Vanessa remembers the time she came across a “jumper,” the woman’s mangled body covered in a blanket. She recalls how struck she was to see a blue, low-heeled pump, wondering if the woman it belonged to had planned to die that day, or if something had suddenly pushed her to it. Now, years later, she understands that it was both. She, too, feels she has reached a boiling point but that she was always heading towards it. She envisions her replacement on her wedding day and obsesses over preventing it. Unable to sleep, Vanessa spends the night going over an unspoken plan that will put her in the path of Richard’s fiancée and allow her to beg the young woman not to marry Richard.

Morning comes, and she puts on a dress Richard once loved on her and carefully makes up her face. She heads to the salon, aware of her roots peeking out of her dark hair. The stylist asks her what she wants, and Vanessa holds up a picture of a beautiful, blond young woman—a picture of herself.