Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)
Chapter 24

By the time he slumped unconscious beneath the seats, Sylvia finally ceased her assault. She adjusted her clothes, stumbling and rolling out of the car.

As she propped herself up, not a word could escape her lips; dragging a blood-soaked, deformed purse, she shuffled step by step towards the exit.

Halfway there, a car's dome light suddenly flickered on across the way.

Sylvia shielded her eyes momentarily, and then, as her vision adjusted, she saw Rupert, impeccably dressed, stepping out of his vehicle, in stark contrast to her disheveled state. Their eyes met, and Rupert frowned. It wasn't until the sound of police sirens filled the air that Sylvia snapped back to reality.

A gloved officer approached her, extending a hand, "Ms. Lloyd, we need the evidence you're holding."

"Is he dead?" Sylvia asked coldly.

"No, he's been taken to the ER."

Noticing her distressed state, the officer's response was cautious.

Sylvia nodded, though a tension remained in her mind.

It wasn't until the officer, while placing her purse into an evidence bag, offhandedly remarked, "Lucky the call came in when it did."

Sylvia latched onto something significant.

"Who called it in?" she asked, turning to the officer.

The officer glanced at Rupert, who was leaning against his car smoking, and without saying more, secured the evidence and departed.

Rupert extinguished his cigarette and approached Sylvia callously, his black suit exuding a forbidding aura, out of place amidst the chaos. Including Sylvia herself.

He stopped in front of her, his gaze briefly flitting over the swelling on her forehead, and remarked sarcastically, "Quite the catch, isn't he? Pleased?"

As Sylvia heard his words, the tension in her mind finally snapped.

Covered in the scent of blood, she quivered her lips while gazing at him, "You saw me, didn't you? While you were entangled with Bridget?"

Rupert silently acknowledged.

Sylvia swayed slightly, bursting into cold laughter; head down, she casually wiped away the blood stains on her hand with her dress.

"Is this my punishment for defying you? A reminder of what happens when I cross you? What do you want then? For me to kneel and apologize? If that's the case, you could've said so." Stepping back to put distance between them, she bowed, her voice thick with emotion, and laughed bitterly, "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have provoked you."

"Sylvia," Rupert's voice was cold and deep, his expression turning stormy like the night sky covered in oppressive clouds.

Sylvia didn't look at him, attempting to walk past to somewhere else. But he grabbed her hand, pulling her in front of him with a warning tone, "Cut it out." Cut it out?

Because she refused to comply? Refused to be a scapegoat in the public eye?

Or because she had loved him? Did she deserve this treatment?

Yes, she did. She shouldn't have agreed to the dinner with Naomi, shouldn't have sought Rupert's help.

Sylvia pulled away, her neatly adjusted collar coming undone in an instant.

Her bra, barely concealed beneath, revealed all the marks Julian had left on her chest, exposed so blatantly before Rupert.

Sylvia didn't meet his gaze, casually fixing her collar and sidestepping his grasp.

As she turned away, the cold wind enveloped her, fear seizing her entire being. No matter how tightly she hugged herself, she couldn't shake the chill. Suddenly.

"Ms. Lloyd! Call an ambulance!" shouted the officer.

Sylvia had already collapsed. The next moment, she found herself in a warm embrace.

A faint scent of tobacco mixed with the crispness of pine, soothing yet reserved. A presence that had woven through her life, familiar yet frightening.

Sylvia tensed slightly, tears betraying her as they slipped down her cheeks. She was scared; how could she not be?

Fading into unconsciousness, she felt someone gently wipe away her tears, the motion inquisitive.