Amazing photo by @loweonbooks!
Hey fairies!
Welcome back to day 4 of our readalong of Only A Monster! I hope you’re all enjoying it so far, we’re officially over halfway there and things are getting wild.
Today we’re reading from Chapter 15 to the end of Chapter 19. Get comfy and let’s get reading!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Only A Monster by Vanessa Len, from chapters 15 to 19. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
We’re back with our favourite trio of monsters. Aaron has found them fancy clothes and they’re ready to head into the Monster Court. Stay calm people!
I can’t cope with this intense moment between Joan and Aaron. There are feelings here, there has to be! The way he delicately places the necklace on Joan and tells her to be careful because she’s important and she matters.
Again, Joan tries to release Aaron from his “debt” but he doesn’t say anything other than give her a pair of flat shoes in case they need to run. I’m telling you, he has feelings for her! I don’t think he’s doing this for the debt anymore, actually I’m not sure he ever was after the first day or so.
They reach the mire (a place where monsters can’t travel) that Tom directed them to. It’s the area where Whitehall Palace formerly stood, but nothing happens.
Oh wait! On Big Ben’s final strike of midnight, everything freezes and Whitehall Palace appears, whole and unblemished. The Monster Court!
But they’re not in yet, they need to find a way to trick the guards into thinking they’re someone else by stamping a chop (basically a stamp) next to a name that looks similar to the chop they have. If a guard’s looking too carefully, they’ll notice and it’ll all be over. Anyone else sweating? ? This could go so wrong, so easily.
Aaron is through, Ruth is through. Now it’s Joan’s turn… hold on… they’re changing guards? But Tom’s whole plan to get them into the Monster Court relied on the guard being tired from working so long and not checking properly? Aaaah I can’t cope. The anticipation!
Hm… Joan tells the new guard the older guard wasn’t checking carefully. What is she up to? Surely that would just make THIS guard more observant? Ohhhhh, I see what she’s done! When the new guard has looked away at the old guard, she’s pretended to stamp her chop, and obviously the new guard won’t know that Marie Portelli has already gone in! Smart move.
And they’re in. Our formidable team are IN the Monster Court. They’ve fought hard to get here, I hope it ends well.
Aaron intensly tells Joan to stay away from any Olivers, and not to let them look her in the eye? That’s weird, what’s wrong with her eyes?
Edmund Oliver, the head of the Oliver family and Aaron’s father, is here. Can Joan avoid him?
Aaron calls his father – um, Aaron you’re meant to be AVOIDING Olivers, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Wait, he’s stepped away from Joan, is he causing a distraction? Edmund mentions he removed Aaron from the line of succession and wishes he could strip him of his name, what happened here?
Edmund storms off, and Aaron is back to his cold self, asking Joan if she enjoyed the show. It’s too late for Joan to properly speak to him one on one though, Ruth and Tom are back and it’s time to find the Royal Archive!
They find the archive… but there’s a weird barrier between them and the door? The Monster Court has placed a different time between the hallway and the door, so anyone who wants to travel through would have to take hundreds of thousands of years from a human to get there, and that’s without accounting for how to get back! I think this would be the point where I admit defeat and turn back… Not Joan though! Stubborn Joan devises a plan. The Hunt family power involves being able to place objects somewhere, so Joan thinks Ruth could hold something – a tunnel of sorts – in the time moat for them to safely crawl through to reach the archive. This sounds risky – but we know by now Joan isn’t opposed to a risk or two!
After testing it, they roll up a nearby rug so there’s just enough space inside for them to fit and after some hard work from Ruth… they get through!
BUT… that would be too easy wouldn’t it. The door is LOCKED.
Ambitious Joan gets Ruth to throw her a lock pick, because nothing is stopping her and even if she’s never picked a lock before, she WILL do this!
Until she realises it’s not a lock. When Joan angrily smacks her hand down on the door… that power Gran hinted at ignites within her!
The lock turned from metal into some kind of stone-ish substance and the door is ajar. Joan did it! She did it!!!!!
The royal archive… is a prison cell? And an empty one at that?
The Monster Court had clearly been keeping someone in here, assumingly until very recently. Joan realises the scuff marks and blood around the cell must mean there was some kind of struggle and pinpoints that the marks direct toward the desk and then change, as if the person stopped struggling, Joan finds something, not what they’ve been looking for, but something.
