The night before Madame Moreau presents their new business plan to the bank, Edith has nightmares about being on trial like Joan of Arc. She wakes and goes downstairs to make hot chocolate. Manu is also awake. He thanks her for helping them and giving them hope, even if it does not work out in the end. As they drink the hot chocolate, it still gives them comfort but does not evoke powerful memories of belonging as it did before. Manu says, “The potion is losing its magic” (261), which Edith recognizes as a line from Proust.

In the morning, Geoff brings his first tour group to the bakery. Geoff tells stories about Django Reinhardt, and the stop is popular. Madame Moreau returns from the bank, which was refused her new payment proposal, still intent on repossession. She decides it’s time to give up. She’s old and tired and takes comfort in knowing that Chadwick Holdings is at least offering them an apartment. Still determined to fight, Edith asks Nicole for help.

On Saturday morning, Hugo visits the bakery wishing to speak with Madame Moreau. She will not see him, so Edith speaks with him instead. He tries to convince her that he is not a villain. Edith can sense that he does not like the situation any more than she does, but he feels compelled to please his father. They bicker, but Hugo smiles as they fight as if enjoying the banter. Edith swears she will not give up so easily and Hugo leaves with a theatrical bow, saying that he “look[s] forward to [their] duel” (267).

Edith speaks with Madame Moreau, angrily calling Chadwick Holdings heartless. Madame Moreau reminds her that it is the bank taking the building and forcing her out. Anyone could buy the building, it is just that Chadwick Holdings has the best offer. She adds that it is also her responsibility for failing to make the payments.

The next morning, Edith wakes to noise and chanting outside. A large crowd has formed outside the bakery. Nicole posted news about the bakery on social media and organized a protest. Locals, students, and even strangers from Paris have arrived to protest capitalist takeovers of local traditions like the bakery. The support renews Madame Moreau’s hope and determination.

Later that day, Hugo arrives and seems unimpressed with the protests, saying it will not help in the long run. Edith argues that independent businesses and artisans like this are closing every day and soon there will be none left. If Hugo cares about history and tradition, as he claims, he should help them rather than fight against them. She accuses him of using his photography to remain detached from the reality of historical places. Before he storms away, she offers him a cup of her special hot chocolate, which she hopes will remind him of “when life was about more than business” (274).

Hugo climbs into his Range Rover, hurt and frustrated. He drinks the hot chocolate and feels a memory of trying but failing, to rise to the surface. It reminds him of Proust’s line: “the potion is losing its magic” (275). He drives aimlessly and finds himself at the cemetery where his brother is buried.

He stands at Stephane’s graveside and again feels a memory trying to surface. He realizes that he has been suppressing this memory to protect himself, but feels determined to finally face it. He recalls the day Stephane died. Stephane was a partier, often attending celebrity events where he drank heavily and used illicit drugs. Hugo had become his de facto babysitter, trying to keep him out of trouble. One night, they fought and Hugo left Stephane alone at a party. He was later found dead in a bathroom where he had choked on his vomit. His parents blamed Hugo for not keeping Stephane safe.

Hugo has tried to take Stephane’s place as if it will bring him back and make everything right again. He understands he must accept Stephane’s death and learn to live his own life. Speaking to Stephane’s grave, he talks about Edith and Seraphine’s revelation that her uncle betrayed the Moreaus. He decides it is time to do the right thing, saying “If I don’t stand up for what I believe in now, I may lose what little of myself I have left” (279).

A week later, Nicole’s social media campaign goes viral. News of Madame Moreau’s bakery spreads across the country, becoming a symbol of the battle between tradition and modernization, and “France’s need to retain its cultural identity in the face of globalisation” (281). On Friday night, Johnny’s band plays in the bakery. Edith watches from a corner with pride.

Suddenly, Hugo calls out that Edith should sing. He points out that she told him she was a singer and would not lie. Feeling like he’s trying to embarrass her, Edith agrees. Johnny enthusiastically invites her to join them. She recalls Johnny’s advice to just be herself and show people who she is. When she sings, she feels she’s at last doing what she was always meant to do. The crowd is enchanted. Satisfied, Hugo leaves the bakery.

Edith runs after him, demanding to know why he tried to embarrass her. She says he proved his point, that she lied about singing just as he lied about being a photographer. He compliments her singing, and she wonders if he’s trying to give her a chance to fulfill her dream.

