Contents
Jules — Chapter 7
Overview
Jules confronts her mother about Olivia’s surly behavior before the wedding, seeking reassurance she will perform as bridesmaid. Her mother hints Olivia’s struggle is deeper than a breakup and refuses details, stoking Jules’s envy and resentment. Jules fights an urge to lash out, steadies herself, and anticipates Charlie’s arrival.
Summary
Jules enters her mother Araminta’s room, irritated by perfume, possible smoke, and a martini. Determined to keep calm, Jules asks whether Olivia will behave as bridesmaid after skipping the hen do and seeming unenthusiastic. Araminta deflects, noting Olivia has had a difficult time.
When Jules dismisses Olivia’s breakup as trivial, Araminta points out Jules and Will have not been together long either, needling Jules. Araminta then hints there was more to Olivia’s experience than a simple breakup but refuses specifics, calling Olivia an empath who can’t hide feelings. This implication stings Jules, who prides herself on control.
Jules recalls mixed tenderness and envy toward Olivia: admiring Olivia’s fragile beauty in the dress fitting, resenting Olivia’s seemingly easier childhood with her father Rob, and contrasting it with Jules’s own chaotic upbringing with Araminta’s boyfriends and parties. The comparison reignites old grievances.
Anger spikes as Jules fingers a heavy candle, imagining smashing it, but she stops, determined not to show this side to Will. She reframes the wedding as her hard-won victory and stability. Hearing a boat engine outside, Jules believes Charlie has arrived and expects he will lift her mood, then replaces the candle.
Who Appears
- JulesThe bride; confronts her mother about Olivia, wrestles envy and anger, and forces herself to stay composed.
- Araminta JonesJules’s mother; evasively hints Olivia’s issues are deeper than a breakup, provoking Jules’s resentment.
- OliviaJules’s younger half-sister; absent but central to the discussion, implied to have suffered a deeper trauma.
- WillJules’s fiancé; mentioned as contrast in relationship timelines and as someone Jules hides her temper from.
- CharlieJules’s close friend; his arriving boat signals relief Jules hopes will steady her mood.
- RobOlivia’s father; recalled as providing Olivia a more stable childhood than Jules had.