21. Ophelia

Ophelia wakes with Alex and experiences an intimate morning together, but he receives an urgent call from his mother and must fly home to New York immediately. As they part ways, Ophelia struggles with abandonment anxiety while Alex expresses concern about her safety regarding her stalker and his presence on campus.

Ophelia wakes in Alex's bed before dawn, reflecting on five nights spent together and her growing attachment to him. She observes Alex's selfless devotion to his sisters and contempt for his father Cain's cruelty. When Alex's mother calls with a crisis—she's experiencing distressing voices about her appearance—he decides to fly home to New York that morning to attend to his family. In the shower, Alex touches Ophelia intimately while discussing his mother's mental health struggles and his commitment to his sister Charlotte's parent-teacher conference. He urges Ophelia to leave campus before Christmas break, worried about her safety with her mysterious stalker still at large; the investigation has yielded no criminal record matches. Ophelia agrees to consider leaving. She performs oral sex on Alex before he departs. After he lands in New York, Alex sends Ophelia a flirtatious email recounting their shower encounter. Ophelia replies that they'll recreate it after Christmas and confirms she's packing to leave in a couple of days. Alone in his room, Ophelia contemplates Alex's wealthy Manhattan life and her own moral dilemma: she possesses a damaging document about Cain Green but cannot bring herself to publish it now that she understands its impact on his family.