Tyler follows Stella off the dance floor through a side door, where she is already with a group of younger guests. She introduces him as Tyler, her boyfriend. Among the group are AJ, a man with dark curly hair and green eyes; Julia, a blonde woman; and a broad, sandy-haired man named Tommy. Tyler pulls Stella aside to ask which guests are his targets; she names everyone except AJ. When Julia almost catches them whispering, Tyler pulls Stella into a convincing embrace. Once the group moves ahead, Stella declares a new rule: no more kissing. Tyler taunts her about a sexual dry spell, and their exchange escalates until he pins her to the wall and touches her through the fabric of her dress, demonstrating she is equally affected. Julia reappears, and Stella shoves Tyler off and covers with a breezy excuse. Privately, he reflects that fighting with Stella is the most mentally engaged he has felt in months.

Thirty minutes later, the group has settled in a billiards lounge. AJ probes Tyler’s background and mentions Stella’s past partner, Caleb. Tyler deflects with a vague claim of northern lineage, then demonstrates impressive card flourishes before proposing a no-limit poker game. He initially declines to play himself, claiming it would be unfair—successfully goading the others into demanding he join—and asks Stella to deal.

An hour in, Tommy accuses Tyler of cheating. Tyler calmly recites each of Tommy’s unconscious tells. Tommy attempts to overturn the table, finds it bolted down, and directs a misogynistic slur at Stella. AJ quietly orders him to leave, and Tommy obeys without protest—a display of social authority that intrigues Tyler. On the way out, a man named Federico pulls Tyler aside and reveals he knows Tyler runs underground parties, naming his cousin Grant as a source. Tyler denies it while mentally noting to have Grant warned. Outside, Stella warns Tyle that Federico once hazed a classmate to suicide; Tyler reveals he was already aware, establishing that he thoroughly researches his targets. He explains his strategy: Withholding access makes Federico and Julia desperate and easier to control. He also reveals they are sleeping together despite being second cousins. Tyler tips each valet $100. Stella schedules their next event: a soiree on Wednesday.

More than two weeks after Cordelia’s party, Stella rushes to get ready for a Saturday evening event with Tyler. They have attended three more parties in the interim, falling into a routine of pretend flirtation and relentless bickering that frequently turns sexual. They have developed a shared signal—“Truce”—to pull back before things go too far. Stella last used it three nights ago.

In the car, Stella notices Tyler is wearing the suit cut she once recommended and teases him for buying it in every color. Their banter escalates into an exchange of playful insults. Stella accidentally uses her mother Georgianna’s mispronunciation of the word “pervert”; Tyler correctly identifies it as Georgianna’s and gives Stella an offhand compliment on her ability to mimic her. Startled by the praise, Stella reaches over to check his forehead; he deflects her hand so firmly she punches the ceiling. On the steps of the venue, Tyler teases Stella for appearing short—she is in flats due to a blister. When he asks if she is coming up the stairs, Stella quips that she is just breathing hard, prompting a gasp from a nearby couple and laughter from the valet.

The party is hosted by AJ’s parents at their grand family home. Tyler finds it indistinguishable from every other society event. During cocktail hour, he overhears two wealthy men casually discussing doomsday plans that include shock collars for guards and land-mine perimeters, deepening his contempt for the elite class. He notices Stella is eating slightly more than usual and stops himself from asking whether her condition has improved.

After a lengthy auction—during which Tyler bids publicly on several lots, winning diamond cufflinks purely for show—AJ signals for them to slip away. Stella’s parents linger at the table; Georgianna teases them about going to use drugs with their friends. As Tyler passes her chair to leave, Georgianna grabs his arm and asks him to be careful with Stella. He smiles warmly and feels nothing.

By early morning, the younger guests have gathered in the basement, a cavernous Roman-style pool area, most of them swimming naked. Tyler notices Stella is deep in conversation with AJ and seems unbothered by the woman hanging off Tyler’s arm. He dismisses the woman, approaches Stella, and—stung by being ignored—removes her untouched drink and drops her onto his lap. AJ, amused, reveals that Stella has been watching Tyler when she thinks he is not looking. Tyler taunts her, and when she leans in to threaten him, he cuts her off with a quick, hard kiss. Afterward, AJ gently wipes the smeared lipstick from Tyler’s mouth and asks whether it is always just the two of them. Tyler asks if he is offering to join in. AJ confirms that he is.

