The next morning, Rachel woke up with a huge headache. Her face was a mess due to tears and the makeup wearing off due to her constant tossing and turning. Her hair was all over the place and bobby pins were either hanging on for dear life to strands of hair or on her bed. She got up on the bed, but she realized something: she wasn't in her room. Christopher wasn't sleeping next to her. Everything around her was different, but not unfamiliar. In fact, she has seen them before. The last thing she remembered was drinking her emotions away, then Erika appeared, probably to gloat her victory, but she appeared to be sympathetic. She was always a trickster, wasn't she? After that, Annabel offered her to make something for her to eat. Then she had a customer and she was forced to stay upstairs, but she has to puke and headed downstairs and then . . .

"Rachel, are you awake," a voice said through the door. Rachel looked in the direction of the voice and tried to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. However, it didn't matter since Annabel opened the door. "How are you feeling, dearie," she asked, but Rachel didn't respond. "You were pretty drunk last night. You were throwing up, but I managed to help you back upstairs."

"That's only because you threatened me to," she said weakly, afraid of what she would say back.

Annabel signed. "So, you do remember what happened last night. I was afraid of that."

"What are you going to do to me? I know your secret, so I guess the logical thing to do is kill me."

"Kill you? What do you take me for, a blood thirsty killer," Annabel asked, but then said, "Well, aren't I a hypocrite. However, I'm not going to kill you. I still see you . . . as a friend."

"I don't think I can say the same for you."

"I get it: you're frightened, but believe me when I say that I don't want to hurt you."

"Were you planning to kill my husband?! Is that what you and Nadir have been planning this whole time," she asked frantically.

"What? Why would I do that when you know that I want his plan to fail?"

"Well, you would do anything for Nadir, correct?"

"Yes, but he has told me not to do it. Besides, even if he asked me to, I wouldn't. I wouldn't murder him . . . unless he promised to feed me afterwards."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, I'll come clean to you. I have to make a living somehow and I don't get a lot of regular customer. If I were an ordinary barbershop, I would have gone out of business a long time ago. After all, who would get a shave from a woman . . . unless they thought they would get something out of it. I have enough customers to pay the rent, but not much to eat. So, I have to resort to desperate measures . . . free meat."

"Annabel, you're not suggesting-,"

"I'm sorry to say, but I am a cannibal," she said. Rachel gasped in horror and started to tremble. "I've been able to not get caught because I only kill men who have no one to miss them when they are gone."

"Oh my god! D-Does Nadir know," Rachel asked in horror.

"Yes and despite that, he has seen me as a friend, but I wish he could see me as more than that."

"I'm not sure that will be possible, especially since he knows the real you."

"If he didn't care about me in the first place, then he would have turned me in a long time ago."

"How do you know he cares about you and not out of fear," Rachel asked, but immediately regretted what she said.

Annabel was silent, but chuckled. "You know, Rachel, in order for the plan to fail, there is only one thing in the way: you. Christopher won't leave you so easily."

"What are you talking about? He will! Why wouldn't he after everything I've failed to do for him," Rachel yelled, almost about to cry.

"Rachel, do you really believe he doesn't love you? My god, he has been married to you all this time and despite everything that has happened, he has stayed with you. If he didn't love you, he would have left a long time ago to find his dear Erika. Despite all your flaws, he has been your rock and shield and has protected you from your own vices. By staying with you, it proves that he loves you and that's why you're the problem. As long as you're here, he has a reason to leave here. As long as you're here, he won't go to her and his daughter."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"You're going to help me. Otherwise, you will see up close and personal what I do for a living."

"Rachel, where are you," Christopher said as he searched the entire motel for his dear wife. He came home late last night, but only because he wanted to know everything that had happened to Erika and Diana after she left. He didn't come home until maybe midnight or so, but was surprised to see that she wasn't there. At first, he was worried, but thought that Lilliana and Katia were keeping her late in case he decided to come home late. However, in the morning, he was worried that Rachel didn't return to the motel room. That morning, he searched the entire motel for her, but couldn't find her anywhere. Where the hell was she? "Rachel!"

Suddenly, he heard one of the doors open in the distance and hoped it was Rachel, but was disappointed to see an angry Lilliana. She was wearing a white silk robe, but had a scowl that chilled him to the bone. "Do you know what time it is? It's five in the morning, Chris. Can you just wait a couple more hours before shouting? You'll wake up the neighborhood."

"Lilliana, I'm glad to see you," Christopher said as he was about to hug her, but she stepped back before he had the chance. After all, she was wearing only the robe and nothing else.

"What the hell do you want at this hour?"

"Who is it, Lily," Katia's voice said from another room.

"It's Christopher," she yelled.

"Can he come at another time?"

"I'm trying to tell him that, dear," she said as she rudely tried to shut the door, but Christopher stopped her.

"Wait, I have to ask you some questions about Rachel," he said.

"What about her?"

