Try as she might to steel her heart against the crushing inevitability of breaking, she couldn’t help but drift off to sleep thinking that Sophia Penchant did have such a lovely ring to it.

••••

A low hum stirred Sophia from a deep sleep. She fluttered open her eyes to see the earliest rays of golden light poking through the space between thick, heavy drapes, but she’d been here long enough to recognise the sun rose at a vastly inhumane hour. The buzzing rattled again, and this time she was too awake to pretend she didn’t know where it came from.

She followed the sound with one hand and reached out to grab her pants off the floor beside the bed before extracting her phone from the pocket and pulling it back under the warm duvet. She squinted at the notification on her screen, or rather notifications, as in plural, as in multiples that were still rolling in.

She sighed and scrolled back to the beginning, trying to skim enough to get the gist. Something about work, from Talia, then one from hair and makeup, another from production scheduling, four more from Talia. She homed in on those.

Filming back on.

Intimacy coordinator arrived.

Brian’s back on board. No explanations.

What the hell? Mixed emotions fought to bubble to the surface: happiness, a sense of direction, relief, but they were all dulled by an overarching sense of confusion. She typed back to Talia, What changed?

No idea, came the quick response, followed by, I haven’t spoken to him, and neither did anyone at the studio.

She shook her head. This didn’t compute. Maybe he sobered up and realised he’d made a mistake, but that would require some reflection and remorse on his part. She’d yet to see anything to suggest he was capable of either.

Her phone vibrated again. Just got to the set, and someone said Brian was inside the castle last night. Did you see him?

She shook her head, not for Talia’s benefit. I was a little pre-occupied.

Whoever got a hold of him did a good job. Maybe Vic?

She finally glanced at the sleeping form beside her, and her heart nearly broke again.

Vic lay on her stomach, her face turned toward Sophia and one elegant hand resting lightly on her pillow. Her long blond locks fanned down across bare shoulders before disappearing under the covers. She wore such a peaceful expression it made her seem younger, and the soft part of her lips appeared almost angelic. Sophia had never seen anything more torturously beautiful.