In AJ’s bedroom, Stella panics and tells Tyler to call the whole thing off. He turns the decision back on her, daring her to be the one to back down. She recognizes the move as another attempt to win and refuses to concede. When AJ re-enters, she launches herself at Tyler and initiates a kiss to hold the bluff—and pressed against his chest, realizes he is fully erect.

Rather than retreating, Tyler directs AJ to kiss her neck. Stella grinds backward against Tyler to test him; he matches her and kisses the other side of her neck, and she is unsettled to find the sensation genuinely good. As things progress, Stella has a private reckoning: Exhausted by years of restricting every meal, drink, and stressor to manage her illness, she decides to let herself feel pleasure for once.

She removes her dress with Tyler’s help. AJ looks at her with uncomplicated desire, making her feel wanted. Tyler removes her pasties with surprising gentleness, and the endorphin rush begins to ease her chronic pain. Together, Stella and Tyler undress AJ, keeping him positioned between them. When Tyler fully undresses, AJ praises his appearance, then declares that Tyler is almost as pretty as Stella. Tyler contradicts him, saying “no one’s as pretty as Stella”—a comment that stops her cold (193). Neither backs down as they each climb onto the bed on opposite sides of AJ.

Tyler is annoyed that Stella remains partially dressed while he and AJ are naked. He kisses AJ partly to provoke her but catches an unguarded look of genuine lust on her face, which settles the question: He commits fully. He pulls Stella between them and tears off her underwear. Noticing two small heart tattoos near her pubic area, he is surprised by a spike of jealousy.

AJ manually pleasures Stella and confirms she is very aroused; she licks his fingers while holding eye contact with Tyler. AJ asks Tyler if he can sleep with Stella; Tyler agrees. Stella then states she wants AJ inside her while Tyler uses her mouth, and she means it. Tyler acknowledges that their mutual desire is simply undeniable.

The three find a rhythm together. Tyler asks her to remove her Monroe piercing before performing oral sex; she asks what if she wants him to hurt her. AJ and Tyler enter Stella simultaneously, working harder until AJ announces he is close. The combined sensation drives Tyler to climax first. Stella immediately demands AJ go harder. They climax together, and Tyler finds the sight unexpectedly moving.

Afterward, Stella collapses against Tyler. He holds her; AJ joins them from behind, and the three lie there together. Tyler stares at the ceiling, shaken, asking himself what they have just done—and why he wants to do it again.

On a Sunday afternoon, Tyler is at the home of his best friend Josh, whose fiancée Aly is an ER nurse with whom Tyler once had a casual arrangement. While they play video games, Josh spots a notification on Tyler’s phone, snatches it, and runs. Tyler gives chase in genuine panic—Josh is a skilled hacker who could expose Tyler’s covert operation. Aly intercepts the phone and returns it. Josh asks who Stella is; Tyler deflects.

Two weeks have passed since the threesome with AJ. Tyler and Stella have attended four more events, the tension between them escalating each time. He once tried to address that night, but Stella shut him down so definitively he dropped it. He tries to convince himself he hates her, but the reasons no longer hold: She is spending her own money to cover someone else’s debt, she is actively helping him, and whatever class-based grievance he carried has dissolved. He admits he has been punishing her for his father’s sins. Before leaving, he reveals that he effectively set Josh and Aly up. Tyler leaves laughing, feeling lighter than he has in weeks.

That evening, Tyler arrives late to a company soiree for Stella’s parents’ business—his day consumed by logistics for his upcoming secret party and the need to hire a new security team. He finds Stella pacing outside, visibly tense. She tells him Maddie is inside. Tyler intends to confront Maddie directly; Stella tries to pull him back, warning that he looks like he is about to destroy someone. He promises to remove Maddie from the venue and to send her a game night invitation soon, potentially ending their arrangement. He also offers to split Maddie’s debt with Stella so she can recover the money she spent covering Runa. Stella warns that Maddie’s family is powerful enough to pursue anyone who comes after them; Tyler counters that he knows about other victims and will threaten to expose the family if they retaliate. He walks inside before she can respond, and she follows.

As they search for Maddie, they trade jokes, and Stella breaks into genuine, unguarded laughter. They slow to a stop, and Tyler realizes clearly, without the cover of anger, that he does not hate her. He breaks the moment by pointing out that her dress matches a nearby dinosaur in the exhibit. She calls him a name and walks away, and the throwaway comment stings more than it should. Their banter halts when Stella spots her parents beside Richard. The sight of Richard floods Tyler with barely contained rage; each encounter makes hiding it harder. Richard steps forward with a warm smile and extends his hand. Tyler forces a smile, takes it, and privately vows that Richard’s happiness will soon end.