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The Ex
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Chapter 41-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 41 Summary: “The Ex”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of suicide.
When Joel avoids her calls and texts, the Ex decides to use the WhereAmI app to find him and speak to him in person. Confused by her feelings for Joel, she ignores texts from Dean. When she finds Joel, she reveals that her cousin investigated “Olive” and that she is in deep debt. Joel realizes that the Ex has been using the WhereAmI app, deletes it, and leaves, rejecting the Ex’s pleas.
Chapter 42 Summary: “The New Girl”
Cassie accidentally knocks over a vase that is not where she left it and panics, thinking that someone has been in her apartment. She prepares to attack the intruder, but Joel arrives before she finds anything. Joel confirms that no one is in the apartment and explains that he is the one who moved the vase. Over dinner, Joel asks Cassie to move in with him. As she tries to respond, she has an allergic reaction and passes out.
Chapter 43 Summary: “The New Girl”
When Cassie gains consciousness, she sees Joel standing over her. Joel explains that he couldn’t find her Epi-pen, but that he had written himself a prescription for one to carry in case she lost hers. Cassie is briefly annoyed that he seems not to trust her, but is ultimately relieved that he valued her life enough to get his own. She considers it a romantic move on par with Wuthering Heights.
Chapter 44 Summary: “The Ex”
After her conversation with Joel, the Ex worries that Joel’s new girlfriend’s debt will get him killed. While she worries about what to do, her grandmother enters and demands that she respond to Dean’s phone calls. The Ex explains that she isn’t sure if Dean is the right one for her, and her grandmother insists that she let him know either way so he can try to move on.
Chapter 45 Summary: “The New Girl”
Cassie receives another phone from a blocked number, calling her a “whore.” For the first time, she responds, demanding that the caller—who she assumes is Francesca—stop harassing her, promising that she’ll report her to police. When she confronts Joel about the calls and the vandalism at her house and store, she is annoyed when he insists that Francesca is not responsible. Joel reveals that Francesca cannot be responsible because she is dead.
Chapter 46 Summary: “The New Girl”
Joel reveals that Francesca died by suicide after he broke up with her. He explains that he found her dead in the bathtub shortly after their breakup, and that he blamed himself for her death for years. Distraught by the memories, Joel leaves without having lunch with Cassie as planned. Cassie is relieved not to have to compete with Francesca, but wonders who is harassing her if not Francesca.
Chapter 47 Summary: “The Ex”
As the Ex is leaving work, she runs into Dean, who has been waiting for her. He tells her that he feels they have a genuine connection, and that he is confused by her refusal to respond to his calls and texts. When she tries to explain, he tells her that he doesn’t want any excuses and asks her to call him if she decides she wants to see him again. As she lets him walk away, the Ex worries that she is making a horrible mistake.
Chapter 48 Summary: “The New Girl”
As Cassie leaves work, she accuses Maureen, the unhoused woman who lives outside Bookland, of helping someone to harass her. Maureen denies seeing anything but seems scared by something behind Cassie. When Cassie visits Francesca’s restaurant, she is hurt but unsurprised to find Joel sitting inside, alone. When she returns home, she finds the word “slut” written in black ink in her closet and realizes someone has been inside her home.
Chapter 49 Summary: “The Ex”
Confident that Joel’s new girlfriend’s debt is putting him in danger, the Ex decides to go to her apartment and confront her. She brings a knife with her. It is revealed that the new girl she calls “Olive” is Francesca, and that the Ex is Anna. Anna has been stalking Francesca and knows that, although she is a great chef, her restaurant is failing. Anna is jealous of Francesca’s restaurant, since she loves to cook herself but has an office job.
Chapter 50 Summary: “The New Girl”
Cassie realizes that because there is no sign of a break in, the person vandalizing her apartment must have a key. When she tries to call Joel, she sees a missed call from Anna. She calls Anna back and explains what has been happening. When Cassie mentions the police, Anna tells her they won’t be able to help and offers to come over and help herself. Cassie tries to call Joel, but he doesn’t answer.