They make it back to Ruth in the nick of time, but Ruth drops the rug into the Palaeolithic time… that’s not good, the guards will surely know a Hunt was there?
Joan is running through the Monster Court, she’s lost everyone and she’s just desperate to get out, and who does she collide with? NICK! In true enemies to lovers style, Joan reaches for Nick’s neck ready to take time and Nick presses his knife against her side, but all they’re really doing is staring at each other. Almost in shock, or awe. They could easily kill each other, but Nick instead seems worried that Joan is still injured, that she hasn’t healed yet, and asks her if she’d still have stolen time if he hadn’t murdered her family. Joan honestly answers no. I definitely believe her. She was so distraught about having accidentally stolen time from Mr Solt. I don’t think she’d have ever done it again.
Nick tells her not to come after him, and despite promising Joan the last time he saw her that he’d kill her if he saw her again… he walks away?
With Conrad and a LOT of other guards covering the only way out of the court, Joan again turns to Ruth and her Hunt powers. Ruth is drained though, how much is too much to ask from her?
They devise a makeshift portal with some rope and nails but Ruth can’t hold the portal she’s created. Their only option is to get caught or risk trying to jump across in the flash of portal Ruth can conjure up. Aaron and Tom make it through, now it’s Joan’s turn… if Ruth’s holding the portal open with what little strength she has left, can she make it through? She doesn’t seem to think so. It’ll be so sad if after two years of searching, Ruth loses Joan again.
As Joan jumps, she grabs Ruth and pulls her through with her! That was a bit of a risk, there’s no way Joan could’ve known that would work!
Conrad is EVERYWHERE though and they run into him again! This time he has a Patel with him and their family power can stop people travelling. Conrad has noticed them and set guards after them. Gosh this is so intense!
Joan makes it to their rendezvous point, and Tom’s made it too! Hopefully Ruth and Aaron aren’t far behind.
…Tom knows Joan took something from the prison cell… And he’s talking not only like he knows what it is, but like he knows who it belonged to? And he wants it from Joan.
He says he wasn’t in the archive… who IS he? Tom says the Transformatio is actually a myth, it never existed and the timeline can’t be changed. I swear if Joan just did all of that for NOTHING, I’ll be so mad!
Tom tells her there’s a message on it. One only he can open and decode. Damn, he really played dumb didn’t he? I had no idea he wanted anything other than to steal some goodies from the Court…
Hoooold up, he also knows Joan doesn’t have the Hunt power, and admits he saw her basically corrode metal with her bare hands. This can’t be good… Gran warned her she couldn’t trust anyone with the knowledge of that ability.
When Aaron and Ruth finally catch up to them, Tom’s back to himself, playing dumb and coy. They decide between them that they’ll head to a safehouse Aaron’s mother told him about.
I’m glad they’re finally getting a chance to rest! I’m tired just THINKING about their last few days.
Another Monster Guard checkpoint, reinforced with Olivers and Griffiths this time, and Griffiths can pull the truth from someone. No rest for the wicked!
Ruth is really, really weak. I’m not at all surprised after the amount of power she’s exerted but I really hope they get to the safe house soon so she can rest.
Aaron tells Joan they were hit with the Patel power leaving Whitehall. They can’t travel the monster way. This really makes escaping sooooo much harder for them!
With another close call, they finally finally get to the safe house safely.
Gosh, so much tension, so much drama!!!
I hope tomorrow will bring an easier day for our Monsters… but I’m not feeling hopeful!
See you tomorrow for our final section, fairies!
Love,
Shannon
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I love the pace of this book. I couldn’t help but finish it.?
So I have a few theories and I’m itching to find out if I’m correct. Can’t continue reading now though, so I guess it’ll have to wait for tomorrow!
Tom is an interesting addition to their group, his ulterior motives are intriguing…I’m still hoping Nick won’t end up dead but at this rate, Aaron is going to be end game for Joan. The Hunt power is odd, but I’m glad they found another use for it!
Ok I get it now. I’m starting to see the attractiveness of Aaron, especially him facing his father to protect Joan at the monster court.
