At first, Viv is ecstatic to be back in LA. Filming moves, almost without interruption, into the lot at Universal Studios that Victor has rented. Studio filming means indoor shoots and air-conditioning, a vast improvement over the heat and dust in the desert.

But Damien’s role only requires another five days of shooting, a lot of fight sequences in front of green screen, in which Viv has no part. She spends one more wonderful afternoon in his company while they shoot the illicit love scene that takes place in the Empress’s boudoir. Knowing that Victor is behind the camera while she and Damien reenact what they did for real in Vegas gives Viv a special thrill.

Off-set, everyone is much more dispersed in LA than they were in Las Vegas. Viv and Victor go home every night to their own house and their own bed. In the beginning, this feels like heaven, but soon Viv misses the knowledge of having Damien in the same building, sleeping just a floor below her. She hopes that he will approach her to initiate another tête-à-tête, but nothing of the sort happens.

Things with Victor are also different. Viv isn’t angry with him any longer about the way he treated her when he had to rush back to LA. But she can’t summon up much attention for her husband right now. Even when they lie in bed and he reaches for her, Viv only manages to fake excitement by imagining lying in Damien’s arms.

In the afternoon of Damien’s last day on set, Viv tries to corner him to fix another rendezvous. But after a quick glass of champagne and a short speech, thanking Victor and the crew with kind and heartfelt words, Damien simply slips away. When Viv checks on him a mere ten minutes later, he’s no longer in his trailer.

“He had to catch a flight,” one of the assistants tells Viv as she stands outside the closed door of the Winnebago that was Damien’s while they shot in LA. The girl smiles a guileless smile, but Viv doesn’t like the way she appraises her. “Didn’t he tell you he had to rush away?”

“Oh,” Viv says. “Of course he did.” And she turns her back on the assistant and walks away, fuming. So he told all the aides what his plans were but couldn’t even say a proper goodbye to her. Who needs that sort of asshole, anyway?

Then, in no time at all, or so it seems, principal photography is finished. Viv goes home with a tipsy Victor, fuming again that her texts to Damien in which she invited him to the wrap party go unanswered.

Viv wakes the next morning feeling out of sorts as soon as she opens her eyes. It’s a familiar feeling. For weeks and weeks while in the middle of a project, she dreams of the day when she will finally have no more early calls and hours in the makeup chair. Then, when the day comes, all she feels is emptiness.

Of course, in a few days it’ll all have equalized. She’ll be back in a routine of hair and beauty appointments, and lining up auditions for her next project. Victor will be back in the studio, cutting the movie and organizing all that post-production stuff she doesn’t understand. Their life will go on. But today, she feels adrift.

She looks over at Victor, who is sprawled on the king size bed next to her. He lies on his back, mouth open, still out cold. As she watches him breathe Viv feels an odd mix of emotions. She’s kind of proud of him for getting this film made, and still pleased that she was his muse and that so much of the story revolved around her character. But she also feels unease.

A few times, when she had little to do on set, she almost went up to him to act on her desire to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of movie making. But she never followed through. She doesn’t feel the same connection she used to with her husband and this work. The truth, which Viv is only just ready to admit to herself, is that Victor is starting to bore her. He’s only interested in his films, and even when he looks at her she suspects that most of the time he wonders what role he can cast her in next. That she has a brain, too, and interests that might lie outside what they do for a living, never occurs to him. And that he seems indifferent to the fact that they can’t have children makes Viv angrier and angrier every time she thinks about it.

With a small sigh, Viv rolls over and retrieves her phone. She taps the screen without much hope for anything interesting. But in fact, she has a new message, and it’s from Damien.

Viv lets her hand with the phone drop onto the mattress. So he’s here but can’t make time for his employer’s wrap party. Chewing her lip, Viv sits up. She brings up the browser on her phone and goes to the bookmarks. There, right at the top, are the Google news results for Damien’s name. She checks them every day. Needless to say, Stef is no longer allowed to touch her phone.

And there, right at the top, is a new headline.

Heartrate increasing, Viv taps the headline.

There’s a picture of Damien, looking at the ground, body angled away from the paparazzi, as he ascends the stairs outside an official-looking building Viv recognizes as having passed in the car. The article continues,

Viv flicks back to the top of the article to confirm that the date of the article is today. Then she puts down the phone, gets up off the bed, and goes into the kitchen. The coffee maker was loaded and set by the housekeeper as usual last night, so, partying or not, the coffee is ready. Viv pours herself a cup. As she sips it she ponders what she just read. Poor guy! She feels a genuine twinge of sorrow for Damien over what he has to deal with not to lose his place in his daughter’s life. She’s a little surprised at herself. The people she feels genuine compassion for can be counted on one hand, with fingers left over. Well, he’s a nice guy, and she has become fond of him.

Viv makes up her mind. Since she has nothing to do today she’ll go downtown and surprise Damien. After looking at those ghouls in the courtroom all morning, her smiling face will be a welcome distraction. Not that she’s ever been inside a courthouse, but everyone knows what that’s like. Law & Order gives her the heebies. Yes, she’ll cheer him up, maybe take him out to lunch.

Viv puts the coffee mug in the sink, then goes back upstairs. Her head ticks off the To Do list already. Washing her hair, definitely. Maybe she can squeeze in an emergency appointment at the nail salon, too, if she hurries. She snatches up her phone from the nightstand and makes for the bathroom just as Victor begins to stir. She pays him no mind, her brain busy with deciding on the perfect outfit.