In the end, everyone paid. Justice was served (at least according to her). Everything feels oddly anti-climatic. Now all that is left to savor is the bitter taste of the aftermath. He couldn't quite bring himself to call this a victory. It isn't really if everything else also got destroyed. She insists on dismissing that part as "collateral damage". He thinks she has lost enough, so he doesn't argue.

She left the next morning without saying a word. He told himself that he didn't expect her to. After all, she was the girl with a mission. He was the unwanted help. This little charade is now over. Life goes on.


He jetted to Paris at 5am for a change of scenery. At least that is what he tells her when they come face to face in her hotel lobby.

Seven years, three "coincidental" encounters later, she still manages to feign surprise and annoyance.

This time, he tells her that her new name really doesn't suit her. He doesn't forget to add that her new haircut is "simply fab".

He asks that they meet for a drink later that evening. She says she wants to get it over with now.

As always, he obeys.

In her hotel room, he orders them champagne.

"A toast to you." He offers.

She has already downed her entire glass.


She is the same but different. A little more relaxed, but still unhappy. A little more vulnerable (probably due to the alcohol) but still guarded.

He talks to her about everything and nothing. She offers little about herself in return. In his inebriated state, he blurts out how much he misses her. Her silence only incites him to repeat it a few more times. He wonders whether she is aware of how truthful he is being.

She tells him that she wants to be alone. Unlike him, maybe she really isn't afraid of solitude. For a second, he almost wished that he believed her.


He wakes up sometime in the middle of the night. He keeps his eyes closed as he buries his face into the pillow. He doesn't need to look around to know that all that is left of her in this room is the faint smell of her perfume.

For now, that will have to be enough.

He wonders how long it will take before she realizes that despite losing everything - her father, Daniel, Jack – she still isn't alone. He wonders when it will be before she finally realizes that she never was.