Chapter 31
Richard confronts Roman about his seemingly close relations with his student's mom. Roman, however, cannot fathom where he's coming from and chides on modern human's "possessiveness". Richard wrangles that being possessive is a normal human's way of showing he cares. Roman then admits he is alien to such human behavior as he doesn't feel the same deep concern for him or for Alice. Richard gave up and warns him not to tell those cutting words to Alice. For sure, she'll be hurt as she worries for him the most. In fact, she has probably fallen asleep, waiting for him.
At the beach, Roman mulls on the thought alone. He's convinced that he must distance himself sometime or else he'll be someone's possession. He also finds it hard to believe that Alice awaits his return. But when he did go home, he finds her sleeping on the couch while the TV is on, an evident manifestation that she cares. He carries her to her room. She wakes up but keeps her silence. The next morning, he's gone.