Summary

With the proceedings from Romanov's will and the sale of the chalet, Alva was left with a considerable amount of money, able to buy an apartment in Munich and support both her and Jules. Pregnant with twins, Ava took Jules on a holiday to Italy, telling him that she planned to return to university to study, but not literature. Jules mentioned that Romanov's last book was to be published the following spring, a manuscript that would include the two stories Jules had written while at the chalet. Though Alva urged him to reconsider, Jules considered it important to honor Romanov's final wish to him, which he saw as compensation for the younger man taking his wife.

After his 35th birthday, Jules realized that he was around the same age his parents had died. He felt pain at the thought that...