April 1832, Jardin d'Alouette - near the cathedral
"Hey there, M'sieur, did you miss me?"
"Éponine," said Marius, belatedly remembering the girl's name as she approached the bench where he was sitting, waiting for Cosette. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in... two months."
"I was in prison," she said matter-of-factly, her voice slightly less raspy due to her forced withdrawal from hard liquor. "Just got released this morning. Aiding and abetting a robbery, they say I did. But they couldn't prove nothing on me and Azelma. So here I am, M'sieur Pontmercy, at your service."
"I have an errand for you," said Marius, getting up urgently. "The girl has moved again, she and her father, and I haven't seen them in months. I need you to find out where they're living and tell me."
"I know where your true love is," said Éponine, a suggestive grin creeping onto her face.
"Really?! Where?"
"She's been right here all along." She grabbed his cravat so tightly that he thought he would suffocate, kissing him in front of anyone who might be passing by. He blushed deeply, ashamed that the cathedral he had associated with his father and Mabeuf was now the place where he had been unfaithful to Cosette.
Marius pulled himself away, wiping off his face. "If you cannot control your urges long enough to accomplish a simple task, then I will find someone who can!" he shouted.
Tears welled up in Éponine's eyes. She felt as if she had been stabbed in the stomach and left to bleed. Marius didn't need her anymore. He never had. She was disposable, and always had been.
There comes a point for everyone, growing up, when they realize that without them, the world will go on much as it does. Taken to the extreme, this realization may prompt a willingness or even a desire to die. That is what happened on that day to Éponine. As long as she kept Marius at a safe distance, she could keep herself safe from rejection by telling herself that he would wake up and want her just as soon as he turned around. Why had she been so foolish as to destroy that illusion? It was all she had. Now, she had to focus on undoing the damage she had already done. If she hurried, there was still time.
I'm so foolish. I've made a horrible mistake. Why did I tell Monsieur Marius where Cosette lives? I was so eager to see a smile light up his face, to make him notice me, that I have led him to another woman, a woman with whom I cannot compete. Now I must correct this error as soon as possible. It may be too late to make him fall in love with me, but it is not too late to stop him from being with Cosette. I will make sure she never knows his name. I will make sure that my name is the one that goes through his mind in his final moments. I am a Thénardier and a Thénardier does not give up. We always have a backup plan, and we don't take no for an answer.
With that thought in her mind, she scurried away, reached into her pocket for some charcoal and began scribbling furiously. Éponine had never been so glad to be a Thénardier.