The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Table of Contents
Quick Plot Recap
Section-by-Section Summary

Adeline “Addie” LaRue is running for her life. She has seven freckles on her cheeks — one for each love she would have in her life, she was told. But so far she has had none.

The section opens with a picture of a sculptural series of five birds in different states of pre- and post-flight, from artist Arlo Miret.

Chapters 1 – 2. New York City, March 10, 2014

She wakes up in the bed of a man named Toby. She told Toby her name is Jess because she cannot tell anyone her real name. When he wakes, he will have forgotten the previous night. As she leaves, she knows he will forget her by the time he closes the door.

When she was 23, she signed away her soul and received eternal life in return. Today is Addie’s birthday. She shops for clothes but leaves without paying, knowing that the clerk won’t remember her anyway. Addie keeps her leather jacket and leaves the rest behind.

Chapters 3 – 5. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France.

In 1698, Addie is 7 years old, living with her parents in Villon, a small Catholic village. Today, Addie goes with her father, a woodworker, to visit the city of Le Mans. Addie’s most treasured possession is a wooden ring that her father carved.

In 1703, Addie is 12. Her mother urges her to be more like Isabelle Therault, their neighbor’s sweet and demure daughter, but Addie longs for adventure. Addie goes to visit Estele, an old woman who tells her about the old gods. To call on them, you must be humble and offer a gift of something that is precious to you. Estele warns that you must be careful what you wish for, and to “never pray to the gods that answer after dark”.

In 1707, Addie is 16. She loves to draw and gives her drawings as offerings to the old gods, but still none of her prayers have been answered. Isabelle is now married to a boy, George Caron, and pregnant. Meanwhile, Addie is a dreamer, with the idea of a man — a stranger — that she has stuck in her mind.

Chapters 6 – 7. New York City, March 10, 2014

Addie visits Fred, an old widower who sells books on the street, and Rise and Shine, the local coffee shop run by two sisters (Mel and Maggie). As she goes to pay, Addie feels her ring, which she had discarded in the clothing shop, back in her pocket. The ring finds her no matter what and she can’t get rid of it.

Chapters 8 – 10. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, 1714.

In 1714, Addie is 23. Roger is a widower with three children, whose wife Pauline has recently died in childbirth. He need a mother for his children and asks Addie. Addie declines, but her parents insist she must, out of duty and mercy. On the wedding day, desperate for her freedom, Addie offers her ring to the gods, praying to escape her village and not noticing that the sky has gone dark.

A shadow answers, presenting itself as the stranger she’s dreamed of, asking what she wants. She starts by saying she doesn’t want to marry, but then realizes she wants more than that. She wants to live freely and wants more time. In exchange, she offers her soul. He tells her he can have it when she no longer wants it. He kisses her to seal the deal. When Addie returns home, no one can remember her, not even her parents. She remembers how had said she did not want to “belong to anyone” and already she knows she has made a grave mistake.

Chapters 11 – 12. New York City, March 10, 2014

Later that day, Addie heads to Alloway, a local dive bar and listens to Toby plays guitar on stage. Afterwards, she heads to an apartment belonging to James St. Clair, a man she’d briefly befriended a few months ago. He’s not home, so she stays the night. Addie can’t have her own place or even possessions since everything she owns goes missing eventually. In photos, she appears in motion or obscured.

Chapters 13 – 14. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, 1714.

After being forgotten by everyone and spending a night outside, Addie is found by Isabelle. Isabelle has two sons, Mathieu and Henri, and a baby daughter, Sara. Isabelle invites her inside, but forgets her as she walks out of the room and kicks her out when she returns.

Addie tries to write a letter, but the words fade as she writes. When she steps on a wood-carved bird, it breaks, but then fixes itself. She takes it with her. She is unable to leave a mark on the world, but she can steal things. She heads towards Le Mans.

Chapter 15. New York City, March 11, 2014

In James’s apartment, she has hidden a small carved bird (not the original carved by her father, but one inspired by it by an artist, Arlo Miret).

Chapters 16. Le Mans, France, 1714.

In the city, she tries to steal a horse, but is caught. In a scuffle, she wounds a man, but when he forgets her, the injury disappears. She decides to head to Paris.

Chapter 17. New York City, March 12, 2014

Today, Addie finds a new used bookstore has cropped up, The Last Word. She steals a book, but the clerk, Henry Strauss, catches her. It’s a battered copy of the Odyssey in its original Greek. He lets her take it.

