Chapter 49
Contains spoilersOverview
Whitney spent a sleepless night after finding incriminating messages on Blake’s phone and relived past betrayals and formative family wounds. She recalled being labeled a sociopath as a child, being dismissed by her mother after Jordan’s infidelity, and taking revenge. She also described hiring an actress, Wanda, to impersonate her mother for Blake. By dawn, Whitney reaffirmed her resolve to punish Blake, drafting an unsent letter to her real mother vowing retribution.
Summary
Whitney lay awake, reeling from the late-night discovery of flirtatious and suggestive messages on Blake’s phone that convinced her he had cheated. The discovery triggered memories of earlier betrayals and her fraught family history, including a childhood incident after which her father called her a sociopath when she was seven and her brother Joey broke his arm.
She justified her desire for retribution by recalling prior slights, such as a middle school friend group rejecting her and a retaliatory incident involving hairspray and a fire. She then revisited her high school relationship with Jordan, remembering how, after his cheating became public, her mother coldly blamed Whitney’s behavior rather than offering comfort. Whitney ate cookie dough alone that night and began plotting revenge, later concluding she had done “the world a favor” by making Jordan “pay.”
Turning back to her relationship with Blake, Whitney explained how, after Blake introduced her to his father, she felt pressure to reciprocate but could not bring him to meet her real mother. She hired Wanda, a 52-year-old acting student, to play her mother, coaching her on anecdotes and cookie-baking details to make the performance convincing. Wanda questioned why Whitney would not tell Blake the truth, but Whitney insisted he would not understand; the ruse worked for several meals before Whitney claimed her “mother” returned to Idaho.
Accepting that her relationship with Blake was over, Whitney rose at 4 a.m., retrieved a hidden shoebox of unsent letters to her real mother, and read one from a month earlier describing Blake’s sweetness and her hope for a happy future. The contrast pained her, underscoring how much she yearned for maternal affection, which she believed she could never receive.
Whitney then wrote a new unsent letter to her mother, stating that the man she loved had betrayed her and echoing her mother’s past admonitions to “let it go.” She rejected that stance, declaring she would not let Blake get away with it. She concluded with a vow to make Blake pay, “just like Jordan,” reaffirming her intent for retribution.
Who Appears
- Whitney Cross
narrator; reflects on Blake’s apparent infidelity, her abusive family history, prior revenge on Jordan, the hire of a fake mother, and commits to retaliate against Blake.
- Blake
fiancé; does not appear directly but is central as the target of Whitney’s suspicion and planned retribution after she found messages on his phone.
- Jordan Gallo
ex-boyfriend; discussed as having cheated on Whitney and as a prior target of her revenge.
- Wanda
actress, new; hired by Whitney to impersonate her mother for meetings with Blake.
- Whitney’s mother
discussed; dismissive and blaming, the recipient of Whitney’s unsent letters.
- Whitney’s father
discussed; called Whitney a sociopath after a childhood accident; now deceased.
- Joey
Whitney’s brother; childhood accident victim whose broken arm altered family dynamics.
- Ashley Cerutti
former friend; mentioned as someone who ostracized Whitney in middle school.