Watts must have given up.

He turned to leave for the restaurant, but just then, he spotted Sylvie stepping out of a car nearby.

She’d clearly seen him already-her face unreadable, her gaze gliding right over Elodie before she headed straight inside.

As Sylvie climbed the stairs, she frowned for a moment.

Watts had just gotten out of Elodie’s car.

When did those two get so close?

It made Sylvie take a second look at Elodie. Meeting with Watts privately-her intentions couldn’t be clearer.

In some ways, Elodie really did have a knack for these things.

Still, Watts wasn’t the sort of man to be easily swayed.

Sylvie walked over to a table where Selma was already seated. Selma was finally out of the hospital and feeling well enough to come out for dinner.

As soon as Sylvie sat down, Selma asked, “Jarrod’s birthday is coming up-any plans for how you’ll celebrate? Elodie isn’t going to pull any tricks to get Jarrod out of the way, is she?”

“She won’t,” Sylvie replied coolly. “She doesn’t have that kind of influence over Jarrod.”

Selma grinned. “True. It’s your first birthday together. Why not throw him a party? Invite more friends, make it feel special.”

Sylvie’s lips curled in a half-smile. “I’ll talk to him about it later.”

Elodie spent her break time proofreading her thesis, then submitted it without a moment’s delay.

After that, she headed to Nexus Analytics to handle some outstanding equity paperwork with Jason.

There, she ran into Jarrod, who’d come by to sign some documents.

The three of them found themselves squeezed together in the elevator-a tense, awkward encounter.

Jarrod’s eyes flicked to Elodie. She stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Mr. Silverstein,” Jason piped up quickly, greeting Jarrod.

Jarrod gave him a curt nod.

The silence in the elevator was suffocating.

Jason felt his nerves fray-caught between his former boss and his current one, he was the classic middleman stuck in the crossfire.

Desperate to break the tension, Jason Suddenly remembered, “Tomorrow’s your birthday, right, Mr. Silverstein? Ms. Thorne, maybe we should get him a gift?”

It seemed like the right thing to do.

Jarrod said nothing, clearly indifferent.

Elodie didn’t even look up from her phone. Her tone was frosty: “Do what you want.”

Jason understood-she was making it clear she wanted no part in it.

Jarrod understood as well, his eyes lingering on Elodie’s back with a slow, measured glance.

When the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, Elodie gave Jason some quick instructions for upcoming projects and strode off without a backward glance utterly ignoring Jarrod from start to finish.

Jarrod watched her walk away before turning to Jason. “No need for a gift. Just focus on your work.”

Jason nodded, not giving it another thought. Despite everything, he still held a deep respect for Jarrod.

The next day.

It was the weekend. After taking her medication, Elodie headed over to her grandmother’s house.

Her uncle was home, still recovering, but getting better little by little.

She spent the day with them. In the afternoon, her grandmother called and invited her out to dinner at the Royal Opulence Hotel-an informal birthday gathering for Jarrod. Elodie declined, saying she had urgent work to finish.

Her grandmother hesitated, wanting to say more, but dropped it in the end.

But at seven that evening, Elodie’s phone rang again.

“Grandma?”

Her grandmother’s voice came through, gentle but anxious. “Sweetheart, are you

free right now?”

Elodie glanced at the clock. It was already past seven.

“What’s wrong, Grandma?” By this time, her grandmother should have been at Jarrod’s birthday dinner at the hotel.

Her grandmother sighed. “Jarrod

said he couldn’t make it to the family

dinner, told us to eat without him.

1e’

didn’t mention to him I was coming to the hotel early. Your mother-in-law and the others haven’t arrived yet, and now I’m not feeling so well. Sweetheart, could you come and pick me up?”

Elodie’s brow furrowed instantly.

What was Jarrod thinking? He didn’t even send a car for her grandmother?