Edward summarises the following decades of his life. A year after the annulment, he ruminates on Florence's proposal and no longer finds it insulting, though he still refuses to reunite with Florence. He eventually loses interest in writing history books and manages multiple stores. After his mother's death, he moves back home to take care of his ailing father. He enjoys good relationships with his friends and family, and explores other romances including a brief marriage with another woman, though he admits that he never loved anyone as much as he loved Florence. Meanwhile, Florence enjoys critical and commercial success with her string quartet, though Edward does not attend any performance and avoids even reminders of it, unaware that Florence thinks of him after every performance. Edward chooses not to revisit her, instead choosing to keep his youthful memory of her.