In New York on July 30, 2014, Addie LaRue rides in silence with Luc, studying his reflection like a threat she cannot stop watching. Luc breaks the quiet by recalling an opera in Munich and claiming he knew then he would “never win,” a sentiment Addie distrusts even as it tempts her.

Luc takes Addie to Le Coucou in SoHo, where the locked door opens for him and the nearly empty restaurant seems arranged solely for them. The maître d’ greets Luc as “Monsieur Dubois,” and a lavish, preselected meal arrives course by course without ordering. Addie notices the staff standing motionless and vacant, and she demands Luc send them away; with a gesture, he dismisses them, leaving the restaurant eerily private.

Addie challenges Luc about his control, asking if he could do the same to her. Luc says he cannot, explaining that he has no power over “promised souls,” whose will remains their own. The reassurance is limited, but it confirms a boundary to his influence.

Luc asks if Addie has missed him, and Addie privately admits the truth: Luc is the only constant who always remembers her, and she has missed his attention and presence despite resenting what he has done to her life. Wanting to protect what she still has, Addie chooses Henry as her remaining stake and makes a calculated move—she takes Luc’s hand and says she missed him, hoping honesty will buy leverage.

The conversation turns sharp as Addie asks whether what they shared was ever real and accuses Luc of being incapable of love. Luc insists love is “hungry” and “selfish,” equating it with possession, while Addie argues love means putting another before oneself and that, if Luc loved her, he would have let her go. Addie then proposes her price: if Luc insists they “belong together,” he should spare Henry Strauss and let Henry go. Luc flares with anger, refuses to let Addie bring Henry into “their night,” and abruptly ends the dinner; the newly delivered pear tart turns to ash as he declares the place no longer suits him and strides away.