Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert) novel Chapter 475

Sylvia held her breath, stubbornly refusing to say a word.

Rupert’s eyes darkened, storm clouds swirling in his gaze, as he didn’t give her a chance to speak. He kissed her, aggressively, like a force of nature—his anger poured into the contact, fierce and unrestrained.

Sylvia struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free. She fought until her strength faded and her eyes filled with tears of pain.

Then, suddenly, Rupert’s hand closed tightly around her neck.

His grip tightened. His sharp, cold features now looked even more menacing, his expression dark and brooding.

“All this—just for him?”

“No!” Sylvia choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m not anyone’s possession. I don’t need to do this for anyone. I just don’t want to be here, tangled up with you. Is that enough for you, Uncle Rupert?”

Rupert closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the storm had passed, though something unreadable flickered in their depths.

He brushed his thumb over her lips, still smudged with lipstick and raw where she’d bitten herself.

His voice was rough. “Sylvia, nobody’s taking you away from here. Not even Lester.”

The suffocating tension pressed in on her. Sylvia felt herself unraveling but forced herself to breathe, to stay in control.

Finally, she found the strength to say what she had to.

“Fine. I’ll go with you. I’ll move into the lake house. But you can’t marry Reese.”

There was a flash of something in Rupert’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

His gaze turned icy and distant, like a fogged-up window on a rainy morning.

He let her go, stepping back so that the light from the hallway sliced a shadow between them.

“Anything but that,” he said quietly. “Ask for anything else you want.”

At that moment, Rupert’s phone rang. Reese’s name lit up the screen.

Naomi waved her off. “Relax, honey. The security here is tighter than Fort Knox. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Mom, this is a lot of stuff. I don’t care how good the Garcia family’s security is—we need to make sure everything’s accounted for. Let’s just check it again,” Sylvia insisted.

Naomi glanced at her watch and relented.

But as they were about to start, the butler appeared at the door.

“Mrs. Naomi, some guests have an early flight. Tristan suggested we hand out the gifts early—we’ll need to speed things up.”

“Alright, alright, we’ll move them now.” Naomi looked at Sylvia. “It’s rare Tristan trusts me with this. I can’t let him down. I put everything away myself; nothing’s been touched.”

Still, Sylvia didn’t take her word for it. She couldn’t check everything, but she spot-checked each batch—five boxes at a time. Everything was there. Only then did she finally breathe easy.

She thought the day was finally over. She and Naomi had just sat down with a cup of tea when the butler returned, flanked by staff.

“Mrs. Naomi, Ms. Lloyd—Tristan would like to see you.”