Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert) novel Chapter 663

Sylvia closed her phone and took a bite of a pastry. "These aren't as good as the ones from last time. It feels like there's a strange aftertaste."

"An aftertaste?" Lester asked, confused.

Sylvia held the pastry out to him. "If you don't believe me, take a sniff."

Lester leaned in to smell it, and realization suddenly dawned on him.

"You know I met with Sienna?"

"Yeah. Her perfume is very unique, it's hard to forget," Sylvia explained calmly.

Lester stared at her for a moment before asking, "Are you mad?"

"No," Sylvia replied instinctively. "Did she need you for something?"

What seemed like an ordinary question plunged the dining table into a prolonged silence.

"Sylvia, you should be angry," Lester said in a low, serious tone.

"I... I just didn't want to jump to conclusions," Sylvia stammered in explanation.

Lester reached out and squeezed her hand gently. "It's okay, take your time. I just wish you'd be a little more possessive of me. Aren't you afraid someone might steal me away?"

He used a half-joking tone to diffuse the sudden awkwardness.

Sylvia squeezed his hand back, looking directly into his eyes. "I trust my own judgment. Besides, in my current state, whatever choice you make is fine. I'll respect it."

"I trust my choice too," Lester declared solemnly.

The two shared a smile, as if the abrupt tension had never happened.

Lester poured Sylvia some more tea. "Sienna did come to see me to discuss a few things, and it actually involves..."

Sylvia was listening intently when her phone rang.

It was Reese calling.

"Sylvia, I just sent you the time and address for my bachelorette party. Did you see it?"

Sylvia glanced at her Twitter notifications. "I just saw it."

It was scheduled for the evening after next at The Luminous Grand.

Because the Sanford and Garcia families had so many connections, they had booked the entire hotel to throw Reese's pre-wedding bash.

Immediately after, Reese's coquettish voice drifted through the speaker.

"Rupert, this medicinal tonic tastes so awful. It's such a waste of expensive ingredients to give it to me."

Medicinal tonic?

Sylvia thought of the rich, restorative broth from earlier today, her grip on her phone tightening.

She let out a cold laugh inwardly. Rupert truly had a lot of 'generosity' to go around.

"Drink it."

A man's deep voice answered slowly. It possessed an inexplicable magnetism, as if he were coaxing a child to take their medicine.

Listening to this, Sylvia instinctively glanced at the box on her table. The Lunar Delights logo was printed boldly across it.

It was the exact bakery she had posted about on Twitter recently, saying how much she wanted to try it.

Sylvia immediately hung up the phone, unwilling to listen for another second.