I’m deeply intrigued by Tom and his role in all of this. How does one become an ex-court guard? You wouldn’t think they’d just let them go. Too many secrets. Is he undercover? Still loyal? Who sent him the message and WHAT is it? I’m so excited. These chapter chunks were broken down perfectly. They’ve kept me on my toes and anxiously anticipating the next group.
I still have a crush on Nick, for Joan. There’s just fire there. I want to see if it develops into anything. I’m really curious about the limits of their powers and want to know exactly what all Joan can do!
Is there a book 2? I have to know before I read the ending!
apparently it will be a trilogy!
Aaron and Joan-intense
Nick and Joan-intense
The Monster Court ‘Heist’-intense
This book is so good. I read past the chapters for today because I was so gripped. I haven’t been so desperate to know what happens in a book for ages!
I’m gonna go finish it now!
I’m so conflicted about Nick and it is so obvious that Joan is too, she could have killed him. I’m speculating super hard and can’t wait to see what Joan took from that room and what it means, what those dream keep being of her locked in a prison cell, what her power actually is and how she has while her hunt power vanished and what is Aaron’s situation, we still don’thave much information about him besides that he learly cares for Joan and that he is on the outs with his family. So many questions i hope we get the answers
wow these few chapters were INTENSE. There’s still so much left to be resolved though?? I really hope my questions are answered at the end of this book- I don’t think I can wait for the sequel!
I have a lot of questions about Tom. How did he get into the monster court? He told the others to go late so that the guard would be less likely to check their stamps properly but he was already in there when they arrived. So either he was on the guest list, or there’s something else going on. Is he the king maybe? I don’t think he actually used to be a court guard. Surely one of the other guards would’ve recognised him if he used to work with them? Nobody knows what the king looks like, so there’s a chance that it’s him, but I don’t know why he’d need the help of three teenagers if he was. OR what if the person who was in the prison is the king? Maybe someone forced him to change the timeline and then imprisoned him so that he couldn’t change it back or tell anybody what he’d done. AH so many theoriessss
One of the guards also mentioned that Joan’s power is forbidden. It didn’t seem like such a useful power to me- maybe there’s more to it that she hasn’t discovered yet. I’m interested to know why it’s such a big deal.
Also that Nick scene?? jdahfskjdhfkdjsh
Oh they answered some of my time travel questions today! Yay! Although a lot seems to be based on assumptions…
I love that Joan is still questioning the morality of all of this. Aaron’s method of stealing hours or days from people could be argued to be only borderline wrong in the grand scheme of things maybe, but yeah some of these other monsters who are going back centuries…there’s no good way that could be accomplished.
And I also love how Nick seems to be questioning a bit too, like clearly stealing time from people is wrong but when he asked Joan if she would have stolen time if he hadn’t basically forced it on her…it felt similar to questioning if killing is wrong if it’s in self defense. I really want to know more of his story.
The Transformatio is bugging me because I keep thinking it’s a typo LOL. I also love that “chop” is the word they settled on rather than insignia or emblem or signet or any other pretty word. Chop. Haha.
I hope we get Tom’s story next, he was definitely intimidating but not necessarily in an evil way.
Well things didn’t really go to plan, but it definitely made everything more exciting!
Wondering what Tom’s deal is and how he knew there would be a message waiting for him. Is the prisoner the reason he’s no longer a Guard?
Also, Nick. He obviously still has some feelings for Joan, so im wondering what his endgame is. He doesn’t want to hurt her but if he fulfils his role as the hero, he’s inevitably going to.
The pacing of the book is so good. It doesn’t rush things but doesn’t linger for too long and has so many twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. Excited to see what the ending brings.
Them last few chapters were so intense and there was so much going on! I honestly don’t know how the book is going to end there’s so many things that could happen from now!
I like to see the good in people too so I’m thinking after Tom helped them hide could he really be a bad person? Maybe he’s just a misunderstood man? I kinda don’t want him to end up a baddie we already have Nick that turned bad!
My immediate thought after finishing this section, ‘this better not be a standalone’ though I mean if she wrapped it all up and made it one, I’d be super impressed, glad that’s not the case though lol.
Idk I get some bad vibes off Nick. To me Aaron’s all bark no bite and he’s losing that pretty quickly where as Nick..again I don’t know that I would be like ‘oh he’s so hot, I can ignore the fact that my gran died with my hands covered in her blood because of him.’
