Summary

Chapter 4 returns to 1984. Ashlyn restored books while mulling over Regretting Belle’s lack of identifying information. Kevin came over, holding a book nearly identical to Regretting Belle. The book, Forever, and Other Lies, also had no author. Kevin told Ashlyn that the owner of the books had died and his son had given them to Kevin after cleaning out his father’s belongings.

When she touched Forever, and Other Lies, she felt echoes of “Accusation. Betrayal. Heartbreak” (61).

Forever, and Other Lies begins in 1941 on the same day as Regretting Belle. Belle narrates, addressing the narrator of Regretting Belle directly. She discusses how she did not want to marry Teddy because “I wanted a life of my own” (64). Her father demanded that she marry Teddy for her family’s benefit, just as her sister, Cee-Cee, had done with her husband.

Regretting Belle’s narrator...