After her reconciliation with Vronsky, Anna Karenina begins preparing for their departure. They had each conceded, so they may leave on Monday or Tuesday. (She now realizes it was possible to rearrange his meeting if he had wanted to.) When Vronsky joins her, she has several more pangs of doubt and resentment but the plan remains in place. At breakfast, Vronsky receives a telegram and hastily tries to get rid of it. Anna Karenina insists on reading it when she discovers it is from her brother in St. Petersburg.

Stepan Arkadyevitch writes that he is doing all he can but a divorce does not seem likely. Anna Karenina reads the telegram with trembling hands and reminds Vronsky that the divorce no longer means anything to her so he did not need to keep it from her. (She now realizes that Vronsky is a man who would hide correspondence from her.) The argument begins again: he wants definiteness; she cares only about love.

As they talk about love, their future together, and more children, the argument escalates. Anna Karenina does not understand why love is not enough and assumes his desire for more children is proof that Vronsky does not prize her beauty. Vronsky wants the divorce for her sake first of all, but she does not listen to his words and interprets anything he says to her own point of view.

She can see now that everything she does or says is an irritation to him, but that does not stop her. Anna Karenina says his mother is a heartless woman who is obviously trying to arrange a different match for her son; though Vronsky asks her not to speak disrespectfully of his mother, she continues her rant by saying she is not a good mother if she does not respect the choice her son has made. Their argument is mean and ugly and would have continued if Yashvin had not entered the room. While there is a “tempest in her soul” and she senses that this is a turning point in her life, Anna Karenina stays in the room, quells the storm, and visits with their guest. Yashvin knows he interrupted an argument and asks when they are leaving for the country.

Vronsky says they are leaving tomorrow, and Anna Karenina confirms it, giving Vronsky a look which says to him clearly that there will be no reconciliation this time. Yashvin is a gambler, happy when he wins and has money in his pocket but content when he has nothing. That is why he has never married, though he has been in love many times.

Before he leaves, Vronsky goes to Anna Karenina’s room; she considers trying to avoid his gaze but looks straight at him with cold eyes and asks what he wants. He needs some documents, and his tone clearly tells her that he will not engage her in a discussion because it would be futile. As Vronsky walks away, he reminds himself he is not to blame for her misery and if she chooses to punish herself that is her choice.

When he comes home late that evening, the maid tells him Anna Karenina has a headache and must not be disturbed.