With the Bearded Man's "help," Ksenia finally tracked Lu Jiting down at an underground boxing club. He was dead drunk, covered in bruises of varying severity, and completely unconscious.
"He hasn't paid his tab," a bouncer blocked their path as they tried to carry him out.
Again. Ksenia thought bitterly. If you can't handle your liquor, don't drink. She loathed his lack of self-control; he was behaving like a masochist.
"How much?"
Ksenia tapped her phone twice, transferring several thousand credits to settle his debt.
Even then, Henry refused to touch him. It took a long time for Ksenia to persuade him to help hoist Lu Jiting into the back of the car.
"He loves you, Ksenia," Henry said from the driver's seat, his expression darkening. "You never truly told me the depth of what happened between you two."
Ksenia turned to gaze out the window. "Can you turn up the AC?"
Henry obeyed, but his jaw remained set. "I just want to know you better."
Ksenia spoke in fragments about her past, glossing over the emotional weight of her time with Lu Jiting. Neither of them noticed that Lu Jiting had stirred in the backseat.
"Is that all?" Henry asked, unconvinced. He wasn't a fool; he could feel the ghost of a grand, tragic romance lingering between them.
"That's not even half of it," Lu Jiting's voice rasped, startling Ksenia.
It was too late to stop him.
"We lived together every day, clung to each other... she couldn't breathe without me. Why don't you tell him, Ksenia? Tell him about our month in Budapest ."
"Shut up! Henry, pull over and throw him out. Leave him!" Ksenia hissed.
Henry slammed on the brakes. "What happened in Budapest ?"
"We lived together as a couple for a month," Lu Jiting mocked. "Have you forgotten how happy you were then, Ksenia? You were the one who couldn't get enough."
Abandoning all decorum, Ksenia unbuckled her seatbelt and slapped Lu Jiting hard across the face.
Henry had reached his limit. Even though they were far from the city center, he dragged Lu Jiting out of the car and left him on the roadside.
Looking through the rearview mirror at Lu Jiting's disheveled figure, Ksenia felt only a cold, hollow distance.
"There were rumors at school that you had a boyfriend. You rarely spoke to me back then; I didn't have the right to ask," Henry said, trying to maintain a calm facade.
"I'm sorry, Henry. The past happened. I can't change it."
"Do you truly, deeply love me?"
She hesitated for three seconds. "I do. I left him years ago. He means nothing to me. Do you believe me? I've reached a point where I can't imagine life without you. My time with him was mostly about spite—retaliation against his mother. I've forgotten him. You are the one I love."
The lie flowed smoothly, but inside, Ksenia felt no spark. She had been using kisses to try and ignite a sense of "love," but the electric thrill never came. Yet she had to say it. Even without the Bearded Man's orders, she was lonely. Henry's presence was the only sunlight Loughton offered.
And Henry? He chose to self-medicate with lies. He told himself that even if he was being used, she had chosen him out of all the men in the world.
"I want to be with you tonight," Henry said, as if breaking a sacred vow. "Is that alright?"
"We're engaged. Nothing can change that, right?"he is eager to know the answer.
In that moment, Ksenia saw the madness and fury lurking beneath Henry's gentlemanly exterior. When she hesitated, he asked again, his voice dropping an octave, "Right?"
"Right."
They spent their first night together, but Henry, consumed by a cocktail of jealousy and possessiveness, ignored her comfort. It wasn't an act of love; it was a punishment.
"Is this what you wanted?" he rasped.
Ksenia looked into his eyes for a long time before whispering, "Yes."
Afterward, Henry moved out. For him, that night was a betrayal of his faith—an act of infidelity toward his own soul. It wasn't pure; it was a demonic surge of envy. He felt fallen.
With Henry gone, Ksenia often found herself staring at the "pigeon egg" diamond on her finger.
Why do men change so fast? she wondered. He sleeps with me, then he leaves.
Where did she go wrong?
She craved a response, an explanation. The silence made her suffer. She found herself checking her phone incessantly, hoping for a message that never came. It was as if she had regressed into the little girl who used to wait for Lu Jiting.
Am I falling for him? She wiped away a stray tear. She couldn't afford that. She hadn't even finished her revenge against Ella Bowman.
