November 2016—Montreal: Shane goes to an after-hours party at J.J. Boiziau’s friend’s restaurant to distract himself from his complicated feelings about Ilya. He meets the bartender, Maxime, then ends up in a booth with actress Rose Landry, who shares Haitian cod fritters with him. Rose and Shane talk easily for hours, bonding over Michigan and their similar family backgrounds, and Rose clearly flirts.

By the end of the night, Shane and Rose exchange contact information and make loose plans to meet again. Shane leaves feeling unexpectedly buoyant, realizing he genuinely likes talking to her and is excited to see her again—an unusually strong connection for him, and a comforting counterpoint to the intensity and secrecy of Ilya.

December 2016—Detroit: Ilya sees a headline linking Shane to Rose Landry and immediately denies it to teammates Cliff Marlow and Victor St-Simon, even as paparazzi photos confirm Shane and Rose are spending time together.

January 2017—Boston: More photos surface of Shane and Rose on repeated dates, including affectionate moments. Ilya tries to convince himself it means nothing and pushes his body hard in the gym, but he spirals into anger and jealousy at the idea that Shane might have a real girlfriend—or be in love. He lashes out, then resolves to distract himself with casual sex.

One week later—Montreal: After Boston plays Montreal, Shane expects Ilya to text but instead gets an invitation from Rose to join her at Ultraviolet. Shane goes despite hating clubs, telling himself this is what boyfriends do. Separately, Ilya refuses to text Shane and drags Ryan Carmichael out to a club with Victor and Cliff, determined to get laid and stop thinking about Shane.

At the club, Shane feels awkward and detached with Rose and her friends, including her costar Miles, and struggles to respond to Rose’s attempts to escalate intimacy on the dance floor. Ilya arrives, spots Shane dancing with Rose, and aggressively makes out with another woman while wondering if Shane will see. Shane does see, watches Ilya’s explicit kiss, feels nauseated, and flees. Ilya tries to provoke Shane further, but the woman leaves; Ilya returns to the hotel furious, masturbates, and admits to himself he has never cared about someone else’s sex life like this. He frames it as danger and possessiveness, senses a deeper reason, and deliberately ignores it.