Lucinda decided to be honest-after all, she didn’t even know how Jarrod had managed to convince his great-grandfather to reach out and arrange a meeting with Waldron. That was no small feat.

“Well, let’s just leave it to fate,” Jarrod replied, sounding remarkably calm, as if he already knew how things would turn out.

Lucinda studied him. “What are you really thinking? You could have met with Mr. Ferguson on your own first. Instead, you brought him to meet both me and your great-grandfather. Are you trying to set something up between him and someone

else?”

Sylvie’s reputation had definitely taken a hit lately.

At a time like this, Lucinda genuinely hoped Jarrod would be more cautious.

Jarrod slipped his phone into his pocket, glanced sidelong at Lucinda, and his lips curled in a faint, enigmatic smile. “I thought you liked her.”

Lucinda frowned slightly at that.

But Jarrod was already brushing past her into the next room, clearly not interested in elaborating.

Meeting Waldron at Goldspire today had been completely unexpected.

But it was certainly a shock.

Back in her room, Esmeralda was still sulking. “Honestly, I think Jarrod just wants to help Sylvie because she’s starting to lose ground with you around. He’s pulling every string he can, calling in favors from his mother’s side to pave the way for her!”

After learning just how influential Waldron was, Esmeralda was even more stunned.

And Jarrod’s intentions seemed all the more obvious.

Alexander wandered over and flicked Esmeralda on the forehead before saying, “It might not work out. Mr. Ferguson is notoriously eccentric—there’s no guarantee he’ll even like Sylvie. There’s some tough competition, after all.”

He glanced at Elodie.

It was almost ironic-who could have guessed that after the falling out all those years ago, they’d end up in a situation like this?

“Unless Jarrod can offer Mr. Ferguson something he truly wants,” Elodie remarked thoughtfully. “If Jarrod managed to get him to show up, then maybe it’s not impossible.”

Alexander frowned, considering that.

It made sense.

Still, the fact that Elodie could calmly analyze how her ex-husband was

Vel

going to such lengths for another woman and even meeting the family about it-left him with a strange, complicated feeling he couldn’t quite put into words.

Elodie, for her part, didn’t seem bothered. When you love someone, you just want

the best for them, no matter what.

They all retreated to their rooms for the night.

Elodie took the opportunity to keep working on her third research paper.

She was in the final stretch now-just a bit more editing and it would be ready.

Diving back into her work since returning had broadened her thinking and given her a new perspective, so she felt this paper was her strongest yet, much better than the two she’d published a few years back.

While she was reviewing her latest draft, Esmeralda sent a screenshot to their group chat.

It was a post Sylvie had just put up online.

Sylvie had snapped a photo of the exterior of a grand mansion with classic landscaping, captioned: [Still a bit nervous.]

Esmeralda messaged: [Is she

serious? The Howard family

mansion has been featured in the news-it’s one of Goldspire’s most recognizable homes. Who wouldn’t recognize it? She’s basically announcing to everyone that she’s meeting the family, telling the world that the rumors haven’t affected her at all, and that Jarrod’s planning to marry her!]

Elodie glanced at the photo.

Of course she recognized the Howard Mansion.

She’d visited the Howards in Goldspire a couple of years ago.

Though Jarrod’s great-grandfather was stern, he’d always treated her kindly.

But now, Jarrod was introducing someone new to the family.

Elodie simply replied to Esmeralda with a comforting emoji.

Then, she turned back to her work.

She was determined to submit this third paper as soon as possible.