Yunior says that by the following January, he and Lola live in separate apartments following another of his infidelities. One day, Oscar abruptly arrives at Yunior’s. His face is still a little disfigured from the beating, and he is slimmer than he’s ever been. Yunior thinks he looks like a man finally at peace.

Oscar says he wants to make a fresh start but needs to borrow a little money for a security deposit on a Brooklyn apartment. Against Yunior’s better judgment, he gives it to him.

Oscar uses the money to fly to Santo Domingo one last time. Upon his arrival, he calls Clives, who drives him to Ybón’s house, where they wait for hours. Upon her return, Oscar calls out to her, and she insists that he leave immediately or else the capitán will kill them both. While Yunior believes she may have loved Oscar, she also “[k]new that in the DR they called a cop-divorce a bullet” (316).

For almost a month, Oscar researches, writes, and pursues Ybón relentlessly. Most days, she avoids him. Other times, she hisses at him that he must go home. Oscar puts love letters under her gate and receives phone calls by the capitán promising to murder him.