Not surprised Gran turned her in, seems like we got a lot more digging to do about her, I’d be curious to see Joan’s mum though!
I’m really enjoying the characters but I think that Aaron, Ruth, and Tom kind of steal the show from Joan.
WHAT’S WITH THAT MESSAGE?!
That was a real action packed section, love it! I’m really torn about this Tom character. Can we trust him or not?? It’s definitely an Aaron and Joan romance for me please. I’m just not warming to Nick. He’s not the one for me. Vanessa Len says in her FairyLoot interview that she’s already working on the sequel so I doubt we are going to get everything tied up in this first book x
Get you a man who is sure to bring you flats because he knows that your feet will hurt and/or you’ll need to run away because you’re committing a crime, technically. I’m just saying.
Also I appreciate the Schitts Creek gif bc thats very fitting. So very fitting. That’s interesting Ruth can use the hunt power and they can crawl through a rug, smart thinking!
Nick just seems to be everywhere doesn’t he what the heck!? I can’t figure this guy out, one minute he says he’ll kill her the next he’s all soft. I’m suspicious.
These chapters were intense!
I really liked that the entire palace break in was encompassed in these chapters. What a wild ride.
I can’t wait to see what ends up happening with Tom. Joan’s right, he definitely could have spread the rumor that he was a former palace guard himself. What would he have been fired for? And didn’t earlier in the book it was mentioned that whoever goes into the Monster Court stays there? Clearly after what happened to Kit, it’s apparent that any monster offense is usually dealt with execution, exile or imprisonment, at least that’s what was implied. So what could Tom have done that got him fired and released from the Court to go his own way?
I really need to know why he thinks the message was for him. He said as a guard he never went near the archives but then how would he know? I like the idea that whoever was held prisoner WAS the archives. I’m guessing it was a Liu for their perfect memory. Could Nick have gotten whoever it was out before they arrived?
I appreciate that Nick realized Joan wouldn’t have continued to take time from humans if he hadn’t killed her family and forced her to go on the run. I really liked that interaction between them. Maybe he is redeemable.
Definitely worried about Ruth. It was necessary, but she way over extended herself. I didn’t think she’d make it when Joan pulled her through the flash portal.
Still waiting for young Gran to pop up and ruin things for them. And to find out more of Aaron’s backstory, especially what happened with his mother.
This was a great set of chapters.
So much happens in this portion of reading, I flew through! *failed* heist and now on the run. I wish there’s some artwork of Ruth – she did so much. There’s so much unknown and seemingly random pieces of the puzzle – I feel as lost as Joan.
This was so intense.
And all the feelings:
Joan and Aaron.
Joan and Nick.
And this is the second time that Joan was talking about her childhood nightmare and maybe it has something to do with her special power. Maybe it’s not a nightmare but a memory.
And i think that the Transformatio is a person. Maybe a monster with a special power, too.
And I think Tom is not bad at all and he’s not looking for something but someone.
I absolutely loved the tension, drama, and being on the edge of my seat during their escape from the guards and Conrad. I can’t wait to see if they actually talk to Tom’s bf. I’m just assuming he’s his bf at this point. I have so many questions!!!
Oh my this book is intense yikes
OMG Joans power is so intriguing what if she is the key to changing the timeline and everything especially with that dream she mentioned she must have been in such a prison too but was that hers or who else is as important as her. hmmm
I want Aron and Joan to be together he clearly likes her or maybe he is protecting her I mean Olivers can see and what if he sees who she truly is hmmm but I hope its love that is just my romantic side hoping hehehe
I get how some want her and Nick to be together because of the lovey stuf from the beginning of them kissing and all but I could never forgive someone that killed my family he is lucky Joan is kind and maybe still has some feelings for her because I wouldn’t be so nice. He would be in trouble with me even at the restaurant geez
ooh another thought just clicked in my head what if Nick and Joan are somehow connected and that’s why she feel the pool towards him hmmm I need to finish this book now I need to know. hopefully there will not be any cliffhangers oh boy especially with them knowing she might have different powers now how will they except that
So much is happening! I wonder what the message is that Tom wants so badly. Also I need to know more about Joan’s power and how is Nick still able to move around in the monster world? Can’t wait to read the ending tomorrow
Omg it’s part of a trilogy!!!!!
