As she avoids the cyclist, Emma wonders, “What could I change? What could I affect?” (198). At the café, she asks the barista’s name, and he says it’s Jurek. She’s struck by his kindness and the small moment of connection. She savors her latte and cinnamon swirl, which reminds her of her grandmother. She thinks about how different Dan is now than before their breakup, when grief over his mother’s death paralyzed him. At the office, Emma talks with Jas and decides not to go to Arthur’s meeting. She ignores many notifications and missed calls.

Emma goes to the clinic and demands to be seen for a head injury. The nurse refers her for a psychiatric evaluation, and Emma realizes that no one else can help her.

Feeling defeated and worn out, Emma heads home. She tries to connect with Miles and realizes she and Dan can communicate with just a look. Miles admits he’s being teased by a friend and hints that Poppy did something awful. Poppy is defensive and deflects Emma’s inquiries. Emma feels like she’s losing her grip on reality, everything’s spinning out of her control, and all she knows for certain is that she can’t lose Dan. She talks with Dan and insists on taking Gus out. Hearing the bang of the car crash, she’s relieved it isn’t Dan who was hit, resolving that tomorrow she’ll be a better wife, mother, and friend and stop taking her life for granted. She arrives home to find Dan dead on the floor beside the couch. She has a missed call from an unknown number.

On December 3, 2015, Dan’s letter is full of enthusiasm about their house renovations. He loves how he and Emma can communicate with just a look. He mentions that work is absorbing her, and it feels like they never see her. He knows she hates disappointing people but reminds her that her family needs her too.

Emma wakes up again to Monday, December 3 and feels defeated: “I’m not in control of this thing. I can’t stop it happening. Everything I do is pointless,” she thinks. “I’ll end up back here” (231). She fears that Dan will die again. She makes cryptic comments to him that her meeting won’t go well and scolds Amelia on Instagram to go write her book. Emma feels stretched to the breaking point, and her remarks cause concern for Dan and the kids. She gives flippant responses to text messages and tells Poppy to wear anything if she can’t find her blazer.

Desperate to escape her predicament, Emma goes shopping and tells Hattie where to meet her for lunch. Dan texts, expressing worry.

Emma shows up at the Ritz wearing new apparel. Hattie is nervous and concerned about Emma’s obnoxious behavior. She reveals that she had a miscarriage. Her husband, Ed, isn’t being supportive. When she angers him, he doesn’t speak to her for days. Emma always thought Ed was charming, though Dan never liked him. Emma drinks a bottle of wine and tries to cheer Hattie up. She realizes she needs to quit her job. She pays for the expensive meal and then vomits it up.

On December 3, 2016, Dan’s letter reflects on how nervous he was about proposing marriage and how much he enjoyed planning their wedding. He celebrates their decade together.

Emma realizes that her life has become nothing but hustle and she “was always moving on to the next thing on the endless To Do List” (260). She thinks their lives are so hectic and repetitive that they’re like “worker bees.” Nevertheless, she reflects on how lucky she is, but Dan is displeased when she arrives home drunk. As she goes to her room, she hears Miles and Poppy arguing. She realizes that she’s a mess and falls asleep.

Dan wakes Emma, who is groggy. The school office calls to inform her that Poppy posted bullying messages on TikTok accounts of her peers. Emma is shocked; Poppy is only 10, and she and Dan are careful to check her phone use. She and Dan quarrel. He takes Gus out for a walk, and Emma races to stop him. When the accident happens, she realizes what’s familiar: “I knew that car. I knew that woman” (269).

On December 3, 2017, Dan’s letter celebrates their marriage. He reflects that they’ve stopped doing things as a couple but notes that their family begins and ends with them. He says they need to start carving out time for one another, really sharing their lives. He writes, “[W]e have drifted apart at times but […] are best together” (272).

Emma runs to the car, screaming at Hattie that she killed Dan. Hattie stutters that she left Ed when he said something about the baby. Emma isn’t listening. Poppy witnesses the scene, and Emma holds her, devastated. Hattie leaves a weeping message from the police station.

When Emma wakes up again and sees Dan next to her, all she can think is, “It was Hattie. All this time it was Hattie” (278). Days pass, and in every one of them, Dan dies at 10:17 pm. Emma has breakdowns and fights with her children. Everything’s a blur. She’s angry and tormented as Dan dies again and again, and she feels that nothing “help[s] [her] stuff the black hole […] gaping within [her]” (281).

Emma continues to act out. One day, she quits her job, telling off Arthur and informing Linda that she’s taking Jas with her. Another day, she phones her parents and tells them off, too, for being distant and uninvolved. She realizes that she has spent her life trying to be needed because her parents never paid her attention. She misses Hattie but also hates her. She feels that she has lost both of the people she loved best, but she can’t forgive Hattie and blames her for the endless loop.

Some days, Emma does nothing but sit and watch TV, which worries Dan. Other days, she roams the city. Each night, Dan dies in their bed beside her. She reads his letter, pained when he admits that he feels alone even when she’s with him. Sometimes she avoids spending time with Dan to avoid watching him die. She thinks, “We moved around each other like islands of anger” (291). She wishes she could die and not have to do this anymore.

On December 3, 2018, Dan reflects in his letter that they’ve been together 12 years and the kids are growing up. He recalls Hattie’s wedding and how much he dislikes Ed. Dan’s father has a new relationship. Emma has turned 40, and Dan thinks she’s still trying to impress someone who doesn’t exist. He writes, “Here’s to slowing down a bit in your forties and taking time out to soak it all in” (296).