Mercy

Mia reflects on the meaning of her name, derived from “mine” in Latin, and thinks about how she can only belong to herself; she has always felt separate from her parents, who functioned as a unit. She checks into the Wheelock Inn, not wanting to interact with Cam anymore. In her room, she writes a love note to Cam and burns it.

Cam goes to church to pray for Jamie and Maggie, and he confesses his sins of adultery. He is given penance, but he cannot get Mia out of his head. He leaves without remembering to pray for Maggie and Jamie.

Allie picks up Jamie from Angus’s house and takes him to Verona’s event, where she is reading from her book. Cam refused to accompany her and laughed at the idea of her finding someone else, prompting Allie’s decision to take Jamie. Despite other people’s protests at Jamie’s presence, Allie defends him and finds them seats. Cam, who arrives at the event after all, watches this but leaves shortly after, unable to get Mia out of his mind.

As Verona describes hell as “a choice people make for the afterlife” (86), Jamie thinks about Maggie and how despondent he feels without her.