Chapter 38

Elodie and Alexander both took the following day off, choosing to shut themselves away and rest.

She knew how fragile her health was; pushing herself for no reason had never

been her style.

10:00 p.m.

Jarrod stopped by the house he shared with Elodie that evening.

He paused as he opened the shoe cabinet to grab a pair of slippers.

His dark eyes swept over the shelves, scanning up and down.

Elodie was always calm and a little distant, but she cared about the details of daily life. She loved anything that felt vibrant and alive-so even something as ordinary as house slippers, she insisted on picking out bright, cheerful colors.

Usually, a few pairs in pastel yellow, sage green, or vintage blue would be lined up right next to his black, gray, and white ones.

They were hard to miss.

But now, as he looked, those splashes of color were gone. The cabinet felt strangely empty, dull.

Cara, their housekeeper, came over to take his suit jacket. “Welcome home, sir.”

Jarrod closed the cabinet door. “Where are her shoes?”

Cara glanced at the cabinet, thinking for a moment before answering, “Mrs. Silverstein came by earlier and asked me to throw them all out. I think she wanted to get new ones?”

Jarrod considered this. That was possible.

Just as he’d expected.

Elodie hadn’t come back.

As he loosened his tie, Jarrod pulled out his phone and checked it.

He’d messaged Elodie two hours ago. She still hadn’t replied.

Was she feeling unwell, or just busy and hadn’t had a chance to respond? He couldn’t be sure.

But he didn’t really care.

He’d already made his gesture, hadn’t he?

After a day of rest, Elodie was back at work.

VistaLink Technologies had just wrapped up a major project and landed a new deal. One of the new clients was a tech manufacturing company owned by The Silverstein Group, with the actual production handled by their subsidiary, Nexus Analytics.

It was necessary to review the materials and components. With Alexander away on a last-minute business trip, he assigned the task to Elodie and Esmeralda.

“You sure you’re okay?” Alexander still worried she might be uncomfortable. Elodie gave him a small, reassuring smile. “Business is business.”

Besides, this was just one of The Silverstein Group’s subsidiaries; there was no guarantee she’d run into anyone she knew.

Alexander had to admit, Elodie had a remarkable ability to compartmentalize. She never let personal feelings cloud her judgment. She was always so rational.

When Elodie and Esmeralda arrived at the branch office, they were greeted by Jason, the manager. He recognized Esmeralda as one of VistaLink’s principal shareholders and greeted them with extra courtesy. “Ms. Mercer, Ms. Thorne, right this way.”

Esmeralda was a natural at social situations, but when it came to technical specs and contract details, she left it to Elodie to take the lead.

As a technical partner at VistaLink, Elodie held as much authority as Alexander or Esmeralda.

Jason couldn’t help but glance curiously at Elodie he was surprised VistaLink had sent such a young, striking woman to discuss technical matters.

Elodie noticed his scrutiny but didn’t take it to heart.

She’d been married to Jarrod for three years, always keeping it quiet. Jarrod had never brought her to the branch office.

He was a stickler for keeping business and private life separate, never mixing the two.

He’d never introduced her as Mrs. Silverstein; it made sense no one at Nexus Analytics recognized her.

Elodie didn’t bother to explain. She moved on to examine the samples Nexus Analytics had provided, her calm demeanor shifting into focused professionalism. She asked a few pointed technical questions that went right to the heart of the matter.

Only then did Jason start to take her seriously.

She actually knew her stuff!

No wonder Ms. Mercer brought her along-clearly, there were hidden talents on her team.

Jason’s attitude shifted; he began to engage with Elodie more earnestly.

As Esmeralda watched Elodie, she couldn’t help but feel both proud and a little emotional. This was the real Elodie: talented, resilient, strong, and utterly composed.

She couldn’t resist snapping a photo of Elodie and Jason in deep discussion, posting it to her social feed.

Just as Jason was about to take Elodie to the sample room for further inspection, the main conference room door swung open. Elodie looked up—and saw Sylvie returning.

Sylvie’s gaze flickered over Elodie, but she turned straight to Esmeralda, greeting her with poised confidence. “Ms. Mercer.”

She knew Esmeralda—after all, she was one of the youngest owners at VistaLink Technologies.

Esmeralda gave her a frosty, polite smile, pretending not to recognize her. “And you are?”

Jason jumped up to make introductions. “This is Sylvie Ms. Fielding. She’s Mr. Silverstein’s girlfriend!”