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INT. RICHMOND ESTATE – GARDEN TERRACE – SUNSET
The party has thinned. Distant chatter echoes from inside the house. The sky is bathed in warm amber hues.
Alex stands alone on the terrace, arms crossed gently, gazing out at the sprawling estate gardens. She looks calm, but her mind is far from still.
Footsteps approach.
Lily, now changed into something more comfortable, stops a few feet behind her.
LILY (softly):
“Mind if I join you?”
ALEX (without turning):
“It's your house. I’m the stranger.”
LILY:
“You’re not a stranger to Ethan. And that makes you not a stranger to me.”
Alex finally looks at her. Lily smiles—gently, not forced.
LILY:
“You handled that with grace in there. That couldn’t have been easy.”
ALEX (quiet):
“It wasn’t. But I’ve faced worse. I didn’t grow up
