Zelu buys a three-bedroom condo in Lake Point Tower facing Lake Michigan, paying mostly in cash. Only Tolu helps her move in. Inspired by conversations with Hugo, she embraces minimalism, furnishing the condo sparsely with padded edges and open space to make it easier to navigate with her exos. Tolu finds the place too empty, but Zelu feels she can finally breathe.

During a visit, Zelu impulsively asks Msizi to move in with her. After hesitation, he agrees but tells her he requires monogamy. Despite her resistance to labels, she accepts, and Msizi moves in weeks later, bringing minimal belongings. He travels often, but Zelu finds herself naturally uninterested in other men, and feels content. She begins brainstorming her second novel, though she isn't ready to write yet.

Pressure from her publisher eases as hype builds for the Rusted Robots film adaptation. Zelu has had no involvement in the production. When her agent sends her the teaser trailer, she is alarmed to discover Ankara and Ijele have been renamed Yankee and Dot, and the Nigerian setting altered. Her agent dismisses her concerns as cosmetic. Disturbed, she avoids the hype, but the upcoming Hollywood premiere looms.

Her family remains distant, never visiting and never asking about her life. Zelu travels to Durban with Msizi and takes Hugo, Uchenna, and Marcy to Morocco, but at family nights she feels like an alien. She regrets having ignored the film adaptation process, realizing her passivity was a mistake.

Distracted by these worries while walking through her parents' house, Zelu turns a corner too quickly, her exos tangle, and she falls hard, hitting her head. As she falls, she flashes back to the tree branch breaking. Her parents rush to her, and her mother insists on bringing her old wheelchair. Unable to rise without help, Zelu is forced back into the chair for the first time in nearly a year. She masks her rage with a fake smile, retreats to her childhood room, and finally breaks down in panic, confronting how broken she still feels.