When Kylie awoke the next morning, she felt as though she'd lost a part of herself while she'd slept. She'd dreamt of Ethan, which was weird because they barely knew each other. It seemed that, in her dream, they'd know each other very intimately – it didn't really matter though, as, minute by minute, the dream faded.

At breakfast, she had a hard time focusing. She heard voices in her head that she didn't recognize, and it scared her. She asked the butler where Stephen was, but he told her that Stephen was out. At that moment, she felt alone, but not just alone. She also felt lost. Just then, though, she remembered about her responsibilities to Garcia Entertainment. After she showered and dressed, she found the butler and said, "When Stephen arrives, please tell him that I've gone to work."

​​

The butler smiled, and he asked her if she was finally ready to resign.

"Why would I resign?" she demanded.

The butler frowned, and he said, "Why, just yesterday, you told me that you were going to resign and go to work with Stephen in the hotel industry with his family…"

"Why would I want to do that?" Kylie wondered.

Annoyed by the question, the butler took a step forward and put a glass of milk in front of Kylie and said, "You love Stephen very much, and you want to be with him all the time. You want to please his parents. You want to work for his family business – or at least that is what you said…"

Kylie's pupils suddenly dilated, and her expression glazed over. Then, in a manner that suggested she'd been brainwashed, she repeated his words: "I love Stephen very much, and I want to be with him all the time. I want to please his parents. I want to work for his family business."

The butler slowly raised his head in satisfaction and said, "Good girl. Now drink your milk. It will clear your mind."

Kylie smiled as she thanked the butler, and then she drank her milk. Then, as she put the cup down, the butler leaned into her and whispered into her ear: "You will never betray Stephen. If you do, you must run a blade through your very heart."

Hearing his words, Kylie's eyes glazed over, and like before, and she parroted them back to him. Once that was done, the butler snapped his fingers in front of Kylie, and she returned to some semblance of her previous self. Blinking her eyes, Kylie frowned and asked if everything was okay. "I feel quite queer," she added.

"Nothing seems out of the ordinary to me," the butler laughed. "Same old – same old. I heard you and Stephen late into the night. Perhaps you are just tired…"

"Maybe," Kylie replied noncommittally, and she tried to put the matter out of her mind.

After thinking for a moment, Kylie pulled her phone out of her pocket and told the butler that she needed to call Stephen. Kylie went into the living room and, once she had Stephen on the line, she asked him if he was busy. He said no, and he asked her if everything was alright.

"Everything is copacetic," she explained, "but I'm going to Garcia right away to terminate my contract, and I was hoping that you would be willing to join me."

"That would be no problem," Stephen replied. "You know where I am. Come and get me when you are ready."

"See you later, then," Kylie replied. And then she hung up.

***

The staff at Garcia Entertainment greeted Kylie with warmth and respect as they welcomed her back. They asked about her personal well-being, attempted to talk shop with her, and vied for her attention, and, as she made her way through the building, she nodded in the appropriate places and offered mostly one-word answers to the questions that were thrown her way.

Seeing all of her co-workers, Kylie suddenly felt very uncertain about her resignation; not just uncertain, but also uncomfortable. I love Stephen more than I make my career, she thought to herself, but why can't I have both?

Once Kylie and Stephen reached Laurence's office, they were invited to sit down. Laurence wasn't happy to see Stephen in his office, but he chose to say nothing about it for the moment. He hadn't seen his daughter in a while, and he had no desire to kick off their reunion by starting a fight. "How are things?" he wondered. "Is there something that you need?"

"Dad," she replied, "I'm sorry if I'm letting you down, but I'd like to get out of my contract with Garcia Entertainment."

Laurence looked at her curiously. "But you are a natural-born talent and leader," he replied. "Why would you want to give that up? I had thought that one day the company would be yours…"

Seeing the confusion in Laurence's eyes, Kylie said, "If terminating the contract is difficult for you, could you give me at least a year off. I want to take some time off to reevaluate my life."

Hearing that, Laurence was somewhat relieved, but he was still confused, not only about this but about her relational status. Last he'd heard, she was with Ethan, but here she was with Stephen – he looked down at her stomach and said, "You aren't pregnant, are you?"

Kylie frowned at first, and then she began to laugh. "Dad, let's not get the cart ahead of the horse! I'm not even married yet!"

"Ah, well," Laurence sighed. "Take your year off. Your job will still be waiting for you when you return."

***

As Kylie exited her father's office, Faith grabbed her by the sleeve and led her into an empty office. Then, before Kylie could even ask what was going on, Faith hastily explained the situation. "We need to talk about Ken," she explained. "He answered a call yesterday. Then, around midnight, he went out, and has not yet returned… The police are looking for him, and I am afraid he might have skipped town!"

"Did you call him again today?" Kylie asked.

Ken had just gotten out of jail, and already he was a wanted. Kylie couldn't believe it. The man just didn't seem to care about the law, and he was absolutely fearless.

"I did call," Faith replied, "but his phone was off. I'm afraid something bad has happened to him. Can you ask Ethan to look into it? I know that he is well connected."

Kylie frowned. As well connected as Ethan might be, she did not feel well connected to him. Everyone around her seemed to think she had a good relationship with him, though, which put her in awkward situations.

"If I see him," Kylie replied, "Then I'll ask him. I can't promise you anything, though… You can still call me if you need anything."

"That is the problem, though," Faith said weakly. "Whenever I call your number, I get a message that says your number is inactive…"

Kylie laughed when she heard that. "I'm sorry," she explained. "I changed my number. I will give you my new number. After that, I should go. We don't want anyone to see us in here and get the wrong idea…"