Can I just say Aaron’s sense of fashion is endearing? I am also drawn to the star-crossed love between Nick and Joan. I hope it won’t come to one killing the other.
I couldn’t control myself and I already finished. So I’ma see myself out and jump to the post for the final section!
Tom runs so hot & cold, I’m not sure what to believe of him, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s more good than not. I’m worried about Ruth. She used unbelievable power at the Monster Court – twice – but is really feeling the effects now. (Btw, how crazy was that Paleolithic Era bubble moat thing?) They’ve been mired by, I’m assuming, THE most powerful Patel. They have Conrad “The King’s Reach” Nightingale after them & pulling in every available Court Guard in his 500-600 year territory. Oh, & NICK the human “hero” just happened to slip into the Monster Court when Joan, at least half-monster, barely made it so that he could almost kill her again? Which, I’m wondering why he’s not… That’s twice now without the excuse of cameras as witnesses. Is it really only because she saved his life that 1st time & that he feels responsible for her stealing time again in order to flee him the 2nd time? Seems like there’s a lot more to unpack there. Also, the King’s Artifact is a PERSON? Is there any connection to that prison cell & the 1 in Joan’s recurring nightmare? Why did her Hunt power fade? Where is this new power coming from? Does Tom know anything about it? Is that white plastic square she found really a message for him? 4 chapters & an epilogue left feels like a helluva cliffhanger is coming. ?
So much going on during this section!
What is up with Tom?! I admit I have already read this but seriously….this entire section! Tom is so suspicious acting at this point!
But, I adore Aaron. He definitely has feels for Joan and I LIKE them together. I want to just push Nick away. Because, Nick has feelings for her, too. That is really obvious and I have a really bad feeling about what that means or what is going to maybe happen…
I LOVE everything about the Monster Court and how it appeared and how you get in. That is just cool and unique!
Ruth can do some amazing things with her family power! But she is willing to sacrifice herself so willingly and I want the others to watch over her and make sure she doesn’t just drain herself totally.
So…what’s the plastic thingy Joan took from the prison room (well, i mean…i finished the book so I know but we finally get to talk about that next time)? 🙂
Well, I caved in and did not stop until the end of the book, oops! The pacing is too good!
Wowowow. That’s all I can say after reading these lastest few chapters! I feel like the more I read about this world, the more of the plot holes are filled in, and I really appreciate that! I am very intrigued about Tom now. I have a few theories about him, and I really hope neither of them is true. One is that he actually the King and the other is that he’s on the side of the hero; however, I really think that neither of those is correct, and there’s some other “side” that we don’t yet know about. I am also extremely interested to know about who the prisoner was in that cell. My initial thought is that the “Transformatio” is a person with a particular power that the King leeched off of, perhaps it’s Nick himself or a family member who had the ability to time travel without stealing the time. We still don’t know how Nick came about this power either. I am also really interested to know more about Aaron’s mother. She had secret hideouts away from the Court? And we know she was executed, was that also the time that Aaron was removed from the position of heir of his family? I still have so many questions, and there’s not that much book left to answer them! I feel more plot twists and cliffhangers coming!
Oooo I’m curious as to why Aaron was removed from the Oliver line? What did he do and why would his mother tell him about a safe house? Who does he need to be safe from?
Do I trust Tom? I don’t know ? if he wants to help decode the message, he has a funny way of showing it.
I take back what I said about Ruth, I really felt for her in these chapters. Using most of her energy to open up the bridges for everyone to cross over. Give the girl a medal! And a hug ?
So Nick can’t be human, because all other humans had frozen in time?! So how did he get to the gala and remain himself ? I still think its weird how no one has ever seen the King so he could literally be anyone?
He could even be someone we know …..
I’m almost finished with it but I have to come here to say:
This was INTENSE!
I didn’t know what to think when I started it but now, I have to know what is going on. But this is a trilogy so please don’t end in a cliffhanger. Please!
The only thing I’m not very enthusiastic is the romance…. Because, how you forgive someone who killed your family ? I can’t see Nick as love interest. Opponent, the same side of the coin as the Darkling was to Alina, ok. Love interest nah.
So much intensity in this section!! The whole party in the suspended-time palace gave me the creeps. I loved the scary scenes of Joan wandering through the completely empty palace, not a soul in sight… chilling!!
