The morning after Avery’s birthday celebration, Avery wakes beside Jameson and notices the ball gown from the night before. Avery thinks about Jameson’s unexplained chest scar, then gets dressed, takes her Hawthorne pin, and goes downstairs.

In the dining room, Avery finds Grayson alone. Grayson reminds Avery that Hawthorne House will soon officially belong to Avery, and Avery insists that nothing has to change. Grayson counters that everything must change, including Avery, because Avery is about to assume the responsibilities once expected to fall to Grayson.

Grayson explains Tobias Hawthorne’s old birthday ritual for the Hawthorne brothers: invest, cultivate, create. Grayson tells Avery that investment will soon be unavoidable, advises Avery to choose a skill to cultivate for herself, and gives Avery a handmade leather journal for a birthday challenge: creating a serious five-year plan for Avery’s time, finances, and commitments.

Avery senses that Grayson already knows what Grayson would do in Avery’s place, but Grayson emphasizes that Avery is not Grayson. Avery reminds Grayson that Grayson promised to teach Avery what Avery needed to know, then regrets pressing Grayson because Avery knows Grayson is struggling and because Avery is with Jameson. When Avery apologizes, Grayson sharply tells Avery not to look at Grayson as if Grayson is broken.

Avery changes the subject to Alisa’s desire for Avery to put the inheritance in a trust. Grayson is unsurprised both by Alisa’s recommendation and by Avery’s refusal to agree immediately. Before the conversation can continue, Oren arrives and reports that someone is at the gates. Because Oren treats the visitor as important, Avery and Grayson both tense, thinking of possible threats, but Oren says the visitor claims her name is Eve.