Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert) novel Chapter 575

Lester furrowed his brow and said firmly, “I trust Sylvia. And Mr. Rupert, too.”

Hearing this, Sylvia felt a rush of warmth in her chest and gave Lester a grateful smile.

So, trust can be this simple, she thought.

You don’t always need a mountain of evidence.

Just then, she noticed someone watching her from the side—a gaze, cold and shadowy.

Sylvia ignored it and pressed on, “Mr. Sanford, do you know her?”

Reese rubbed his forehead, straightened up, and introduced, “Fay’s an old friend of mine—she’s my maid of honor, actually. We went to high school together, then studied abroad. She used to visit me at college a lot, so she’s met Mr. Rupert a few times. That’s why she’s so invested in my wedding.”

“Sylvia, you and—”

Her voice broke off, eyes going a little red.

Before Sylvia could reply, Fay jumped in, her voice sharp, “Reese, isn’t it obvious? She’s just looking for trouble, trying to snag Mr. Rupert when no one’s around!”

Sylvia arched an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Of course. I know Mr. Rupert would never do something like that. But you?” Fay shot a glare at Sylvia. “You’re the one with the shady motives.”

Sylvia let out a cold laugh.

Just then, two male voices cut through the tension from behind.

“Orson, man, you spend two minutes picking wine and suddenly we’re invisible?”

Chris appeared from behind a curtain, holding a bottle of red.

Orson followed, giving Chris a playful shove. Chris yelped, “Hey, I’m alive, you know!”

He caught everyone staring and quickly put on a straight face. “Look, I came to ask Mr. Rupert for a bottle of wine for a friend. Happened to run into Sylvia here. But come on, guys, she can’t be hitting on all three of us at once, right? Even if she tried, Orson and I would never go along with it.”

Everyone knew exactly who he was talking about.

Chris snuck a glance at someone in particular.

Fay gaped at Chris and Orson. “Wait—you two? How’d you even get in here?”

Chris rolled his eyes, “Ms. Langley, what do you think? We walked in. It’s a wine cellar, not Fort Knox.”

“I thought you had a different cane earlier today?”

“That one broke,” Rupert replied, glancing briefly at Sylvia.

Sylvia stood quietly to the side, eyes on her shoes.

Reese pressed her lips together, then looked at Sylvia, “Sylvia, want to join us?”

She grabbed the wine bottle from Chris and headed for the door.

Chris stared at his now-empty hands. “Wait, what?”

Sylvia didn’t look back, striding right out of the cellar.

A moment later, Chris hurried after her.

He caught up, cutting straight to the chase. “Alright, you dragged me out here. What do you want to ask?”