Angelica held her quill tightly as she chewed the tip of it. In the room with her, a very pregnant Eliza was sitting with her husband Samuel Seabury. Peggy stood above Angelica with her hand leaning on the table as they were writing John's biography.

Eliza grabbed Samuel's hand "Sisters, why do you write like you're running out of time? There will always be time to write that biography you know. There will always be tomorrow, for now, let us enjoy each other's company." she smiled

Peggy and Angelica looked at each other knowing that they were running out of time before Peggy fell ill.

"We just want it to be done now so that we don't have to worry about finishing it..." Angelica looked at Peggy grimly "...last minute..."

"Yes, you never know what could happen. Life doesn't discriminate, that's just how it works, 'Liza." Peggy added

"I don't know what you're talking about but alright. Sammy, dear, will you fetch Alexander for us? It seems as though he's fallen asleep in his study again." Eliza said sweetly

"Anything for you, Lizzie." Samuel unclasped his wife's hand and went to fetch Alexander

"Well, now that he's gone, we can finally have some sister bonding time! How has everyone been? Has life been kind to you?" Eliza asked

"Well Eliza, not to be a downer but my recent husband was an abusive monster and my only daughter was forced to kill him in cold blood. Then I had to act as if I was innocent and pretend I loved him as they buried him. Not to mention, I just lost another child. So yes, life has been very kind to me Eliza, thank you for asking." Peggy said monotonously

Eliza and Angelica stared at their sister in shock. They knew she'd been through a lot, but when it was put into words it sounded even worse

"Oh I-I see. Well Angelica, how have you been?" Eliza asked trying to change the subject

"I've been quite well. My husband is wonderful, I am pregnant with my 8th child, my eldest son is very intelligent and he's about to graduate from college, and my eldest daughter is excellent at sewing and reading. I couldn't be more proud of them!" Angelica said excitedly

Eliza looked down, a look of sorrow flashed against her delicate features for a second, but in a flash it was gone

"That's wonderful. I found out my child is going to be another girl! I'm quite excited and I'm going to name her Angelica!" Eliza said

"After me? Thank you, Eliza! You truly are such a won—"

"He's gone." Samuel said

"I w-what?" Angelica questioned

"Alexander. He's gone. He's not in his study and he's not in the bedroom. I don't know where he is." Samuel said in a haste

All three women's faces drained of color and they turned serious

"Ladies, do not fret. He left a letter behind of his whereabouts." Samuel reassured and pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket

Angelica grabbed the paper from his hand and read it

"My dearest, Angelica,

I've gone to print a pamphlet that I feel the world must see immediately. I will be back shortly, worry not of me.

With all my love,

A. Ham"

"He's always has such a way with words, even in his simplest letters..." Angelica put a hand to her cheek as she felt a warm feeling invade her face

"Angelica, be careful with that one love. He will do what it takes to survive. You've not even the slightest idea the contents of this pamphlet he's publishing. It could be anything. Stay cautious." Eliza warned

"I know, I know. I'm sure it's nothing terrible—" Angelica froze and stopped speaking as she widened her eyes

She felt tears well up and she could no longer see. It became harder for her to breathe as she crumpled the letter in her hand. She knew what the word 'pamphlet' meant

Peggy too knew what he was publishing and she held her sister in her arms as she squeezed her with everything she could

"Shhhh...it's alright...I know, I know...don't cry. It'll all be fine, love...don't cry over him...shhh...you'll be alright..." Peggy held her sister as tight as she could and let her sister sob into her shoulder, with a burning rage in her eyes

"I don't understand, what's wrong? What has happened? Angelica, my love..." Eliza too threw her arms around her sister, as well as Samuel Seabury

Angelica didn't say anything as she let everyone hold her. She knew this would happen. What else did she do it for? This was why she married Alexander, yes? To save her sister the heartache. When Angelica saw Alexander at that ball, she hated him, but slowly fell in love, and she cursed herself for doing so.

"I've married an Icarus...he's flown too close the sun..." Angelica said as she wrapped her arms around herself and dug her nails into her arms

———meanwhile———

Alexander had dozens of copies of the pamphlet in his hands as he trudged up the bell tower. He knew what needed to be done

"I've done it again...congratulations, Alexander..." He said out loud, knowing he was alone atop the bell tower

He looked at the paper in his hands in shame

"Well, here it goes. Time to "save my legacy." Knowing he was about to destroy his life once more

This felt familiar to him. Why? Because he also knew this was an alternate timeline

And he couldn't believe he'd made the same mistake twice

"I'm sorry, Angelica...Margarita...other Margarita...Phillip...Eliza..." He threw the pamphlet from the tower and read the title once again

'The Reynolds Pamphlet'

.

.

.

.

.

Author's Note: wow ok. I know you have questions about EVERYTHING. Yes, Alexander knew this was an alternate timeline. Yes, he knew the pamphlet would ruin his life again. Why did he do it? Because he felt like he deserved to be punished for what he did to Angelica. Why did he have the affair? Because he knew it was inevitable. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!

Love,

Kennedy Brown❤️