This section opens with an acrylic painting of seven dots on a monochromatic canvas of greys. By artist Samantha Benning.

Chapters 1 – 2. New York City, March 12, 2014

Henry goes back to the counter where a customer, Emily, has asked him out. He declines. His coworker, Beatrice (“Bea”), teases him afterwards, but Henry and Bea are each nursing recent heartbreaks so she cuts him some slack. The owner of The Last Word, Meredith, rarely comes in so Henry runs things around here. He’s been working here for 5 years. Book is the name of the bookstore cat.

After work, Henry and Bea go to their friend Robbie’s off-off-Broadway show. It’s a theater/dance performance loosely based off Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There is a scene involving rain, and reminds Henry of his bouts of depression. Afterwards, he meets one of the female leads in the show and they hook up.

That might, Addie sees that James is back in town so she goes to roof of another guy’s (Sam) building to crash. Samanta “Sam” Benning was someone Addie had an affair with for months, though Sam experienced it as a string of one-night-stands, soon forgotten.

Chapters 3 – 4. Paris, France, 1714-1715.

In Paris, Addie pays for a room, but she is tossed out when they don’t recognize her. When they break her bird carving, it doesn’t mend itself. Desperate and homeless, Addie prostitutes herself for money, losing her virginity in the process.

A year of struggling passes by. At one point she is carted off for dead, but Addie can’t die from hunger or the cold (though she can certainly suffer grievously from both). It causes her to lose the broken wooden bird (though it was inevitable since all her belongings disappear sooner or later).

By 1715, Addie is more street smart. One night, after she has drugged a man laudanum to take his money, the shadow appears. The shadow reminds her that he can simply take her soul now and end her misery, if she’s done with this life. Addie angrily declines.

Chapters 5 – 6. New York City, March 13, 2014

Henry meets his younger sister Muriel for breakfast. She mentions that their brother David, the youngest lead surgeon at Cedars Sinai, has asked about him (which Henry is skeptical of because David only cares about himself).

Meanwhile, Addie awakes on the roof, with Sam inviting her inside and out of the cold. Addie claims to be a new neighbor. Sam is a painter and offers to paint Addie, because Sam has a series of abstract portraits of people depicted as night skies. However, Sam actually already has. While Addie cannot directly leave her mark on the world, she can inspire others to do things or prompt their actions.

Chapters 7. Paris, France, July 19, 1716.

Another year later, outside the Paris dress shop, the shadow appears in the form of the stranger she once dreamt of. He encourages her, again, to surrender her soul to him. Again she declines.

Chapters 8 – 9. New York City, March 13, 2014

Addie returns to The Last Word, but to her surprise, Henry recognizes her as the thief. He curtly tells her to leave, but Addie has been hoping to be recognized for 300 years. She pleads for him to grab a coffee with her. They get coffee (Addie gets hot chocolate), and afterwards he invites her to eat. Addie tells him that she’s a talent scout.

Chapter 10. Paris, France, July 29, 1719.

In 1719, Addie discovers chocolate, which is rare, but she steals it from a marchioness whose home she’s secretly staying in. The shadow pays his annual visit once again, but this time he asks her to dinner. She is skeptical at first, but eats hungrily. She also reluctantly agrees to call him Luc, the name she had in mind for the stranger in her daydreams. At the time it, it was short for Lucien, but now she realizes it makes perfect sense for Lucifer. She tells him that she has no intention of ever giving him her soul, and that night battle lines are drawn as he readies for the challenge.

Chapters 11 – 12. New York City, March 13, 2014

Addie and Henry go to a bar for food. She wants to keep him there as long as possible, afraid he’ll forget again. Late into the night, they set another date. Before he leaves, she’s somehow able to tell him her real name.

Chapter 13. Paris, France, July 29, 1720.

Addie is living in the top floor of an abandoned home which she has managed to fix up. She’s pleased with herself and wants to rub it in the shadow’s face. But he doesn’t show.

Chapter 14. New York City, March 13, 2014

Walking home, Henry thinks about Addie.

This section opens with a picture of a line-art illustration from artist Bernard Rodel. It depicts Madame Geoffrin’s famous salon room, full of people including notable figures such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot. There’s also three women, one of whom is an unknown freckled woman.

Chapter 1. Paris, France, July 29, 1724.

Addie is now dressing as a man to have more freedom to roam around. It’s been four years since he’s received a visit from Luc (the shadow).