Back in the bakery, the crowd invites Edith to sing again. As they clean up for the night, Madame Moreau remarks that Hugo likes her. Edith insists it does not matter because the bakery has come between them, but Madame Moreau reminds her that the bank is the real problem, not Chadwick Holdings. She suggests that Edith is using the situation as an excuse because she is afraid of her real feelings.

On Sunday, Edith cycles in the countryside to clear her head. The previous night has renewed her belief that singing is what she is meant to do but fears she is not good enough to make a career of it. Still, she thinks she would like to try. That evening, she returns home feeling hopeful. From her attic apartment, she hears voices speaking in the alley. From the window, she sees Manu speaking with Hugo. Manu says something Edith cannot hear and the two shake hands.

In 1945, Pierre considers what to do after Mirela’s capture. He knows that Arnaud betrayed her location to the Germans. If he were a violent man, he would fight Arnaud, but he knows he will never do that. Instead, he is determined to protect Genevieve and keep her happy. He offers to be her Papa from now on and promises to stay with her forever. When he dies at the age of 68, he reiterates his promise, and “with every particle of stardust and bone that made up his spirit, he stay[s] true to his word” (297).

Edith finds a note at her door from Hugo, inviting her to dinner at the address next door the bakery, which is an empty shopfront within the same building. Inside, Hugo waits at a table set with candles and a bottle of champagne. Edith remarks that she did not see his car outside, and he says he sold his Range Rover. Then he reveals dinner is pizza. Teasing, she asks if he is “having some sort of episode” (301) because he is acting strangely. He laughs. Not wanting to listen to him rub his victory in her face, she turns to leave, tripping over loose wiring. Hugo moves to help her up and they kiss.

Again, Edith tries to leave. He follows her, insisting they need to talk. He explains that the bank is not taking the bakery. He sold his Range Rover and his Paris apartment to cover Madame Moreau’s debts—his effort to repay his family’s debt to the Moreaus. With the bakery no longer on the table, Chadwick Holdings has pulled out of the project for the rest of the building and this empty storefront now belongs to Hugo. With that settled, he asks where he and Edith now stand.

Edith hesitates, saying that she is better off on her own. He retorts that “if [they] both keep toughing out [their] way through life, maybe [they] can avoid getting hurt” (306), but there is no risk if they both feel the same way. Edith finally admits to herself that she has been afraid to love but decides to take the risk.

Late that night, Edith and Hugo talk about what will happen next. Hugo and Manu have discussed the possibility of converting the empty shop into a social enterprise restaurant that will specialize in training unhoused refugees while providing good low-cost food to locals. Edith asks what changed his mind and he says that his mother told him he could either be a poor imitation of his father or a successful version of himself. He notes that Edith also inspired his change of heart.

At four in the morning, Edith leaves Hugo asleep in bed to meet Madame Moreau and Manu, start the day’s baking, and share the good news. Madame Moreau is shocked and elated. Their joy is tempered by the fact that Pierre’s ghost has faded away. They suspect that he left because both his daughter and his bakery are now safe. Manu adds one more bit of good news: Hugo’s friend helped them locate the special variety of vanilla beans that Pierre used to buy. They have found a small supplier in Argentina and may now return the bakery to the way it was when Pierre was alive.

After months of work, Hugo opens his new restaurant, Chez Stephane, with Edith’s and Madame Moreau’s help. They have included a small stage where Johnny’s band plays on the opening night. Their friends are all in attendance, including Edith’s father, visiting from Ireland, and Hugo’s mother, Seraphine. In the middle of the opening party, Hugo disappears into his apartment above the restaurant. Edith goes to find him.

Hugo remarks that he thinks Edith’s father does not like him and she teases him. Her father appears in the doorway, saying that people are asking for them. He tells Edith that her mother would be proud and happy for her.

Later that night, Edith and Madame Moreau return to the bakery. Edith says that they have more in common than she would have initially guessed. They “both needed to put the past to rest before [they] could move on” (319). Madame Moreau agrees and shows Edith a handful of wheat grains. Pierre gave them to her, explaining that they have the potential to become many different things in baking, and people are like that too: “No matter what happens in life, given the right environment to prove, your life force will rise” (320).

Pierre feels a sense of pride and peace knowing that his bakery is once again a place of belonging and joy. With his legacy “safe in the hands of Manu, Edith, and Hugo” (321), he can leave at last.