I wonder if Joan’s power has to do with time ? the mention of “ore” and “stone” is throwing me off! Looking forward to the ending ?✨
I still have a lot of questions… why was Aaron’s mother executed? Is Joan’s mother really dead?
Who is the King and why did they change the timeliness?
How is Nick traveling through time if he’s not a monster?
What is Tom up to and who was the prisoner? Can we trust Tom or not?
I did not see that coming. Tom has been playing the drunken fool all along while having ulterior motives of his own!
Why did he say the message was for him? I am just as intrigued as Joan? I need to know!
What about Nick? How was he able to enter the palace if all the humans were frozen in time? He says he’s human and not a monster, but that can’t be right. What is he?
And the archive was just an empty cell. At first I thought it might have been Joan’s cell from another timeline, as she kept having those recurrent nightmares. Then I thought it might have been her mum’s cell and that she wasn’t actually dead like Joan thought. But then Tom kept referring to the archive as a he, so I am confused now. Also, could it be that the Transformatio device is a person?
And what’s up with all those intense looks Aaron is giving to Joan? Is just the feelings he has for her or something more?
Sorry guys I am a little behind on the readalong but I’m back! ?
The phrase ”you’re important” got me like awnn ?? … there are feelings here… there really has to be!
Joan’s entrance in the Monster Court was very clever of her! But do they count the number of people? But this is almost mission impossible…. I’m always waiting for something to go really wrong and it’s killing me! my anxiety is almost at its maximum limit! ?
Wtf why a prison here and why the secrecy about it? and why the hell is it considered a ‘treasure’ for the king?
I couldn’t figure out how Joan got lost from the rest, but of course it had to be at this point she meets up with Nick…. but he doesn’t do anything to her and even warns her that the guards are looking for who sneaked in!?
This Hunt power is gaining more and more points!!! Who knew that a power to ‘steal and hide’ things would also be able to create ‘bridges’ between times!!
And once again Joan showing how crazy she is! (she must have a death wish)
I’m very confused by Tom’s attitudes! Can we trust him or not?
I ended up not stopping at chapter 19. I really enjoy the pacing of this book and feel it’s really good at sucking you in quickly. I’ll comment more on the day 5 since I read too fast ?
Okay what is Tom’s deal!? Who was the prisoner? What was the message? What is with Joan’s mysterious power? Who is she really? Who can we trust?? ? I am so into this story I need to know what happens! Also what is Nick’s deal? He promised to kill Joan if he saw her again but neither of them could bring themselves to do it… what is this bigger picture that I’m missing?!
– It seems to be alluded to a couple times in this section that the Oliver power of identifying other monsters only works if they can look them in the eyes.
– Aaron holding on to the dog when they were trying to escape from the Archives was the cutest.
– I half expected Aaron to turn up during the Nick and Joan scene and then there would be sufficient amounts of misunderstanding and angst.
– It seems like Joan’s secret power is turning things to stone, but I’m wondering if that also works on people and that’s why Tom was staying away from her during their confrontation along the river.
– Given that this is supposed to be a trilogy, I hope some of these plot lines get wrapped up by the end of this book!
It’s getting really intense! I thought the prisoner might have been Joan’s mom? But Tom is referring to them as a ‘he’? So I guess he must know him, so it can’t be Joan’s mom. So many questionssssssssss, I can’t wait to see where this is going!
I fell behind in the readalong so I’m catching up now and whoa!! That was a very intense section!!! I liked Aaron from the moment we met him (I know he didn’t stop his dad from wanting to kill Joan but he said SOMETHING and his dad is clearly terrible, what could he really do?!) and this section made me fall even more! Despite the tension filled scene with Nick, I much prefer Aaron. I need to know what happens next, so back to reading I go!
Ahhh this section has made it just that much harder for me to pick who to ship Joan with. I feel like the chemistry between her and Nick is INSANE. But also Aaron has proven to be a much more complex guy then I ever thought and I could see her falling for him. Ah! Everything about this book is thrilling me.
I really like Aaron, he gives me Draco Malfoy vibes. I’m want to know whats Joan power really are, and from what family.These chapters were so intense, for a moment I thought that Ruth was going to do something to Joan, like leaving her but nop. ?