Nora searches the kitchen for antidepressants and finds none, sensing stability. In the shower she discovers a C-section scar, a tangible sign of the life she has entered. Ash returns from dropping Molly at school, and they share an easy breakfast before he leaves for the hospital while Nora continues research on her Thoreau manuscript.

Nora handles after-school routines, relying on maps to navigate to the park, playing with Molly, and feeding ducks. A neighbour, Adam, arrives with a hose; Nora, not recognizing him, shuts the door, prompting Ash’s concern about her odd behavior and memory lapses. Despite such slips, daily life feels good, and Nora increasingly hopes to remain in this reality.

She builds contentment through yoga, reading by the River Cam, watching Ryan Bailey on TV, and exchanging messages with Izzy, urging safe driving. Ash’s long shifts and goofy warmth deepen her affection; parenting is tiring but fulfilling. Yet she still senses faint waves of depression and worries she hasn’t forgotten the Midnight Library, fearing sleep might return her there even as she keeps waking in the same bed.

Ash notices her forgetting films, their anniversary, household details, and even bed sides, suggesting she see a doctor. Nora attributes it to being lost in research. They eventually have sex, after which guilt pushes Nora to test honesty by asking about parallel universes. Ash accepts the science in theory but treats her confession as playful nonsense.

Realizing people only see truths aligned with their own reality, Nora accepts that Ash sees her as the woman he married. She chooses to lean into that identity, continuing the lie of origin while committing emotionally to this life with Ash and Molly.