Chapter 51 Summary: “The Ex”
After her breakup with Joel, Anna was jealous of Francesca’s youth and beauty. Now, she is afraid of Francesca. When Anna confronts Francesca at her apartment, Francesca reveals that Joel broke up with her after learning about her debt, but that she has another secret he doesn’t know. Anna leaves and goes to Dean’s office, where she apologizes and begs for a second chance. Dean reveals that he has a date lined up, but he cancels it to spend time with her instead.
Chapter 52 Summary: “The Ex”
Anna liked Cassie from the moment they met, and she wants Joel to be as happy with Cassie as she is with Dean. It is revealed that Dean’s real name is Constantine, and that he goes by both Dean and Con. Although Anna’s grandmother was alive for the marriage, she died before their baby, Andrew, was born. Anna believes Cassie is right that someone is stalking her, and she believes she knows who it is.
Chapter 53 Summary: “The Ex”
Anna and Dean/Con go out for the first time since having their baby. When they arrive at Lydia and Pete’s home, Anna can tell that Lydia has been crying and Pete is drunk. Lydia says that her marriage to Pete is falling apart and that she wishes she had Francesca to talk to. She reveals that she blames Joel for Francesca’s death and that she resents Cassie for taking Francesca’s spot in their lives.
Chapter 54 Summary: “The New Girl”
Cassie is surprised when Lydia, rather than Anna, shows up at her apartment. Lydia offers Cassie wine but does not drink any herself. Lydia explains that she introduced Francesca and Joel and convinced Joel to break up with Anna and date Francesca instead. She also reveals that Francesca was pregnant when she died. Cassie feels woozy and passes out as Lydia says that she blames Joel for Francesca’s death.
Chapter 55 Summary: “The Ex”
Anna goes to the restaurant Francesca owned, where she finds Joel drinking alone. Joel reveals that he is still not over Francesca, and Anna encourages him to focus on his relationship with Cassie. She reveals that she believes Lydia is stalking Cassie, and she and Joel leave together to check on Cassie. As they leave, Joel tells Anna that he is happy for her, and glad that her life has turned out like she wanted.
Chapter 56 Summary: “The Ex”
When Anna and Joel arrive at the apartment, they find Lydia standing over an unconscious Cassie. Lydia insists that Cassie passed out because she drank too much, but admits that she did not call the police. Anna calls for an ambulance and watches as Joel attempts to revive Cassie. Determined to help save Cassie’s life, Anna thinks guiltily about an unnamed crime she committed in the past.
Chapter 57 Summary: “The New Girl”
Cassie wakes up in the hospital, remembering nothing past Lydia’s revelation that she introduced Francesca and Joel and that Francesca was pregnant at the time of her death. She wakes Joel, who tells her that Lydia tried to kill her and that Anna was the one who discovered the plan. Cassie learns that Anna and Joel dated for 10 years, which surprises her, since she can’t imagine Anna with anyone but Con. Joel and Cassie reaffirm their love for each other.
Epilogue Summary: “Two Months Later”
While visiting Anna and Con, Cassie finds Francesca’s gold necklace in Anna’s drawer. When she asks Joel about it, he reveals that Francesca was wearing it the night she died. Cassie realizes that Anna must have killed Francesca, but decides to keep the secret. Joel asks Cassie to marry him, and she agrees.
The narrative switches to Anna’s perspective, as Anna reflects on her resentment of Lydia for convincing Joel to break up with her. She also resents Francesca for taking over her role in Joel’s life. She had intended for Joel to be arrested for Francesca’s death, but knows that Joel will always suffer knowing that he lost a baby when Francesca died. Anna has forgiven Joel for dumping her and is happy with Con, and she vows to leave Cassie and Joel alone as long as they don’t cross her.
