How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

"Haven't eaten yet, have you?" Jarrod's gaze flicked over the delivery box on the table before he finally turned to Elodie. "Want to have a bite first?”

Elodie, for her part, seemed to have shed all traces of last night's turmoil. Anyone would struggle to keep their composure after what they'd been through.

She took in the sight of Jarrod, dressed for once in a soft sweater and sweatpants. For a workaholic-Mr. Silverstein, who seemed to live at the office-it was almost surreal to see him home on a weekday.

"No need to trouble yourself," Elodie said, managing to keep her tone even.

"So, what do you think we should do about... us?" he asked.

She met his gaze. "You really want to talk about this now?"

Jarrod knew this moment was inevitable. He lowered his eyes for a second before looking straight at her, searching her expression for any cracks. "Aren't you even the slightest bit curious? About why things turned out this way?"

The real problem was that Elodie wasn't asking anything-not why they hadn't divorced, not why he hadn't left, not why he'd kept silent. She seemed to have given up even trying to care.

She looked at him, calm and clear-eyed. "Your reasons are your own. But I'm the one stuck with consequences I never wanted. Am I supposed to feel something for you, Jarrod? Do you expect some kind of emotional response from me?"

She could admit it-sometimes she was sharp, even harsh. But who could blame her, after everything that had built up over time? She'd rarely lost her temper with him before. After the whole mess with the birth control, she'd backed down once. Not this time. Why did she always have to be the one to compromise?

Jarrod's throat tightened. The look in her eyes was so cold, so bristling, it felt like she could wound him from across the room.

"Is that what you want? For us to be finished, once and for all?" His voice was soft, but he was watching her intensely, as if he could see straight through to her heart. "Even the past three years-do they mean nothing to you?"

She didn't care about his answer. But he needed to know hers.

Elodie regarded him steadily. "Jarrod, if you ever really paid attention, you'd know

I have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to how I treated you."

"Even the reason you married me?" The words tumbled out before he could stop himself.

She flinched, surprised he'd go there so suddenly.

Jarrod realized he'd gone too far and took a breath, stepping closer. "That divorce agreement-remember how unfair and one-sided it was? You signed it without a second thought, just to get rid of me. Did you even care whether it was legal?

He'd watched her sign, not a trace of hesitation in her eyes. Not even when the whole thing was stacked against her. It wasn't the only thing that made the divorce fall through, but it was part of it. He'd been shameless-the lengths he'd gone to, twisting a sure thing into something else entirely.

Elodie's lips tightened. "What do you even want from me?"

"What could possibly want? To cut you open and see what your heart looks like? To find out if there's even a corner left for me? Elodie, what do you think I want?" His voice was gentler now, but there was something heavy behind it, like he was talking about someone else's life. noveldrama

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But that tone, those eyes-Elodie felt her nerves snap taut for a moment.

He hadn't come right out and said it.

But she understood. She saw it.

Her fist clenched, her eyes icy. "So I'm supposed to pay the price for your changing feelings? You regret it, and I'm just supposed to play along?"

How ridiculous.

She'd actually seen a flicker of emotion in Jarrod's eyes. But when she'd needed him most, he'd taken it all away. Who had ever paid the price for the mess he'd left in her heart?

Jarrod fell silent. He realized, with a sharp pang, that Elodie had a way of slicing right to his core with just a few words.

And in her eyes—not a hint of relief or hesitation that their marriage was still intact.