---
[EXT. CITY STREETS – NIGHT]
The city lights smear into blurs as Harriet wanders the streets, papers clutched tightly in her hand.
The storm from earlier has softened into a mist, but her heart is still a battlefield — every step forward weighed down by confusion, anger, and aching betrayal.
She doesn't realize she's walked back toward Fred's penthouse until she's standing outside.
A part of her wants to run.
Another part — the broken, desperate part — needs to see him.
Needs answers.
Needs him.
Taking a shuddering breath, Harriet steps into the lobby.
---
[INT. FRED'S PENTHOUSE – MINUTES LATER]
The door swings open before she can even knock.
Fred stands there, his expression dark, unreadable.
For a moment, neither of them speaks.
Then Harriet shoves the papers against his chest.
HARRIET (voice shaking) "You lied to me. Again."
Fred's jaw tightens. His hand closes around the papers — but he doesn't look at them. He looks at her.
FRED (low) "You shouldn't have gone there."
Harriet steps closer, her anger boiling over.
HARRIET (whispering) "Why, Fred? What are you hiding from me?"
Silence hangs between them like a noose.
Fred turns, tossing the papers onto a nearby table without glancing at them.
FRED (hoarse) "I was trying to protect you."
HARRIET (broken) "By keeping me in the dark?"
She chokes on a bitter laugh.
Fred moves — suddenly, sharply — closing the distance between them.
FRED (urgent, pained) "I would burn the whole world before I let it hurt you."
Harriet stares up at him, heart hammering.
Tears blur her vision — tears of anger, grief, longing.
She shoves at his chest, weakly.
HARRIET (voice cracking) "Then why does it feel like you're the one hurting me?"
Fred catches her wrists — gently, but firmly.
He lowers his head, forehead almost touching hers.
FRED (whispering) "Because I'm already damned, Harriet.
And I'm terrified of dragging you down with me."
Her breath hitches.
For a heartbeat, everything else — the lies, the danger, the pain — fades into the background.
All that's left is him.
Her broken savior.
Her biggest danger.
Her trembling hands slide up his chest, curling into the fabric of his shirt.
And Fred — for once — breaks.
He closes the gap between them and kisses her.
Hard. Desperate.
Like a man drowning.
Harriet gasps into his mouth, the taste of him — whiskey, regret, something darker — sinking into her bones.
Her fingers tangle in his shirt, pulling him closer, needing him closer.
Fred lifts her effortlessly, setting her on the nearby counter, never breaking the kiss.
His hands frame her face — rough palms, calloused fingertips — like he's trying to memorize her, like he doesn't deserve her.
For a breathless moment, there's nothing but heat and aching need.
Then Fred pulls back, resting his forehead against hers, breathing hard.
Harriet clutches him closer, drowning in the moment.
The world outside — the lies, the danger — fades away.
But then —
BRRRRRRRR.
Harriet's phone vibrates violently in her pocket.
They freeze.
Fred pulls back slightly, breathing hard, his forehead resting against hers.
The phone keeps buzzing insistently.
Harriet, dazed and trembling, fumbles it out with one shaking hand.
The screen lights up:
> RUFEI CALLING...
Fred's gaze sharpens instantly, his body going rigid.
Harriet swallows hard, her heart flipping painfully.
She hesitates.
Lets it ring once... twice... three times...
Finally, she silences it, turning the screen face-down on the counter without answering.
The buzzing stops — leaving behind a heavy, suffocating silence.
Fred watches her, something dark flashing in his eyes.
FRED (low, tight) "Boyfriend?"
Harriet shakes her head quickly — too quickly.
HARRIET (whispering) "No. It's... complicated."
Fred's jaw clenches, his hands flexing at his sides.
FRED (quiet, cold) "Everything with you seems complicated."
The warmth between them fractures — tension thick and sharp.
Harriet presses her lips together, hurt flashing through her chest.
HARRIET (soft, aching) "You're one to talk."
Fred stiffens.
For a beat, neither of them moves.
Then Fred steps back — a wall slamming back up behind his eyes.
FRED (rough) "Maybe you should go."
The words cut sharper than any blade.
Harriet feels herself splintering inside again — dizzy from whiplash.
But pride keeps her chin up.
Without another word, she snatches her phone from the counter, brushes past him, and disappears down the hall.
Fred stands alone in the kitchen, fists clenched, heart hammering.
Outside the window, rain begins to fall harder —
soft at first, then furious, lashing against the glass.
Just like the war raging inside them both.
Here's your revised sneak peek, fixing Harriet's emotions to match exactly what you intended —
No "guilt toward Rufei", just confusion, shame, and heartbreak toward herself:
---
Sneak Peek: After the Kiss (Revised)
---
[INT. FRED'S PENTHOUSE – GUEST ROOM – LATER THAT NIGHT]
Harriet sits curled up on the guest bed, knees hugged tightly to her chest, staring blankly at the phone in her hand.
Her lips still tingle from the kiss.
Her heart pounds — not just from Fred's rejection — but from something worse she couldn't name.
The missed call from Rufei glows on the screen.
She hesitates.
Swallows the lump in her throat.
With shaking fingers, she calls him back.
The line picks up immediately.
RUFEI (gentle, worried)
"Harriet? Where are you? I've been trying to reach you all day."
Harriet's chest tightens.
HARRIET (soft, aching)
"I'm okay. I just... needed some space."
RUFEI (softly, hurt)
"Did I do something wrong?"
Her stomach twists — not because of anything Rufei did — but because
for the first time...
hearing his voice didn't make her heart leap the way it used to.
HARRIET (whispering)
"No. It's not you. It's me."
(beat)
"There's a lot happening... things I don't even understand myself yet."
A long, heavy pause crackles through the line.
RUFEI (quietly, vulnerable)
"I miss you."
Harriet squeezes her eyes shut.
Tears slip silently down her cheeks.
Not guilt — but a deep, terrible sadness.
When had she started slipping away?
At the door, hidden by shadows —
Fred stands frozen.
He had come to check on her. Maybe even to apologize.
Now he listens to her voice — tender, breaking — for someone else.
It cuts deeper than he expects.
His jaw clenches. His hands curl into fists at his sides.
Without a sound, Fred turns and walks away — vanishing into the darkened hallway.
Leaving Harriet alone with her racing heart... and a thousand broken pieces she doesn't know how to put back together.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…
***