A man knocks into her as she is about to enjoy some honey she has procured, and he notices she’s a woman. He introduces himself as Remy Laurent and insists on treating her to a cup of coffee (a new type of beverage) as an apology.

Suddenly, he gets excited as he spots Voltaire from across the cafe. Remy is the youngest son of a printer, so he’s familiar with the novelist. Later, Addie will master many languages, but right now she doesn’t know how to read, so she’s not familiar with his books.

Chapters 2 – 3. New York City, March 15, 2014

Addie has plans with Henry today. She goes to the bookstore and is excited to find that he remembers her. She’s introduced to Bea, too. He takes her to an arcade room hidden behind a laundromat, speakeasy-styled, and afterwards they go to a movie. In the darkened theater, she notes his resemblance to Luc.

Chapter 4. Paris, France, July 29, 1724.

At the end of the night, Addie sleeps with Remy, the first man she sleeps with out of desire as opposed to necessity. She thinks of herself as a palimpsest, to be written over by someone new and better. She is happy and warm beside him. But he wakes confused and does not recognize her. Her heart breaks. Unsure what to do, he gives her some money and she leaves.

Chapter 5. New York City, March 15, 2014

Addie takes Henry to The Fourth Rail, a bar and club that located in an abandoned subway tunnel. It had been her idea, a club she inspired someone else to build. They dance, they kiss in the rain, and they sleep together.

Chapter 6. Paris, France, July 29, 1724.

After Addie leaves Remy’s place, Luc finally pays her a visit, the first in four years. He senses her weakness and asks if she’s ready to give up her soul, but she says no. That night, Addie decides to learn how to read.

Chapters 7 – 8. New York City, March 15, 2014

In the morning, Henry still remembers her. Addie is happy, but wants to know what it is about Henry that allows him to remember her. When they go get food, a woman looks at Henry and seems to be about to cry. He later tells Addie that the woman said he reminded her of her son.

That night, they go to a dinner party at Bea’s. Henry briefs her about his friends. Robbie is actually Henry’s ex. Bea lives with a guy, Josh, but they’re platonic. Bea is still heartbroken over “The Professor“, a married Columbia professor she previously dated. Henry also tells Addie about Tabitha, a woman he’d proposed to who said no. At dinner, Bea predictably doesn’t recognize Addie, but it gets brushed under the table.

Chapter 9. Paris, France, July 29, 1751.

Addie engineers an encounter with Madame Geoffrin in order to secure an invitation into her famous salon, where many influential figures gather. It’s encounter she’s attempted quite a few times in order to determine the optimal responses and reactions from Madame Geoffrin.

To her surprise, Addie finds a 51-year-old Remy at the salon, situated between Rousseau and Voltaire. Then, Luc appears as well, going by the alias Monsieur Lebois. It’s been six years since he’s appeared. He denounces Addie as a swindler and a thief, and she has to flee.

Chapters 10 – 11. New York City, March 16, 2014

At the dinner, when Josh and Robbie head up to the roof, Addie makes her exit, knowing they won’t remember her when they get back. Henry follows her out. The next day, Robbie shows up at Henry’s place and doesn’t recognize her. When Henry gets angry (he thinks he’s insulting her out of jealousy), Addie stops him.

Knowing she doesn’t want to lie to the one person who remembers her, she just tells him the truth, that people don’t remember her. She starts explaining her curse.

Chapter 12. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, July 29, 1764.

In 1764, Addie returns to her village for the first time in 50 years. Her mother (Martha LaRue) is still alive, but still doesn’t recognize her.

Chapters 13. New York City, March 17, 2014

Addie tells Henry the full story, something the curse has never let her do before. Then, Henry admits he made a deal as well.

This section opens with an image of a suspended metal heart, punctured by holes, entitled Open to Love. By Muriel Strauss (design) and Lance Harringer (manufacture). It’s an interactive installation where visitors pour different types of liquid into it.

Chapters 1 – 2. New York City, September 4, 2013

Henry had a heart defect when he was younger. Since then, he’s always been a very sensitive boy. As a teenager, he uses alcohol and drugs to dull the feelings. He’s in his late twenties when he meets Tabitha Masters, and they are together for two years. He proposes, but she says no.

Later, in a state of drunken desolation, he meets the shadow who is standing in the rain, but does not get wet. Henry wants to be loved, and the devil wants his soul in exchange. The bargain is struck.

