Chap­ter VI takes us to the streets of Paris on the night of July 29, 1724, where Addie, engulfed in emo­tion­al tur­moil, takes refuge in the soli­tude of the city’s qui­et cor­ners. The warmth of a sum­mer evening con­trasts sharply with the heavy weight of her despair as she wan­ders aim­less­ly, not seek­ing any spe­cif­ic des­ti­na­tion but instead run­ning from the over­whelm­ing stag­na­tion of her thoughts. Despite the seem­ing tran­quil­i­ty around her, Addie’s inter­nal world is in tur­moil, torn by the curse that has defined her exis­tence for cen­turies. The air is thick with lone­li­ness, but it’s only when she becomes aware of the pres­ence walk­ing beside her that some­thing shifts. It’s Luc, the god­like fig­ure who has been both her tor­men­tor and occa­sion­al com­pan­ion, and he match­es her pace step for step, his aura of pow­er and famil­iar­i­ty unset­tling her in the still­ness of the night. His arrival after four years of absence dis­rupts her soli­tude, bring­ing with it a com­plex blend of resent­ment and reluc­tant relief.

Luc’s sud­den return stirs a range of emo­tions in Addie. While she has spent years despis­ing him for the curse he placed on her—a curse that leaves her per­pet­u­al­ly for­got­ten by those she meets—his pres­ence also fills the void that has marked her exis­tence. No longer com­plete­ly invis­i­ble, she feels the weight of being acknowl­edged again, even if it is by some­one who has caused her immense suf­fer­ing. Luc, rev­el­ing in the ten­sion, seems to find amuse­ment in her dis­com­fort. As their con­ver­sa­tion unfolds, it becomes clear that their rela­tion­ship is one of intri­cate antag­o­nism, with Luc taunt­ing her with reminders of his con­trol over her life. His absence, he reveals, was no acci­dent; it was a test, a cru­el exper­i­ment to see how long Addie could endure the iso­la­tion he had inflict­ed. She meets his provo­ca­tions with a deflec­tion, offer­ing him noth­ing more than an out­ward indif­fer­ence, though her inter­nal world swirls with anger and con­fu­sion.

Luc con­tin­ues to toy with Addie, mak­ing point­ed com­ments about her attire and ref­er­enc­ing the night from four years ago, when her path first crossed with his in a moment that sealed her fate. The emo­tions he stirs in her run deep—shame, resent­ment, and an almost over­whelm­ing hatred. Yet, Addie, ever the sur­vivor, keeps her emo­tions tight­ly con­trolled. She dons a mask of defi­ance, not will­ing to let him see how much his pres­ence affects her. Despite the grow­ing ten­sion between them, Addie refus­es to give Luc the sat­is­fac­tion of see­ing her vul­ner­a­ble. His game inten­si­fies as he sug­gests that he may cease his vis­its alto­geth­er, a chill­ing offer to remove even the barest acknowl­edg­ment of her exis­tence. The thought of com­plete soli­tude with­out even the occa­sion­al reminder of her cursed life is enough to unset­tle Addie, but she stands firm. She won’t let him con­trol her, and she responds with a mea­sured calm that is as much a defense as a refusal to suc­cumb to his manip­u­la­tions.

As the inter­ac­tion reach­es its peak, Luc makes Addie an offer—one that promis­es release from the curse that has bound her for cen­turies, but at a heavy cost: her soul. This offer, filled with the temp­ta­tion of end­ing her suf­fer­ing, threat­ens to under­mine her care­ful­ly cul­ti­vat­ed resilience. For a moment, she is caught in the vor­tex of des­per­a­tion and hope, but she quick­ly gath­ers her­self. Refus­ing to suc­cumb to Luc’s con­trol, Addie rejects his propo­si­tion, her spir­it intact despite the pain that lingers. Luc’s offer high­lights the com­plex­i­ty of their rela­tion­ship, the bal­ance of pow­er, and the ever-present threat of sur­ren­der­ing her soul to some­thing that seeks to dom­i­nate her exis­tence. Addie’s refusal marks a piv­otal moment, illus­trat­ing her fierce deter­mi­na­tion to hold on to her iden­ti­ty and auton­o­my despite the bur­den of her curse. This chap­ter deep­ens the narrative’s explo­ration of themes like mem­o­ry, iden­ti­ty, and the pur­suit of human con­nec­tion, under­scor­ing the com­plex­i­ties of Addie’s exis­tence as she con­tin­ues her eter­nal strug­gle against the forces that seek to define her.