The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
by V. E. Schwab
Contents
Part Three: Three Hundred Years—and Three Words — Chapter XIII
Overview
Addie tells Henry the full truth about her bargain and the curse of immortality and forgetting, expecting disbelief. Henry not only listens, but insists he believes her, breaking Addie’s pattern of being dismissed or erased. The chapter pivots the story’s stakes when Henry reveals he has also made a deal, hinting at a parallel bargain shaping why he can remember her.
Summary
In New York City on March 17, 2014, Addie finally says the secret out loud to Henry, aware how easily her words have always dissolved in other people’s minds.
Addie recounts the origins of her curse: the wedding she could not face, the prayers and offerings at dawn and dusk, and the darkness in the woods wearing the shape of a man. She describes making a wish, being refused, and then making a fatal bargain anyway—promising her soul only when she no longer wants it.
Addie explains the consequences she has endured ever since: endless life paired with being forgotten, and the repeated hopelessness of trying to tell anyone the truth. She finishes and braces for Henry to dismiss it as madness.
Instead, Henry reacts with manic, breathless laughter—not mocking, but stunned—then tells Addie he believes her. When Addie asks why, Henry admits the reason he understands: Henry has made a deal too.
Who Appears
- Addie LaRueReveals the full story of her curse and bargain to Henry.
- Henry StraussListens, believes Addie’s confession, and reveals he also made a deal.
- LucThe dark figure in the woods tied to Addie’s bargain, recalled in her account.
- IsabellePast confidante Addie previously tried and failed to tell about the curse.
- RemyAnother person Addie once attempted to confide in, mentioned in passing.