At the studio, it was the first time Henry didn't immediately walk toward her. He glanced at her, said nothing, and left. Ksenia matched his coldness, walking straight past him to speak to Ella.
Anyone with eyes could see something was wrong, and Ella was more than happy to poke at the wound.
"Didn't you just get engaged? Broken up already?" Ella asked, her voice loud enough for Henry to hear.
"No."
"Really? Your dark circles are heavy. Did he dump you?"
Ksenia had no energy for this. "The casting results are out. Congratulations, Ella. You and Erica have made it to the final evaluation."
"Really!" Ella's joy was instantaneous, but it soured when she saw Erica's equally radiant face. They were close friends, both foreigners on work visas, both equally talented. But Ella knew Erica's methods all too well.
Jasmine pulled Ksenia aside. "Ella? And Erica? Are you serious?"
"The casting director decided."
Jasmine looked at her with a mix of pity and frustration. "I heard you put in a good word for them. I won't even start on Ella—you probably don't know how she trashes you behind your back—but Erica? She's a viper."
"Ella trashed me? I thought we were friends."
"How is all your IQ stored in your feet?" Jasmine hissed before walking away.
As Ksenia prepared to leave, Henry approached. Seeing the ring still on her finger, he seemed to relax. "Jasmine is right. I've been looking into who started the rumors about you. It was Ella."
She pulled Henry out of the studio and into her car. "I know."
"Since when?"
"Longer than you."
"Then why help her get the Black Swan role?" Henry stared at her. Even now, he was captivated by her face. The memory of that night flashed in his mind, stealing his words.
"The pressure of the first Black Swan performance is immense," Ksenia said coldly. "I gave her an opportunity. If she succeeds, she might become a principal. But if she fails on stage, it will be a shadow that haunts her for the rest of her life."
"But Erica isn't qualified either. Her fouettés are a mess. How did you convince the director?"
"She's improved. Besides, they are 'best friends.' I want to see what Ella chooses when Erica becomes a threat to her. If she betrays her friend, she doesn't deserve my sympathy."
"A mistake on stage... that's cruel for a dancer," Henry whispered.
"You can't put the company in that position, Ksenia. It's unfair to the others, especially after the bombing. Attendance is already down."
Henry's innate kindness made Ksenia feel like a villain who would stop at nothing for revenge.
"I'll end it before the performance," she promised. "Do you still love me? Knowing I'm this vengeful?"
"I thought you hated me," Henry admitted, his eyes downcast.
"Why would I hate you?"
"I didn't... I wasn't careful with you. I hurt you, didn't I?" He couldn't look her in the eye.
So that's why he moved out.
"You were inexperienced. I could never hate you for that. Is that really why you left?"
She leaned closer, her rose perfume filling his senses. Henry instinctively pulled back, gently pushing her away.
"Yes. You seemed... unsatisfied."
Ksenia hadn't realized men needed such reassurance after the fact.
"I'm sorry I neglected your feelings. Will you move back in?"
Henry hesitated. "I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself."
"Why should you? I'm your fiancée."
Henry couldn't explain. His upbringing told him this was wrong. He was trapped between the fire of desire and the ice of his faith.
"I can't. Let's wait until we're married. My mother wants to see you. When are you free?"
"Whenever you are."
In a dark corner of a rented dance studio—35 credits an hour—Ella was practicing frantically. Even as she spun, she kept checking for Erica's shadow.
They had spent years spreading rumors about Ksenia together. Erica had even hired thugs to threaten Ksenia. Now that they were rivals, Ella was paralyzed by the fear that Erica would use those same tactics on her.
Ksenia and Henry walked into the main studio together. They seemed to have reconciled.
Irritating.
Ella grabbed her bag to leave.
"Where are you going?" Erica blocked her path with a smile that felt like a blade.
"I... my stomach hurts." Ella forced a strange smile and bolted out of the room.
"Weird. She didn't even change her clothes."
Watching Ella's frantic escape from the barre, Ksenia turned to Henry. "I wonder where she's going?"
In her rented studio, Ella collapsed. She recorded herself on her phone, but she didn't see a confident Black Swan. She saw a terrified bird fleeing from a hunter's gun.
As she knelt on the floor, weeping in frustration, the door creaked open.
A man with a thick, heavy beard stood in the doorway, looking down at her.
"It's been a long time," he said.