Anna stared at the different newspaper clippings that she had saved. Rebecca and Namjoon had also kept some articles about that day's events. She'd asked for them to send her the box. For the first time in two years, she finally decided to look through them.

She slowly pulled the clippings one by one out of the bunch.

Famous Actress Arrested for Attempted Murder

Norma King in Shooting Incident

Actress Shoots Former Co-Star and Lover

Anna's finger traced its way through one of the articles. It gave some background about Norma's past with Kim Seokjin. Most of the papers and websites played up the woman scorned angle. They had a field day writing about a lovers' quarrel gone bad. She sighed at how Seokjin's name was dragged through every conceivable tawdry scenario until he became more famous for his sexual exploits than for his stellar acting talent.

Shortly after being arrested, Norma had attempted suicide and was taken to a psychiatric hospital while she awaited trial. She had practically withered away crying over what she'd done to Seokjin, and the only way to keep her calm was to medicate her heavily. The aftermath of that day had been hard for both of the women who loved Seokjin.

Last year, Anna had been told that Norma no longer remembered anything that had happened. She didn't remember anyone anymore. Her mind could no longer focus on anything. Not believing the reports and thinking that Norma was angling for leniency, Anna had begged Namjoon to let her go see Norma. He knew where Norma was interned but had never told her.

Two months ago, she'd gotten permission to go see her and walked into the hospital's psychiatric ward on shaky legs. Namjoon had accompanied her, reminding her that she didn't have to do this. But she was adamant. She had to see Norma.

But what she'd seen convinced her that even an actress as talented as Norma King could not pull off the heartrending role of a pitiable mental patient. Norma, once dangerously vain about her looks, had aged terribly. Her hair fell over her eyes in thin strands, and her face was pale and wrinkled. But it was her eyes that made the greatest impression on Anna. Norma's green eyes stared vacantly out of her dark-ringed eye sockets. Anna tried speaking to her to see if her old jealousy would flare up, but the older actress' eyes remained unfocused. It was both frightening and sad.

"I'm sorry, Norma," Anna had said softly toward the small shell of a woman sitting stiffly in her chair. "I never wanted this."

The older woman didn't acknowledge her. Her gaze remained somewhere beyond the walls, perhaps staring into the past.

Namjoon cleared his throat softly. He motioned for Anna to follow him out of the room.

With a sigh, Anna turned to leave. Before leaving the room, she heard Norma exhale.

"S-S-Seokjin. Sorry."

When Anna turned sharply toward her, Norma had already closed her eyes.

Anna's hands began to shake, and she put the clippings down. It seemed like a lifetime ago, all that sadness. She was grateful for everything that Namjoon had done to help her. She was happy that he'd been awarded custody of his son Arthur while Sylvie had gone in for a long stint at a psychiatric hospital. She'd confessed her part in the attempt on Anna's life with the car incident, but her precarious nervous condition had been taken as a mitigating factor in her sentence. She had to receive treatment for at least ten months and then remain on probation for another two years. In the meantime, she could only have supervised visits with Arthur, which Namjoon generously allowed whenever she asked.

Anna smiled when she thought about the precocious little boy. She helped Namjoon look for a good school that could handle the whip-smart child before she left town. He tried to dissuade her from leaving, but Anna knew that she'd had enough. The entertainment industry was not what she wanted anymore. It had taken too much from her already, and she was not prepared to give up any more.

With promises to visit each other often, Anna had packed up what constituted her brief stint in the spotlight, bid farewell to Namjoon, and returned to her hometown.

She put the lid back on the box of clippings and got up stiffly from her position on the floor. Slowly, she made her way to the window that faced her backyard. The rays from the setting sun blinded her for a second before the distant trees covered the glare. This was her life now.