He narrowed his eyes, a half-smile playing on his lips, but his voice carried no real warmth. “Elodie, why don’t you try asking me nicely? Maybe then I’ll consider helping you out of this mess.”

Of course, Elodie could hear the thick sarcasm in Ivan’s tone. Without dignifying

him with a reply, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Ivan watched her retreating figure, his smile slowly fading.

The way Elodie was willing to put up with so much-she must be in deep.

He stood there, eyes fixed on her back for a long moment.

Pulling out his phone, he snapped a quick picture of Elodie from a distance and sent it to a rarely used contact.

[Mr. Silverstein, Elodie can bite when she’s cornered. She knows about you throwing Mrs. Fielding that birthday party. If she decides to crash it, things could get ugly. Here’s my proposal: how about The Silverstein Group concedes one percent to TerraGreen Solutions? She’s always listened to me. I’ll keep her calm and out of your way so you can enjoy your romantic evening with Ms. Fielding, no drama. Win-win, don’t you think?]

But there was no reply.

His message vanished into the void.

Clearly… Jarrod had chosen to ignore him.

Ivan clicked his tongue in irritation.

Jarrod really knew how to make his indifference toward Elodie obvious.

When Elodie joined Esmeralda, she found her friend frowning, looking upset.

“What’s wrong?” Elodie asked, giving Esmeralda’s cheek a gentle squeeze. Esmeralda snapped out of her thoughts, her gaze complicated. “Elodie, promise you won’t get mad…”

“What is it?” Elodie kept arranging the memorial offerings, glancing up.

Esmeralda hesitated, then grabbed Alexander’s phone and handed it over. “Sylvie posted on Instagram again… Take a look.”

Elodie wasn’t all that curious—until her eyes landed on the screen.

This time, Sylvie had only posted a single photo.

She was leaning against a table, holding a black tie with subtle red embroidery. In the corner of the shot, a man’s arm in a white dress shirt was unmistakably Jarrod’s.

[Goes perfectly with my red dress.]

Esmeralda’s voice trembled with anger. “Can you believe her?”

“She knows today is the anniversary of your mom’s passing, and yet Jarrod shows up dressed like it’s a celebration? What is she trying to pull?”

“She’s doing it on purpose, obviously! We’re here mourning, and those two are off celebrating who-knows-what. Jarrod lets Sylvie get away with anything-he doesn’t know right from wrong anymore. Does he really have to twist the knife like this?”

Elodie’s expression grew blank, her mind elsewhere, until a sharp pain in her palm snapped her back.

Jarrod…

Would he really do that?

He knew what today meant, didn’t he?

Would he really let Selma and Sylvie take such a cheap shot?

Alexander’s face darkened as well.

“I just didn’t expect Jarrod to value Sylvie so much,” he said gravely. “If he did that, knowing what today is… Elodie, it’s like the last three years meant nothing to him.”

How heartless could a man be to treat Elodie this way?

Even strangers have more compassion for each other than that. Was Jarrod made of stone?

Elodie was silent for a long time.

But putting aside the tie for a while now, she’d suspected Jarrod would always choose Sylvie’s side. How could she be disappointed now?

The truth was, it all came back to Jarrod.

Whatever Selma’s motives for throwing her party, the fact remained: they were provoking her. And the only reason they could get away with it was because Jarrod always had their backs.

Because Sylvie and Selma knew, when it really mattered, Jarrod would only stand with them.

“Time’s up, let’s begin,” Rosemary said, walking in with Emile on her arm.

Even though they’d prepared themselves, the reality still stung. Rosemary’s face was pale as she sighed. “If he’s not coming, he’s not coming. We still have to do what needs to be done.”

Suddenly, Elodie felt a wave of guilt toward her grandparents.

She’d put her trust in the wrong person, and now they were suffering alongside her.

In that moment, she stopped caring about everything else. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her grandmother. “Grandma, there’s something I want to tell you.”