Part Two: Eloise — Chapter 3

Georgia recounts years of managing bipolar disorder and relapses, building a careful life in Atlanta after moving out from Ximena’s, and quietly tracking Molly through photos from a PI to motivate herself through depressive episodes. A Facebook search reveals Adam and Evie are married and raising Molly, triggering a crisis that she averts by calling her therapist June.

Prompted by a Time article on Andrea Yates, Georgia discovers the term “postpartum psychosis,” researches cases with the help of librarian Edward, and joins an online forum, reframing her experience as illness rather than unique moral failure. She and Edward grow close and begin dating, while she conceals her bipolar diagnosis and fabricated backstory.

As their relationship deepens, Georgia keeps rituals honoring Adam, Molly, and 9/11, and supports Ximena’s new romance while offering to house Milagros. During a forecast tornado, Georgia and Edward take shelter together and sleep together for the first time, strengthening their bond even as she continues hiding key truths.

On Labor Day, after a softball game, Georgia collapses from dehydration; at the hospital, lithium toxicity and hypothyroidism are identified. Forced to disclose her bipolar disorder, she senses Edward’s hesitation. He then ghosts her.

When Georgia confronts Edward at the library, he explains he’s not leaving because of her diagnosis but because he uncovered her lies: no records of her claimed education or her child’s death, and a court record of her commitment. He ends the relationship, leaving Georgia devastated and still unable to reveal her true identity as Eloise.