Contents
Olivia — Chapter 6
Overview
Olivia struggles with isolation and self-harm while staying beneath Jules and Will’s room, distressed by their audible intimacy. Jules compels Olivia to try on the bridesmaid dress, exposing Olivia’s weight loss and fragility. A rare, awkward moment of care briefly bridges their distance, but Olivia conceals ongoing turmoil.
Summary
Olivia, staying in a former maid’s room below Jules and Will, is tormented by hearing their sex at night and again in the morning. Cut off from friends and phone signal, she spirals into anxiety and uses a hidden razor to self-harm, finding brief focus in the pain before a knock interrupts.
Jules enters, brisk and controlling, insisting Olivia try on the bridesmaid dress before other guests arrive. Olivia lies that it already fits; Jules shepherds her upstairs to the couple’s bedroom, where the smell and intimacy of the space unsettle Olivia further.
Under Jules’s scrutiny, Olivia undresses, hiding the fresh cut, and reveals noticeable weight loss. Jules critiques the creased dress and Olivia’s size, then helps her into the blush-pink slip, offering a stick-on bra and nude thong to fix the transparency. Olivia notes a burn on Jules’s wrist but says nothing.
In the mirror, the sisters observe their similarities. Jules surprises Olivia with a rare hand-squeeze and a halting reassurance, citing Olivia’s breakup and her own bond with Will as perspective. Overwhelmed, Olivia feels faint, then abruptly strips the dress off, alarming Jules.
Jules demands effort for the wedding’s perfection and the meaning of Olivia’s role as bridesmaid. Olivia agrees outwardly, masking her distress and insisting she is fine, while the chapter closes with the lie of her claimed stability.
Who Appears
- OliviaBridesmaid and Jules’s younger sister; isolated, self-harms, overwhelmed by hearing Jules and Will, and pressured to fit the wedding’s image.
- JulesBride; controlling and perfectionist, forces Olivia to try on the dress, briefly shows tenderness, reveals stress with a wrist burn.
- WillGroom; offstage presence whose intimacy with Jules upstairs heightens Olivia’s distress.