"She didn't come home last night and I'm afraid something bad has happened to her," he said with worry in his voice.

She sighed, but said, "Look, yesterday didn't go according to plan. Come back here in about five minutes and we'll tell you everything, all right?"

"What happened? Is she all right?"

"She was the last time we saw her, but just give us some time to change," she said as she closed the door. He put his ear on the door, hoping to find answers, but what he did hear worried him even more:

"I told Christopher that we would tell him about what happened yesterday."

"Why? She's the one who ran away from us. Besides, we couldn't help it. Annabel told her everything."

"Speaking of her, did you get her recent victim's soul?"

"Yes, but I had to wait until she put the body downstairs. Who cleans up the mess and then disposes of a body?"

"You know, it's rude for someone to listen through a door," a voice said some distance away from Christopher. He turned toward the voice and saw Nadir. He was no longer the cheery fellow he remembered, but one that was free to show his bitterness. "So, I'm assuming you're not keeping your word about leaving here."

"I . . . She wants me to sing a song at her theater and then I promised to leave," he replied as calmly as he could. He knew that anything could set him off and didn't want to say anything wrong.

"Whose idea was it? Did you force her to do this? You know she is very vulnerable right now," he said with growing anger.

"No, nothing like that; she actually offered me to perform."

"When will it be?"

"Tomorrow night."

"And then you promise to leave," Nadir asked, but Christopher grew quiet. "You are such a pest, you know that, right? You are a man who breaks his word any chance he gets and I'm sick of it."

"And it is no different than a man who schemes behind her back with a murderer," he said, now with his patience being tested.

"So you think that too? She is just a barber who works long hours to make a living."

"Erika is a great judge of character and can tell the rotten apples in from the rest."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean? Regardless, you can't love two women at the same time. You have to choose who you truly love, Erika or Rachel. . . . Tell you what; let's make a gamble out of this."

"Nadir, I don't-,"

"Just hear me out. Tomorrow night, you will have two choices. One: you won't sing, leave this place with Rachel, and never come back. Two: you will sing, stay here with Erika, but must divorce Rachel, and I will stop my pursuit. What do you say?"

"Nadir, I don't want to be part of this deal!"

"Well, I don't want you to hurt Erika ever again. If you stay here any longer with Rachel, you'll just leave and break her heart again. Plus, it's not her heart you're breaking. You've become involved in Diana's life now and I don't want you to hurt her as well."

Christopher was silent, but said, "What would you gain by my answer."

"I will finally know if you are the same man that she loved all those years ago. The one who ran across the stage and sang a song meant for someone else to her."

Christopher was reluctant, but said, "Fine. It's a deal," he said as he shook hands with the man.

"Excellent. I will see you tomorrow night . . . or not," he said as he left his side. Soon, he heard a door open and saw Lilliana come out with her usual white shirt, vest, and pants. She gestured him to come in and he followed. As he entered, he was surprised how the place was decorated. They had a lot of antique items lying around, but what surprised him were two weapons leaning against a wall: a large scythe and a katana. For sweet women, well not really for Lilliana, but still surprising for him, it seemed odd to him that they would have weapons. Do they have a lot of robbers try to steal their stuff?

"We don't really have a lot of visitors, so excuse the mess," she said as she guided him to a chair.

"Lily, what do you think of this skirt when you go back to London," Katia said as she held out a black skirt for Lilliana to see.

"Do I really have to wear something like that when I get back?"

"Yes. After all, don't you want to catch the guys' attention," she said teasingly, making Lilliana's eyes widen with shock, but then kissed her cheek. "I'm only joking, but I do want you to wear something different than this. You always wear this."

"Katia, we have more urgent matters to discuss than what I'm going to wear," she said as she hinted at Christopher.

"Oh, I guess it's time," she said in a disappointed tone. The two women sat on the couch across from the chair Christopher was sitting on.

"What happened to Rachel," he asked.

"Look, everything was going well before I left for work," Katia said. "I took her out shopping, like you said."

"But when she left, everything went downhill. . . . Look, I didn't intend for this to happen, but Annabel showed up and . . . she told Rachel that Erika was Fantôme."

"What? How come you didn't stop her," he said angrily.

"She blurted it out before I had the chance. What was I suppose to do? After that, she ran off crying and we don't know where she went."

"Why didn't you follow her?"

"I was caught up with Annabel's razor and couldn't follow her," she said as she showed him her bandaged hand. "She stabbed it out of anger."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said apologetically.

"It's fine. . . . After that, she left in a hurry, but we haven't been able to find Rachel."

"Do you have any idea where she is?"

"I doubt she would shop her emotions away," Katia said. "If I were her, I would buy a drink or two."

"Or a lot," Lilliana said.

"Maybe she spent the night at the bar. I'll check there right now. Thank you," he said as he got up from the chair and headed out.

"You're welcome," Katia said as she guided him out the room. "Well, goodbye," she said as tried to close the door, less rudely than Lilliana, but he stopped her too.

