Chapter 10 Summary and Key Takeaways

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Sloane and Naomi retreat to a small, dated powder room, where Sloane bluntly asks if the party is an orgy. Naomi initially denies it, then admits it might be, explaining that Ilie implied the night would be wild but never said anything explicit. Sloane wants to leave, but Naomi insists they don't have to do anything they don't want to do. The argument escalates when Naomi reveals that she and Levi have an open relationship, a fact she has kept from Sloane because of Sloane's own marriage to the cheating Joel. Sloane feels insulted and embarrassed, and Naomi turns the criticism back on her, accusing Sloane of burying her desires and giving up on happiness. Naomi removes Sloane's engagement and wedding rings, slipping them into her own pocket, and tells Sloane she should sleep with someone that night to remember who she really is.

Back at the party, Elisa worries her gin drinks are too strong, but Sloane and Naomi drink them anyway, claiming they're perfect. Sloane hears a distant clanking sound and a pained groan, but no one else seems to notice. Ilie struggles with a record player, and Sloane steps in to help, noting that he doesn't know how to use it. When she asks how long he's had the house, he deflects, and Sloane grows suspicious that the dated, water-stained house isn't his. The party escalates as Costel and Miri make out, and Miri eventually appears naked, beckoning Sloane forward. Sloane retreats to a dark corner, overwhelmed by a cascade of