Leaving the house, Beth sees heavy smoke and realizes with horror that the fire is coming from Bobby’s tree. She runs across the farm and finds Frank in the field beside paraffin tins, watching flames climb the old stump and spread through the grass.

As Beth reaches him, she understands that Frank is not just burning wood but trying to destroy a physical reminder of Bobby’s death and the grief that has shaped their lives ever since. Beth thinks about how the farm continued through the seasons after Bobby died while the stump remained, preserving the loss at the center of their marriage.

Beth tries to stop Frank by invoking Bobby’s love of birds and warning that nests may still be there. Frank answers coldly that the birds are gone and says he can burn the land because it is his, revealing how deeply anger and despair are driving him.

When Beth asks why he is doing this, Frank says, “It’s over,” and makes clear that he means not only the tree but Bobby, their marriage, and everything bound up with both. Beth apologizes, but Frank says it was always Gabriel and accuses Beth of making him second best.

Frank then reveals that he has known about Beth and Gabriel since Jimmy and Nina’s wedding because of the way Beth looked at Gabriel, and he says village gossip will soon spread it everywhere. When Frank asks whether Beth loves Gabriel, Beth chooses truth over comfort and admits that she does.

After her confession, Frank says Beth can have Gabriel and that he will not stand in either of their ways. Carrying the paraffin cans, Frank walks away across the field, leaving Beth behind as the fire burns and their marriage effectively ends.