"Hey, I'm going to perform at the Fantôme Theater tomorrow night-," Christopher said, but was interrupted.

"I'm sorry, but Lily and I are busy tomorrow night. Hopefully we'll see each other sometime soon," she said apologetically.

"Oh, well then. See you soon," he said as he left her side and toward the motel exit.

Katia sighed. "I'm glad that's over. If I was late to work, my boss would kill me."

"You still have ten minutes. Calm down," Lilliana said as she grabbed her large scythe and threw Katia her katana.

"I guess you're right. It's just . . . tomorrow night . . . you're going to go back to London," Katia said with a sad tone, but was surprised by a kiss.

"We don't have enough time to be moping around. We've got work to do," Lilliana said with a smile.

"How's your hand," she asked as she removed the bandage around her hand, but there was no wound.

"I told you it would heal quickly," she said as they both headed out the door.

Nadir walked back to the Annabel's barbershop, hoping to talk about the wager. It was still early and she didn't usually wake up until the late morning, but he thought he might as well read one of her books while he was there. However, as he opened the door, he was surprised to see not only Annabel awake, but also Rachel, who looked absolutely horrified. "You're awake at this hour," he asked.

"Oh, Nadir, I didn't expect to see you this early in the morning," Annabel said in shock.

"What is she doing here and why isn't she with Christopher," Nadir said in slight anger in his voice.

"She had too much to drink last night, so I decided that she should stay here for the night instead of her just roaming the streets by herself."

"Then why didn't you just accompany her home?"

"Well, sometimes when someone gets drunk, they can't think straight. It was better this way." He scoffed, but didn't say another word. However, he saw Rachel's expression and she looked utterly terrified.

"What's wrong with her? She looks like she saw a ghost."

"Not exactly; she saw . . . a corpse," Annabel said regretfully. Nadir looked at her with shock as she continued, "She saw me kill a customer and now, she's too scared to even look like she was okay."

"So, you were sloppy? We can't let anyone know your secret!"

"I know, but I've scared her so much that she is willing to work with us, right Rachel?" In a frightened haste, she nodded. "As long as she wants to live, she'll work with us."

"Is this true, mademoiselle?"

"Y-Yes," she said nervously.

"Well, this is great! After all, I just set a wager with Christopher."

"A wager? What are the stakes," Annabel asked.

"He plans to perform tomorrow night at the Fantôme Theater and since I want him to choose who he loves more, I told him that he can either not perform and stay with Rachel or perform and I would stay away from Erika."

"And this is supposed to benefit you how?"

"It will finally give me an answer. If he truly does love her, then he would divorce Rachel to be with her. If he doesn't, then I don't want him around to hurt her again."

"But will you keep your word if he does sing tomorrow night. You know, for a man who criticizes a man for not keeping his word, you're not too far behind."

"What are you talking about? I always keep my word."

"Well, you said when we first met that you would stop pursuing her if you didn't get a kiss from her by the end of the year . . . but here we are. Then you promised her that you would find someone else and not waste your life away some time before that, but here we are."

"Shut up," he yelled rather coldly, managing to actually silence her, something that wasn't easy to do. However, his tone changed when he said, "I'm sorry, Annabel, but now that Rachel is joining our team, she can help us. If she can show him that he still loves her, then he won't leave her. What do you say, Rachel? Will you help us?"

Rachel looked at Annabel and said softly, "Sure."

"That's great! Well, I should be heading to the spice shop before Darius makes a muck of things. He may be a great salesman, but he is not as great of a business owner. I'll see you soon," he said with a smile, trying to cheer Annabel up, but it didn't work. Instead, she guided him out without saying another word.

As she closed the door, Rachel spoke up and said, "You are in love with that guy even after all that?"

"My head says no, but my heart says yes. What is wrong with me? I'm in love with him knowing that if we were together, it would never work!"

"Well, if Christopher does sing, will you two finally become a couple?"

Annabel sighed, but she said, "I hope so, but he is not a man of his word. I'm afraid that even if he loses, he will still try to win Erika's heart, no matter the cost. I may be a killer, but I only do it to eat. However, I'm afraid that if I continue to love him, will I be willing to do as he wishes?" She was quiet and was able to hear the kettle in the kitchen whistling. "Oh, the tea is done. Would you like some?"

"Sure," she said. Annabel left the room, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts. So many things were flooding her head: Annabel is a murder; Nadir wants to win Erika's heart, the bet, and finally, her sudden involvement with Nadir's plan, and Annabel's mixed-up feelings. Should she try to escape and tell Christopher everything she has learned? Should she just follow through the plan to save her life? What could she do? She was helpless.

Annabel soon entered the room with a silver tray with a teapot and two teacups. She then poured the tea into a cup and handed it to Rachel as she said, "I'm far past saving, but if you want to help anyone, help your husband. What is best for him: leaving here with you to save his life or letting him stay here with Erika? Just look into your heart and you'll find the answer."