On Monday morning, Daphne wakes glowing from her weekend with Miles and tosses her father's note in the trash. While ordering coffee at Fika, she realizes with horror that she completely forgot Ashleigh's birthday the previous Saturday—the day Miles took her to the beach.

Daphne rushes to work to find Ashleigh cold and hurt. Ashleigh reveals she wasn't sick but had taken the day off specifically to celebrate, had called Daphne nine times, and accuses Daphne of becoming a 'we-girl' with Miles who no longer needs her friends. Daphne apologizes, admitting she treated Ashleigh like a fallback, but Ashleigh walks away. They barely speak the rest of the workday.

After work, Daphne waits for Miles to pick her up. He never comes. After forty minutes and nine unanswered calls, he finally texts a vague 'shit day got away from me sorry.' His messages grow increasingly evasive, never offering an explanation. Daphne spirals, hearing his earlier warnings about men in her life running when truly seen, and feels discarded and foolish for trusting him.

As she walks home defeated, Anika from the Ocean City Public Library calls to schedule a virtual interview—the escape hatch Daphne had been hoping for. She agrees to interview, but instead of relief, she feels only loss. The chapter ends with Daphne mentally rejecting the apartment as 'home,' insisting it was never hers.