Jarrod’s voice wasn’t loud, nor was it soft, but somehow every word fell like a gavel, echoing sharply in everyone’s ears.

The room went dead silent. Shock fluttered across every face, some more than others.

Sylvie’s chest rose and fell as she heard those words. She clenched her fingers so tightly her knuckles whitened, trying desperately to keep her composure from shattering.

She was stunned, eyes fixed on Jarrod’s face, searching for any hint of emotion- but he looked as calm as ever.

Jarrod actually admitted to Elodie…

Even Elodie herself was caught completely off guard.

She jerked her head up to stare at the man who’d stood by her side this whole time. Sensing her gaze, he looked down at her and spoke. “I’m sorry, everyone. For various reasons, we never made our relationship public. But we’ve been married for four years now.”

The matriarch’s expression softened almost instantly.

She even managed a small, satisfied nod.

But the rest of the crowd reacted very differently. It was as if Jarrod had hurled a boulder into a placid lake-shockwaves rippled out in every direction, chaos erupting where there had been calm.

Maurice put a hand to his forehead. Now, things were truly falling apart.

The situation had completely unraveled.

Joseph felt as if something had clawed at his chest.

So, after all, they’d never intended to get divorced…

The first to break the silence was Grady, whose face had turned positively ashen. He stammered, his disbelief obvious. “Mr. Silverstein? Then Ms. Fielding…”

He didn’t finish, but everyone understood what he meant.

Naylor felt a ringing in his ears that just wouldn’t stop. He stared at Elodie, who had remained composed from beginning to end, as if he’d just been struck over the head. It was almost impossible to believe.

Elodie was actually Mr. Silverstein’s wife?

Suddenly, he remembered something biting Elodie had once said to him—

His cheeks burned hot, making it hard to breathe.

“This is a question you should ask Ms. Fielding, shouldn’t you?” Henrietta cut in sharply, her tone and gaze as piercing as ever. She’d never liked Grady, and made no effort to hide it.

With those words, she tore away the last shreds of Sylvie’s dignity, leaving her exposed.

Now, every pair of eyes in the room landed on Sylvie. The situation had spun so wildly out of control that she could barely keep her voice steady. Her lips were pale as she spoke, voice hoarse. “I’m sorry, everyone. There’s been a misunderstanding. Today was just Jarrod’s birthday party, not…”

Not a proposal-

She left the sentence unfinished.

She knew she was out of options now. There was no benefit in confronting anyone head-on; the only thing left was to step back and save what face she could.

Even if Jarrod wanted to shield her, with Henrietta present, there was nothing he could do.

Thankfully, she’d been careful-never explicitly calling it a proposal, always leaving herself an out.

After all, it was everyone else who’d jumped to conclusions.

But the facts were now clear.

Henrietta had spoken, Jarrod had made it official.

Sylvie was never the woman Mr. Silverstein meant to marry.

Mr. Silverstein was already married! And his wife was none other than Ms. Thorne-the very same Ms. Thorne from Vista Link Technologies, who’d made such a name for herself recently.

Two people who seemed to have nothing in common, suddenly revealed as husband and wife.

The revelation was explosive.

Everyone in the room was reeling.

“So Ms. Thorne is actually Mr. Silverstein’s wife? You’d never guess it from the way you act around each other…”

“My God! So we really misunderstood everything? Ms. Fielding is just… what, his confidante?”

Someone gazed at Sylvie with a look that was equal parts curiosity and barely concealed ridicule.

Everyone in this circle knew how things worked beneath the surface.

Mr. Silverstein hadn’t said much, but that alone made it clear: Sylvie didn’t even

qualify as a confidante. At best, she was just… a hanger-on.

And to think, they’d always believed Sylvie was the epitome of

elegance-a highly educated

wom

from an artistic family, with the

perfect pedigree and looks to match.

Now, her reputation had been reduced to ruins.

Sylvie heard the subtext in their words. No matter how composed she usually

was, she couldn’t stop her face from draining of color.

Grady watched her retreat, realizing—

She knew about Elodie and Jarrod’s marriage…

It left him feeling utterly disoriented. In his mind, Sylvie had always been the

picture of grace-untouchable, immaculate.