Fifteen years later when Zoe is 40 she reflects back on how her marriage has changed her to an insecure and unhappy woman. She no longer feels passionately in love with Stephen and feels that their relationship exists on the basis of him criticizing her. Meanwhile, Russell's wife Lily falls into a depression after her twin daughters win ballet scholarships to study in London. After talking to Zoe, Lily decides that they should sell their business and she should return to academia, the career she wanted to pursue before she had children. They decide to announce the news at Lily's birthday party, however on the day of the party Zoe receives a suicide note from Anna saying that she and Russell are in love and she can no longer bear to live without him.
