When Emma returns to the cottage after the day on Neil’s yacht, she finds Maddy calmer and drinking a beer on the screened porch. Emma says Neil dropped her off because he wanted to take Amber on a sunset cruise, and both women doubt the new romance will last. Emma shows Maddy the stuffed animal she recovered, and seeing how worn and damaged Stuffie is makes Emma reflect on how childhood attachment and innocence may have changed how she remembered it.

Maddy asks about Emma’s date with Justin, and Emma describes the day warmly: kittens, breakfast, and a park with a waterfall. Emma confirms that she told Justin no to something and beat him at chess, meaning he passed Maddy’s tests. When Maddy presses further, Emma admits Justin smells good but says they did not make out because Amber and Neil were there.

The conversation turns more serious when Emma asks whether Maddy really threatened Justin. Maddy says she did, because Emma seems more emotionally invested than usual and Maddy wants Justin to understand there would be consequences if he hurt Emma. Emma denies that she is chasing Justin, but Maddy argues that Emma’s behavior is unlike her normal detached pattern with men.

Maddy then pushes the argument deeper by naming Emma’s childhood with Amber as trauma and insisting Emma still shows the effects of it. Emma resists, saying she already spent years in therapy and has resolved her issues. Maddy counters with a concrete example: Emma used to keep her important belongings packed in a suitcase under her bed, always ready to leave, which Maddy sees as proof that Emma has never truly felt secure anywhere.

After the tension eases, Maddy asks when Emma will see Justin again. Emma says maybe next week and admits she feels guilty taking up Justin’s time when she will be leaving soon, but Maddy points out that Justin may want that time with her. Just then Justin texts Emma a joking “exit interview” rating his date performance and asking whether she would date him again if breaking the curse were not involved. Amused and charmed by the effort, Emma realizes how much Justin has affected her and answers that she would date him again at a 10.