Jarrod didn’t argue.

But Elodie had changed, in some subtle way, and he noticed.

Now, from across the room, he stared at her—watching every flicker of emotion

on her face, searching for what was real.

The silence between them was broken by the shrill ring of his phone.

It was a call from the office.

He reached for it, meaning to answer right away, but hesitated, glancing at Elodie. “Do you mind if I take this?”

It was as if he needed her permission.

Elodie couldn’t care less about his tone. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as a sharp pain twisted through her abdomen-fierce and sudden. She nearly lost control. In the dim light, her lips went even paler, and her breath trembled as she managed a faint nod.

Jarrod turned aside to take the call.

A man’s voice came through: “Mr. Silverstein, Ms. Fielding’s been adjusting the data all day, but she can’t get the tests right. She refuses to leave, hasn’t eaten a thing. Honestly, it looks like she won’t go home until it’s finished…”

Jarrod frowned, just slightly.

Behind him, Elodie was drenched in sweat. She barely had the strength to reach her bag for her medication by the door. Summoning the last of her energy, she inched forward. “Jarrod…”

He seemed deep in conversation, his voice tense, and didn’t hear her at all.

She didn’t dare gamble with her body. Gritting her teeth, she reached out and grabbed at Jarrod’s sleeve.

But the moment she touched him, Jarrod ended the call, spinning around to snatch his coat from the couch. His movements were abrupt and rushed. As he grabbed his coat, her hand was brushed aside, roughly, without a second thought.

He didn’t notice her condition at all. He was already striding toward the door. “Something urgent’s come up. Get some rest-don’t wait up for me.”

The door opened and closed.

Elodie, left behind, swayed a little from the force of being pushed aside. She looked toward the door.

Jarrod was gone, already out of sight.

He hadn’t even looked back.

Her face, chalk-white, was unreadable. She dropped her gaze, curling into herself on the sofa, trying to make her body as small as possible-anything to dull the pain that tore through her.

Twenty minutes passed before it eased enough for her to move.

She dragged herself to the entryway, opened her bag, and, with trembling hands, shoved a handful of painkillers and her prescription pills into her mouth, swallowing them dry.

Through it all, Elodie felt nothing-no anger, no resentment. She just accepted it, calm and matter-of-fact.

She went back to the sofa, not sparing a thought for where Jarrod had gone.

The medicine worked quickly. The pain faded.

She washed her face with cold water, steadied herself, and picked up her phone.

She typed out one last message to Jarrod:

[You’re free to buy Sylvie as many rings and trinkets as you want, but my mother’s wedding ring will never fit her hand. If you’re willing to sell it, name your price-I’ll pay. If not, when we divorce, it will be returned to me as marital property.]

As long as the divorce wasn’t final, Jarrod couldn’t give Sylvie anything without her being able to claim it back.

She’d never wanted things to come to this. But Jarrod had never left her any dignity.

Just as she sat down, a message popped up from Alexander:

[Can you get in touch with Jason at Nexus Analytics under the Silverstein Group? He hasn’t sent over the project report yet-please chase him up.]

VistaLink Technologies had collaborated with Jarrod’s Nexus Analytics before. She and Esmeralda had visited Nexus; she still had the project group chat with Jason and his team.

Elodie messaged Jason privately.

He replied with a voice note: “Really sorry, Ms. Thorne, something came up today. I’ll send it over in a bit.”

She didn’t bother with his excuses.

[Jason, can you give me a specific time?]

Jason replied again: “Sorry, Ms. Thorne, I’m really not making excuses. It’s Ms. Fielding-you met her last time at Nexus? She’s had trouble with her work today, hasn’t eaten all day, really dedicated. Mr. Silverstein rushed over-he’s worried she’s overworking herself so we’ve all been pulled in to help her. Sorry for the delay, we’re working overtime.”