While listening to jazz one evening, Msizi proposes to Zelu, framing marriage as a practical way to extend his stay in the U.S. beyond his two-year Yebo visa. Zelu, who has never imagined marrying, surprises herself by agreeing, on the conditions of a prenup and no wedding. They negotiate finances, possible children (no fertility treatments, openness to easy adoption), and tease each other about fame and family.

Days later, Zelu walks the Navy Pier and reads a recent message from Jack Preston, who has been corresponding with her since her Nigeria ordeal and offers her a seat on his spaceship. She declines, saying she needs to keep her feet on the ground and stay with Msizi.

Returning home expecting to slip off to the courthouse, Zelu finds Msizi has secretly arranged a small wedding. iNdonsa has flown in from South Africa, her siblings Tolu and Amarachi are present, Jackie is there to sing, and a sangoma named Lesego from Durban will officiate. Msizi confesses he always wanted a wedding and kept it intimate because he knows her.

They marry behind the Adler Planetarium in a cyan dress iNdonsa made, then handle the prenup and courthouse paperwork. They agree never to call each other husband or wife, only partners. Zelu reflects that for the first time she did something she didn't want to do purely out of love and felt respected rather than out of control.

Meanwhile, the viral video of her Nigerian escape has made her a national hero, driving massive demand and investment for Hugo's exos, while her book and film remain popular. Yet Zelu is haunted by recurring nightmares of being chased, flashbacks triggered by the sound of her exos, and the masquerade at the edges of her vision. The realization that she was wrong to go to Nigeria weighs on her, making her doubt she'll ever act boldly or spontaneously again.