Elodie found herself at a loss for words.

Her brows knit together in a reflexive frown.

The last thing she wanted was any hiccup in the divorce proceedings. Even if she never wished to cross paths with Jarrod again, she knew she had to think about the bigger picture right now.

She paused, weighing her options, before letting out a slow breath. “Is that all right?”

Jarrod’s gaze lingered on her, something unreadable flickering in his dark eyes. He gave a careless half-smile. “Whatever works for you.”

The remark struck Elodie as oddly ambiguous.

There was something off about it, but she didn’t have the energy to untangle it

now.

She entered Jarrod’s new phone number into her contacts and, after double- checking, felt a sense of relief.

Jarrod glanced at his phone, scanning the call log with Elodie’s number on it. His expression remained impassive.

Elodie checked the time.

She’d only come by to check in. Now that Mrs. Bennett had retired to her room for the evening, Elodie had no intention of lingering. She picked up the box containing the watch Mrs. Bennett had given her, ready to leave.

She’d barely turned around when a large hand closed gently around her arm.

“Wait,” Jarrod’s voice called from behind her.

Elodie instinctively frowned and turned back.

He caught the flicker of discomfort in her eyes and released her at once.

“I’m not staying tonight. You can relax and get some rest.”

His words-

They seemed meant to reassure her, acknowledging her reluctance to spend another night under the same roof.

Last time, Elodie had insisted on leaving even though it was nearly eleven at night. Now, Jarrod took a step back, his gaze dark and steady. “It’s not always safe driving at night.”

With that, he brushed past her and left the room. No drama, no hesitation.

She couldn’t deny she’d been worried about the awkwardness of spending the night here, especially after the divorce. She hadn’t expected Jarrod to make the decision so easy for her by leaving himself.

It wasn’t until after he’d gone that she realized she’d forgotten to ask him for the receipt for the necklace.

Rubbing her temples, Elodie made a mental note to ask him next time.

For now, as long as she could reach Jarrod when it was time to finalize the

divorce papers, nothing else really mattered.

Jarrod was gone.

Elodie stayed the night.

Early the next morning, she packed her things and drove away.

After getting everything settled at VistaLink Technologies, she arrived just in time

to catch the tech team in the middle of a lively conversation.

The moment they spotted her, one of them called out, “Ms. Thorne, have you heard about Neural Intelligence? It’s making waves everywhere-word is, Mr. Silverstein of The Silverstein Group is already recruiting top talent.”

Galen chimed in, “I was at Nexus Analytics yesterday Jason said Neural Intelligence is offering generous stock options. All the best people in the industry are clamoring to get in.”

Everyone knew Neural Intelligence was backed by Mr. Silverstein.

That name alone spoke volumes.

If you landed a stake in the company’s first round of equity, who wouldn’t be tempted?

Neural Intelligence was still in its early stages, but it was already setting the bar high.

Elodie hadn’t thought it would go this far.

She’d assumed Jarrod would, at most, bring Sylvie into The Silverstein Group,

give her a fast track to success. Who’d have guessed he’d go so far as to start a company for her-one positioned as a direct competitor to VistaLink Technologies.

By lunchtime, Esmeralda stormed in from outside, slamming the door and dropping into a chair. “You’ll never guess who I ran into near Neural Intelligence- Selma. She looked so pleased with herself, you’d think she’d laughed her way out of her illness.”

Neural Intelligence’s new offices were still being fitted out, but that mother- daughter duo’s arrogance only seemed to grow by the day.

Elodie didn’t even blink, her gaze fixed on the new project plan on her screen. “Where’s Alex? I’ve just finished a new draft.”

Esmeralda, relieved by Elodie’s calm, grinned and scooted her chair closer. “Is this for the new project?”

Elodie arched an eyebrow. “Yes-about our next venture in clean energy. What others do isn’t our concern. All we need to focus on is making sure VistaLink Technologies comes out ahead in the new market.”

Esmeralda shot her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Most people would be rattled by all the drama and gossip swirling outside, but Elodie had always had a strong, steady heart.