Chapter 41-Epilogue Analysis
The final chapters of The Ex contain three distinct reveals that change the direction and tone of the novel. Taken together, these reveals make clear that the narrative structure of the novel has been built on misdirection. In Chapter 45, it is revealed that Francesca is dead and therefore cannot be “the Ex” stalking Cassie. This revelation forces readers to reconsider the structure of the chapters they’ve read so far, questioning who the narrator of those chapters is if not Francesca. In Chapter 49, it is revealed that “the Ex” is in fact Anna, and the new girl she is stalking is Francesca, not Cassie. This revelation dramatically changes the reader’s perception of Anna: previously a minor and innocuous character, Anna now seems like a danger to both Joel and Cassie. The fact that she is stalking Francesca also forces readers to adjust their understanding of the timeline: If Francesca is the new girlfriend in the “The Ex” chapters, then those chapters are happening on a different timeline than the “The New Girl” chapters. These two revelations add tension to the novel’s final chapters by disorienting the reader and upending their understanding of prior chapters.
Because of the disruptive nature of these two revelations, the reader is unlikely to suspect the final revelation in the Epilogue: Anna is responsible for Francesca’s death. In the final chapters, Anna partially redeems her stalking behavior by helping Joel to save Cassie’s life and expressing genuine interest in his happiness. However, the revelation that she killed Francesca after she began dating her future husband Dean/Con upends readers’ expectation of her character yet again. For Anna, The Insidious Nature of Jealousy is so powerful that even after she had begun a new and seemingly happy relationship, she was driven to murder the woman she believed had taken her place in Joel’s life. In the final lines of the Epilogue, Anna shows a degree of character development in choosing not to do the same to Cassie, declaring that she “can allow Joel and Cassie to be together […] as long as they don’t ever cross me again” (345). These final lines suggest that, despite her supposedly happy marriage, Anna is not fully over Joel, opening up the possibility of a sequel to The Ex.
Even more significant than the discovery that Anna is a murderer is the revelation that Cassie is willing to ignore evidence that Francesca was killed as long as it means she gets to stay with Joel. Because Cassie feels that she is “getting her happy ending” (344)—language suggesting that her idea of romantic love continues to be derived from stories—she decides she “will never tell” Anna’s secret (344). The fact that Cassie is willing to ignore evidence of murder changes readers’ understanding of her character dramatically, calling her reliability as a narrator into question. Given this dramatic change in her characterization, readers may choose to revisit parts of the novel to reevaluate her position as the novel’s protagonist.
Although certain details—like the identity of the Ex and “Olive”—are revealed, other mysteries remain unsolved. Although Lydia is arrested for vandalizing Cassie’s home and business and attempting to murder her, it is unclear how she was able to get into Cassie’s spaces without signs of forced entry. Cassie suggests multiple times that the person stalking her must have copies of her keys—a detail intended to misdirect readers, who have seen “the Ex” stealing and copying “Olive’s” keys—but it is unclear how Lydia obtained them. It is also unclear who stole Cassie’s Epi-pen, leaving her vulnerable to anaphylactic shock and death as a result of her severe peanut allergy. The fact that these mysteries remain unresolved may prove frustrating to readers, or it may heighten the sense of intrigue that powers the novel.
The final chapters of The Ex present Francesca as a kind of ghost whose presence is active even after the revelation of her death, alluding to Wuthering Heights, in which Heathcliff begs the dying Catherine—the woman he loved but could not marry—to haunt him for the rest of his life. After learning of Francesca’s death, Cassie notes that “she always seemed so present in their lives, even when she wasn’t actually there” and questions “how could a woman like that be dead?” (291). When she finds Joel drinking alone at Francesca’s restaurant, she realizes that “the characters in his own Wuthering Heights are Joel and Francesca” and that “Francesca is the one who haunts him, even after she’s gone” (294). The depiction of Francesca as a ghost in the final chapters of the novel offers a stark contrast to the first three-quarters of the novel, which are designed to persuade readers that Francesca is “the Ex” actively stalking Cassie. By depicting her as a ghost haunting the action of the novel, rather than a living participant in the drama, these chapters demonstrate the novel’s thematic interest in The Lasting Pain of Heartbreak.
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