Chapters 3 – 4. New York City, March 17-8, 2014

Henry tells Addie this story. He’s loved by people because they see in him what they want to see. Addie, too, sees what she wants to see, but more importantly he can remember her because they’re both damned — which is all she really needs. Addie asks to know how long the deal is for, and Henry says it’s for his lifetime.

Chapters 5. New York City, September 5, 2013

The next day, it’s Rosh Hashanah. Muriel checks in on his, but sees that he looks fine (thanks to the curse) and leaves. He gets a coffee and the barista who never looks at him writes her name and number on the cup. A customer comes in looking for a book and insists both his suggestions must be the one. The rest of the day proceeds just as oddly.

Chapter 6. New York City, March 18, 2014

Bea tells Henry about The Artifact (an interactive medley of art installations) that’s set up on the High Line. Addie suggests they go.

Chapters 7 – 8. New York City, September 5, 2013

Henry heads to the local bar, The Merchant. There, people hit on him and a couple invites him to a threesome. The only unsettling thing is the look in people’s eyes which seems to imply they don’t really see him. Dean Melrose, a former professor who flunked him out of a theology program in college, offers him a job.

Bea announces to Henry that she’s figured out her thesis. She’s identified a series of portraits of a freckled woman, who has exactly seven freckles shaped like a constellation. They are all painted by different artists at different times and in different styles, some abstract, but Bea has deduced they are the same person (Addie, of course). Bea wants to figure out who she was and why there are so many portraits of her.

Chapter 9. New York City, March 18, 2014

Now, in 2014, it dawns on Henry that Addie is the freckled woman from Bea’s thesis.

Chapters 10. New York City, September 13, 2013

Henry heads home to Newburgh for a family dinner. His usually judgmental is warm and comforting towards him. Even knowing it’s because of the spell, Henry feels happy. He has no desire for pills or drink.

Chapter 11. New York City, March 18, 2014

At The Artifact, Henry and Addie kiss and enjoy the exhibits.

Chapters 12 – 18. New York City, September 19, 2013 – Early 2014

Henry goes on a date with Vanessa the barista. However, when Henry asks Vanessa why she likes him, she says that it’s because he’s outgoing, funny, and ambitious — things that don’t really describe him. A week later she says she loves him and tries to light Tabitha’s old thing on fire. Henry breaks up with Vanessa as she begs him not to.

A month later, Henry is hanging out with Robbie and Bea when Robbie tries to resurrect their relationship, but Henry knows it’s a mistake because he’s still the same person that Robbie dumped. A month after that, Tabitha tries the same thing, but he rejects her. In December, Henry meets with Dean Melrose, who offers him a tenure-track position in a Theology program that he previously flunked out of. Nothing he says dissuades Melrose.

Before long, Henry finds himself drinking again. He realizes he is invisible to people. They find him funny, charming, ambitious or whatever else it is they want him to be, regardless of anything he does. They love him, but that love is not real.

Then, Addie walks in it and she doesn’t seem to see some perfect person. He feels seen.

Chapter 19. New York City, March 18, 2014

The last exhibit of The Artifact is a painting exhibit. Addie tries to draw, but the paint disappears. Instead, Henry tells Addie to place her hand on his, and she directs him, writing her name. With his hand under hers, the paint remains.

When they go back to his home, she starts dictating her story to him as he writes.

This section starts with a sketch of a sleeping woman with seven freckles, by Matteo Renatti from the early 1800s.

Chapter 1. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, July 29, 1764.

Back in her hometown, she finds her father’s gravestone and finds out he died the year she left. She also sees that Estele passed away five years later, in 1719. Addie realizes her memories of her past are starting to fade. Estele had wanted to be a tree, to have one planted over her grave. So, Addie finds a sapling and plants it over where Estele is buried.

Addie finds Estele’s hut and uses a lantern flame to start the hearth. Fifty years in, and she’s still learning what the curse prevents and permits her to do. (“She cannot make a thing, but she can use it. She cannot break a thing, but she can steal it. She cannot start a fire, but she can keep it going.”)

Luc appears. When he angers her, she slaps in. In return, he ages her into an old woman and reminds her that he never promised her youth or even good health. When he leaves, she reverts to normal.

Chapter 2. New York City, March 19, 2014

When Addie explains that she has no home, Henry offers to let her stay with him.

Chapters 3 – 5. Fécamp, France, July 29, 1778-1779.

