At least I had one good Valentine’s Day, she thought bitterly. How did I get here? What should I do? What’s to become of me? Her thoughts swirled. She couldn’t stop hearing the girls’ voices from the bathroom. They call me a whore. They think I deserve everything I get. They hate me. I’ve disgraced my family. I’ve disgraced myself. No one will ever love me again. I’m damaged goods, the inherent vice of high society.

Anna didn’t know how long she had been sitting there in the silence, but she was cold and wet and had never been more miserable in her entire life. When she heard his voice, she thought, I’m going mad. Now I’m a delusional girl who hears voices.

“Anna?”

Anna turned and saw Vronsky standing before her. He, too, was wet, but he had on a rain jacket, which he took off immediately and dropped to the ground. He took off his sports coat and hurried to the pitiful girl on the bench before him, draping it over her shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” Anna asked.

“I came to find you,” he said, unable to tell her anything but what was true.

“Well, here I am,” she said. “Now please go away.”

“It wasn’t me, Anna. I didn’t make that video, and I didn’t release it. It was Eleanor.”

Anna looked up at him. “What? How do you know?”

“Alexander,” Vronsky replied. “He told me. He just found out.”

“That conniving bitch!” Anna whispered. “I should have known!”

“I’m so sorry, Anna,” Vronsky said. “I’ve been desperate to see you. I’ve called every day and left letters with your doorman. Did your parents tell you?”

Anna shook her head. “I’ve been under house arrest. No one tells me anything. It doesn’t matter anyway, Alexia. Haven’t you heard? As my father says, I’m ruined in this town.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Vronsky said. “I love you, Anna!”

“My dad wants to send me away to give me a fresh start,” Anna said, her voice shaking from the cold. “But I told him I wouldn’t. Do you want to know why?”

“Yes, tell me…”

“Because just like you need to be where I am, I need to be where you are,” Anna said, finally answering the plea in Vronsky’s pale blue eyes. “I love you, too. Even though it’d be easier to hate you. But my father said though the easier path is always more tempting, the harder path is better in the end. Ironic that his words are bringing me to the last decision in the world he’d want me to make.”