Sebastian, meanwhile, has a choice. He can disappear—back to his old life of numbness and games. Or he can face Annette.
Annette stays in New York. She writes a new op-ed—not about virginity, but about the cost of cruelty. She does not name Sebastian. She writes: “Some people break your heart. Others show you that you have one.”
Kathryn, furious at losing the bet (Sebastian refuses to claim the car or the cameras), decides to destroy both of them. She spreads a rumor that Sebastian slept with Annette and then posted her nude photo online—a complete lie. The school erupts. Annette is humiliated. Her father, the headmaster, threatens to expel Sebastian. cruel intentions -1999-
Sebastian begins his campaign. He does not flirt. He listens. He finds Annette in the library, where she is tutoring a struggling freshman. He sits down and asks for help with Voltaire. She is suspicious at first, but his act is flawless: humble, curious, wounded. He confesses that his reputation is a mask—his father abandoned him, his mother remarries every two years, and he has never known real intimacy.
“But I’m not Kathryn,” he says. “I don’t want to be.” Sebastian, meanwhile, has a choice
She walks away.
He kisses Annette. It is tender. It is also a lie. Annette stays in New York
Sebastian tries to explain, but the truth is ugly. He admits the wager. He admits everything except the one thing that matters: that he loves her now.