Addie has been at Fecamp, staring out at the Atlantic, for a week when Luc appears. He takes her to visit a church, and he tells her that he was the one who gave Shakespeare his gifts. A year later, in Paris, the city is burning as the Bastille has been recently overrun. A crowd moves in to attack Addie, but Luc whisks her off to Florence. When she questions his kindness, Luc informs her that he wants to be one to break her.

Chapter 6. New York City, April 6, 2014

Henry and Addie are dining out when Addie suggests they just leave without paying. Henry refuses, saying that he doesn’t know if he can get away with it, and even if he can it’s the wrong thing to do. Addie feels ashamed, but defends her way of living. He offers to take care of her, but Addie wants to be able to take care of herself. They have a small fight, but make up.

Chapters 7. Venice, Italy, July 29, 1780.

After being abandoned in Florence, Addie ends up staying in Italy. Her departure from France has awakened an interest in seeing more place. She meets Matteo, an artist, who sketches her. Thus, she learns how to leave her mark on this world.

Chapter 8. New York City, April 25, 2014

As the days pass, Addie continues to feed Henry stories and he continues to write.

Chapters 9. London, England, July 29, 1827.

In the National Gallery in London, Addie looks over a painting she inspired. Luc shows up, and Addie accuses him of being lonely and petty. He angrily takes her to a house where a man, Beethoven, pleads with him for more time and begs to make another deal. Luc denys him and Beethoven dies.

Chapter 10. New York City, May 15, 2014

Henry and Addie decide to adopt Book, and they bring him home. Henry keeps trying to take a photo of Addie.

Chapters 11. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, July 29, 1854.

Addie revisits her hometown again and Luc shows up. Once again, he asks if she’d ready to surrender, and once again she insists she’s just getting started. He leaves.

Chapter 12. New York City, June 13, 2014

It’s Henry’s birthday. They meet up with Robbie and Bea. Toby (the man from Chapter 1) goes onstage to play. He plays a song about being in love with a girl he’s only met in his dreams. She’s taken aback, reminded of how she never gets closure regarding her former romances.

Chapters 13. En Route to Berlin, Germany, July 29, 1872.

On the train, the ticket collector is demanding her ticket when Luc appears and hands him one. He whisks her away and suddenly they are at an opera house where Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is playing.

Luc explains that he makes many deals where he offers talent and glory in exchange for shortening their lives. People accept because happiness is fleeting, but history is not. He also tells Addie that he offered Joan of Arc a blessed sword which is how she survived the battles and became a legend. Addie wonder how much of the things she loves are because of him and paid for with human souls.

Chapter 14. New York City, July 4, 2014

Addie notices something is off with Henry. He seems distracted and lost. He asks Addie when was the last time she saw Luc. She says that they had a falling out 40 years ago, and she hasn’t seen him since.

Chapters 15. The Cotswolds, England, December 31, 1899.

Addie is staying in an abandoned cottage. It’s snowing. She is now over 200 years old. Luc appears. He offers to take her to Paris, where the city is in a golden age. She declines.

This section opens with sheet music for the song “Dream Girl” authored by Toby Marsh.

Chapter 1. Villon-sur-Sarthe, France, July 29, 1914.

Back in Villon again, Addie is horrified to see that Estele’s tree has been felled by lighning. When Luc appears, he denies having anything to do with it, stating that nature can be cruel as well. He takes her to Paris, and they share a drink.

Luc finally admits that Addie was probably right about him wanting company. He offers her a ring, a replica of her wooden one. Luc tells Addie that she can summon him with it. Addie is determined never to use it. Luc tells her a war is coming, and offers to take her out of Europe. She declines, but a week later with the world at war, she is on a ship to New York.

Chapter 2. New York City, July 29, 2014

It’s Addie’s 300th becoming-immortal-anniversary. Addie and Henry go to the beach and they exchange “I love you”s during the day. However, Addie does not want Luc to find them together in case he visits at night.

Chapter 3. Chicago, July 29, 1928.

Luc has not come in 14 years. Addie has also refused to wear the ring since he gave it to her. When Luc shows up, Addie says she “won” because he came without her calling on him. Luc admits that he wanted company. When he suggests that Addie belongs with him, she insults him and he leaves.

Chapters 4 – 6. New York City, July 29, 2014

Addie and Henry get back in time, but Addie falls asleep. When she wakes, it’s night. But she changes her mind and decides she and Henry should just go out instead of letting Luc ruin their night. At the bar, Luc appears. Addie is worried, but Luc has no intention of pulling them apart. He merely reminds her that humans live short lives, and implies that Henry’s deal only permitted him a limited amount of time.

