Saturday afternoon, over pizza rolls, Ashleigh invites Daphne to stay with her until the Read-a-thon. Daphne learns Ashleigh's enormous house comes from Duke's cookie-fortune family. At Ashleigh's insistence, Daphne texts Miles that she's staying with Ash; he replies tersely. They settle in for trashy TV.

Through the week, Daphne packs clothes from the apartment, commutes with Ashleigh, and meets her son Mulder, who guesses Daphne is forty-five. On Wednesday, Daphne interviews via video with Anika and Clay from the Ocean City Library and feels confident she got the job; Ashleigh greets her afterward with champagne, sad to lose her but happy for her. Mulder catches a stomach bug Thursday but recovers quickly.

Friday, Daphne returns to the apartment to retrieve Read-a-thon prizes, half-hoping and half-fearing she'll see Miles. The place is spotless and empty, making her wonder if he's been sleeping elsewhere. In her room she finds the box of fudge and her dad's crumpled note. Reflecting on her mother's advice and her pattern of shrinking her life to avoid hurt, she decides to take both with her rather than discard them.

Leaving the bedroom, Daphne collides with a shadowy intruder. After mutual screaming, she discovers it's Julia, returned home. Julia confronts Daphne for not telling Miles she loves him back, then thanks her for pushing Miles to be honest. Julia reveals that she and Miles finally talked: their parents didn't make Miles distrust others, but made him distrust himself, convinced he only lets people down. Julia told him that's not true. Daphne welcomes Julia home, deeply moved.