Mallory returns to her cottage and finds Ted Maxwell drunk in her bed. Ted wakes confused, apologizes, and struggles to stand, so Mallory gives him water and helps steady him while trying to decide whether to call Caroline. Ted insists Caroline must not be told and claims he only came to the cottage after a fight with his wife and accidentally fell asleep.

As Ted slowly regains enough balance to sit up, he talks erratically and stares at Mallory, complimenting her and saying she would make a great mother. He notices she is wearing one of Caroline’s dresses and begins contrasting Mallory’s life in Spring Brook with a freer, better life elsewhere, especially on Whidbey Island, where he says he once had the best summer of his life.

When Ted notices his pants on the bed, Mallory helps him get dressed because he is too drunk to manage alone. While she does, Ted complains about his marriage and home life. He says Caroline sleeps in the guest room, that Caroline’s money bought the house, and that Spring Brook is not the life he wanted. Ted frames himself as trapped and then tells Mallory that he is not asking her to take care of him, but that he would take care of her.

Mallory does not engage with Ted’s implications and keeps redirecting him toward going home. Ted continues rambling about wine country, running away, and even burning his pants, but he eventually manages to leave the cottage and stumble back toward the main house. Mallory locks the door behind him, ending the immediate danger and discomfort.

After Ted leaves, Mallory finds a crumpled tissue on the nightstand and discovers her bras mixed into the bedding, which makes the encounter feel even more disturbing. She strips the bed, settles for sleeping on towels, and tries not to let the incident ruin her mood. Before falling asleep, Mallory prays for forgiveness for lying to Adrian and asks for help finding the courage to tell him the truth and be judged for who she is now rather than who she used to be.