Afterwards, Addie demands to know how much time Henry was given. Henry admits his deal was for one year. He has 35 days left. Desperate, Addie puts on the ring and calls on Luc. She agrees to spend the next night with him, and in exchange he’ll consider letting Henry live.

Chapters 7. Occupied France, November 23, 1944.

In 1944, Addie is in prison. She had thought she could help the allied war effort, but got caught. Resigned, she puts on the ring for the first time and calls on Luc. Just like that, she is back in Boston.

Chapters 8. New York City, July 30, 2014

Lus shows up and they head toward the Manhattan Bridge.

Chapters 9. Los Angeles, April 7, 1952 – 1968.

Addie is spending the day with a man named Max when Luc interrupts and sends him away. He takes her to the Cicada Club where Frank Sinatra is playing. Luc admits to her that he wants her. They dance and kiss and make love. In the morning, Luc notes that he is a creature of darkness and must leave, but Addie simply draws the blinds.

Addie finds herself waiting and hoping for his next visits. At first it is just sex, but then it’s more than that. She realizes she no longer hates him and tries to remind herself that he is not human and this is not love.

Chapters 10. New York City, July 30, 2014

Luc takes Addie to dinner. As they talk, Addie tells him that his love is not real because he’s not capable of caring for someone else more than he does himself. If he did, he would have set her free long ago.

Chapters 11. New Orleans, July 29, 1970.

In 1970, Luc tells Addie that he loves her. He gives her a gift of a brass key to a place in New Orleans that she can call a home. Addie feels happy. Later, when Luc leaves her, Addie follows him and watches him consume someone’s soul and kill them.

Chapters 12. New York City, July 30, 2014

He takes her to an exclusive rooftop club, only accessible from an exclusive elevator with an entrance that is a replica of Rodin’s Gates of Hell.

They order drinks, and Addie makes her demand that Luc release Henry from his deal. Luc tells her that Addie must choose a soul to take his place if she wants him to live. She chooses one, but Luc just laughs at her.

Chapters 13. New Orleans, May 1, 1981.

In 1981, as they are in bed, Addie asks Luc to let her go and release her from their deal. Luc says that to do that she must surrender. Addie instantly lashes out at him, accusing him of playing some sort of game with her, and he looks hurt and confused. For a moment, she wonders if she misinterpreted, but he doesn’t deny it and instead goes along with her interpretation. Tempers flare.

Just like that, their affair is over. Somehow, a fire starts and her Burbon street home goes up in flames.

Chapters 14 – 20. New York City, July 30, 2014 – September 4, 2014

Luc transports them into a wooded area in Central Park. Luc tells her that their affair wasn’t a game to him. But also they he placed Henry in her path for her to meet. He did to show her how much it would hurt when he was gone and to show her it’s not worth the pain. Luc says he needs her, and her place is with him, since he’ll still be here when Henry is gone. When she gets back, she sees the date is August 6. She promised Luc one night, but he took a week.

Henry and Addie spend the rest of August together. They go camping, travel upstate and see their friends. He doesn’t tell them he is going to die. One night he hears her get out of bed, though he thinks nothing of it.

On September 4, Henry is happy. It’s his last day. She tells him stories and they watch the sun go down. They go up to the roof and Addie tells him she needs to tell him the ending to her story. Three days ago, she called on Luc in the middle of the night. She offered herself to him in exchange for him allowing Henry to live. Luc accepts.

Henry is to be released from his deal, to be seen as himself and to live. He tells Addie to undo it, but she says no and that he should move on. Addie asks Henry to remember her before disappearing.

This section opens with a series of photographs of blurred woman as she turns way, entitled The Girl Who Got Away. They are photographs that Henry took of Addie. It’s part of an exhibit by Bea about Addie.

Chapters 1. New York City, September 5, 2014

Henry lives, but he remembers, too.

Chapters 2. New York City, March 13, 2015

Six months later, Henry shows Bea his book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, cobbled together from the stories Addie told him. However, he doesn’t know how to end it. Bea, of course, believes this is something he made up.

Chapters 3. London, England, February 3, 2016

The book has been released, sold as fiction. Henry is a character in the book. There’s no author on the cover. The dedication simply reads I remember you. Addie goes to see the book in a London bookshop. Luc appears, in a gloating mood.

Addie thinks to herself that he has made a mistake. The terms of her new deal with him are that she must stay with him “as long as you want me by your side” which is not the same as “forever”. She plans to break his heart and drive him away.