Emilia feels humiliated that Vicious slept with her in Dean’s apartment without telling her who the apartment belonged to. When Rosie returns from California, she is critical of Vicious’s apathy about Baron Sr.’s death. Emilia doesn’t reveal Vicious’s history of abuse to her sister. On the day of Baron Sr.’s funeral, Emilia considers calling Vicious, but Rosie stops her. Rosie has a friend in Todos Santos who saw Georgia and Vicious together. This information strengthens Emilia’s resolve to ignore Vicious.

Vicious finds his father’s funeral awkward and inauthentic. His frustration mounts as Emilia continues to ignore him. At the reading of the will, Eli Cole is professional but distant, indicating that he knows of the friction between Dean and Vicious. Vicious is appalled to learn that Jo has inherited nearly all her husband’s wealth. The date of the will indicates that it was signed just after Daryl died; Vicious assumes that Jo’s distress over her brother’s death influenced Baron Sr.’s decision. Eli counsels Vicious to forget about his father and Jo.

Vicious leaves Emilia repeated voicemails, but she doesn’t respond to his calls. Jo calls to gloat about her victory, which infuriates Vicious. He decides to disregard the news about the will and find a way to make amends with Emilia.

When Vicious tells Jamie about his plan to go to New York and assume control of the branch of FHH there, Jamie laughs at him and contends that Vicious’s real objective is to be with Emilia. He offers that Vicious has been in love with Emilia for years and suggests that Vicious tell her about his feelings.

Vicious returns to New York, uncertain about how he plans to reconcile with Emilia. When he goes to her apartment, Rosie refuses him entry and tells him that Emilia has found another job. Rosie criticizes him for having sex in Dean’s apartment, which she sees as an act of revenge. Vicious is heartened that Emilia did not reveal his true revenge plot against Jo to her sister. Reluctantly, Rosie tells him where to find Emilia.

Emilia looks forward to her new job at an art gallery despite the low pay. When Vicious arrives at the gallery, she refuses to see him. She decides to speak to him after he stands outside in the freezing rain for hours while she works. He makes excuses for lying about Dean’s apartment and spending time with Georgia. Frustrated, she sends him away and insists that they should not see one another again.

That evening, Emilia looks through a shoebox of old letters that were written when she and Vicious were anonymous pen pals as part of a mandatory project at All Saints High to facilitate kindness between students. Their letters discussed their views on morality and what makes life matter. They also flirted. Though the rules of the exercise dictated not revealing one’s identity, they each quickly figured out to whom they were speaking. Eventually, Vicious, using his pen name, Black, admitted that he did not truly hate Emilia, though he refused to discuss it further. For years, Emilia has kept the final letter he sent her, which he left on her last day in Todos Santos. He labeled it to be opened when she feels forgiving; she has left it sealed for years. When she opens it, it reads, “You were always mine” (261).

Vicious returns to FHH’s New York offices. He plans to stay in New York until he makes amends with Emilia and convinces her to return to California with him. While Dean takes a phone call, he and Vicious pass childish, teasing notes, which Vicious finds to be a comforting return to their usual friendship. Dean confronts Vicious about his betrayal, both in forcing him and Emilia apart in high school and in beginning a relationship with her in Dean’s home. Vicious counters that Dean knew how he felt about Emilia from the start. Dean admits that he isn’t interested in Emilia any longer; he is angry that Vicious, whom he sees as a brother, treated him so badly. Dean negotiates a valuable portion of Vicious’s company shares in exchange for returning to Los Angeles so that the company branch there can be managed while Vicious remains in New York to court Emilia. Dean is impressed with the lengths that Vicious is willing to go to for Emilia.

Vicious goes to Emilia’s new apartment in a low-income neighborhood to deliver her final check from work. Signs of crime in the area make him anxious about Emilia and Rosie’s safety. When Emilia sees him, she rebuffs him, but he insists that he cares about her, not his revenge. He promises to escort her home daily to ensure her safety. She insists that this will not make her forgive him. Vicious bribes another resident in the building to keep an eye out for Emilia and Rosie, promising continuing payments as long as they remain safe.

Each day, Vicious escorts Emilia home from the subway. Each day, he asks to explain himself, and she refuses. She is surprised when he persists for weeks, though she remains suspicious about his motives. After a month of this, Dean arrives. He flirts with Rosie, who rebuffs him. Dean offers Emilia his encouragement to be with Vicious and claims that he was the “wrong guy” for her, even in high school. He and Emilia share a platonic hug.

Emilia enjoys her new job, which includes preparing for an art exhibition in which she will be featured. She wonders about Vicious but refuses to speak to him on their daily walks. When he fails to appear one day, after over two months of reliably showing up, she is disappointed. When he hurries toward her—only late, not absent—she is pleased. She still refuses to speak with him, despite the pain it causes her. She considers this an important element of self-protection.

A week later, Jo fires Emilia’s parents after they offhandedly reference Emilia’s brief employment at FHH. Emilia hurries to Vicious’s office to seek his aid; he immediately makes plans to go to California to help them, despite having plans that he does not disclose. (He later reveals that his plan was to attend Emilia’s exhibition.)