd been on the receiving end of her parents' anger.

Her parents had only agreed to let

her attend such an expensive college because she'd convinced them it was full of wealthy

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prospects. They hoped she'd marry well and support her younger brother's ambitions.

This was probably the only truth Freya had ever shared with Sylvia.

Sylvia had no intention of engaging, so she stepped aside.

But then she heard a crash behind her, and Freya called out.

"Sylvia, are you happy now? My parents caught me out, and you've ruined me!"

Hearing this, Sylvia paused.

She turned to face Freya. "I thought of many ways to deal with you, but using your parents against you was never one of them, because in that matter, you're not in the wrong."

Freya flinched, her shoulders trembling with resentment. "So you knew all along,

and you've been deceiving me! You played me like a fool!"

Sylvia felt no sympathy, just a nagging question that had bothered her across lifetimes.

When they first met, they had been kindred spirits, both striving for a better future.

How did things end up like this?

She chuckled bitterly. "Freya, when it comes to deceit, I could never match you. I was grateful for your help and did everything to support you, but how did you repay me?"

"Don't give me that!" Freya spat, her voice seething with anger. "You just used me to make yourself look better!"

"Make me look better?" Sylvia stepped closer, sizing Freya up, her tone sharp. "In what universe would I need you to make me look good?"

"You..." Freya's face turned an angry shade of red.

"Freya, if this is really why you did what you did, then all I can say is you brought this on yourself," Sylvia said with a mocking smile.

Freya stomped her foot, her voice hoarse with desperation. "Sylvia! Don't get too smug! I haven't lost yet! One day, you'll be the one everyone despises, like a ratin the gutter."

Freya's words transported Sylvia back to a time when hatred consumed her, tearing at her heart, leaving her feeling trapped and suffocated.

Even now, just recalling it made her feel like she was being pulled apart.

Sylvia looked at Freya with cold indifference, ready to deliver one final blow.