The Wife Upstairs

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and death by suicide.

Sylvia wakes up late the day after the storm, as her alarm did not go off. She thinks about the toothpaste story from the diary and appreciates that it adds nuance to Adam’s personality, something to break the intimidating illusion of his perfection. She gets up and realizes that Adam already took care of Victoria’s morning routine. He tells Sylvia that he plans to work on his new book in the attic. She asks him how the writing is going, and he says that it’s hard; he thinks his new pages are worthless. Sylvia tries to encourage him, and he asks her about her dreams for her life. She doesn’t know what she wants to do next, and Adam reassures her that she can stay as long as she needs and that he enjoys having her around. After their almost-kiss, Sylvia is uncomfortable, thinking that Victoria knows about the tension between them.