Elodie couldn’t quite understand why they needed to go through the motions when Jarrod’s grandmother wasn’t even there to witness it.

Besides, wasn’t the most urgent thing for Jarrod right now to find Sylvie and deal with the day’s “scandal”? Sylvie was probably reeling from such a public humiliation—no doubt it was the first time she’d suffered a blow like this. She would need Jarrod to comfort her.

“Your address,” Jarrod said, glancing over at Elodie. “It’s late, and driving at night isn’t safe.”

He didn’t seem inclined to compromise.

Elodie didn’t bother arguing. She leaned forward and entered her apartment address into his GPS.

The drive was silent.

Just before they reached her building, Jarrod’s phone buzzed on the console, the sudden noise jarring in the otherwise quiet car. Elodie instinctively glanced down. The screen lit up with an incoming call—”BB”.

She looked away, but Jarrod made no move to hide the call. He answered it directly.

Sylvie’s voice came through, tired but steady. “Jarrod? Are you done over there?”

“Yeah,” Jarrod replied.

She was clearly affected by everything that had happened, but she tried to pull herself together. “Did I cause you trouble? You had to admit to things with Elodie this whole mess must be affecting you too, right?”

Had to admit? Elodie noted the way Sylvie put it-and she wasn’t wrong.

Jarrod’s voice was cool, emotionless. “It’s fine.”

“I just… I’m not sure how to explain things to everyone else going forward. What do you think I should do?” Sylvie’s tone grew heavier.

“I’ve got something I need to deal with right now. We’ll talk later.” Jarrod didn’t elaborate.

Sylvie seemed to understand. She knew Jarrod had as much on his plate as she did. After all, he’d gone out of his way to avoid any association with Elodie, but tonight, he’d been backed into a corner.

“Okay, I’ll wait for your call.”

The call ended.

Listening to their exchange, Elodie couldn’t help but feel like an unwelcome third wheel. After all, Sylvie had been planning to propose to Jarrod tonight, only for everything to fall apart in front of everyone. Now, instead of celebrating, she was left to face the gossip and rumors alone.

If Jarrod’s grandmother hadn’t shown up, Elodie suspected Jarrod would’ve accepted Sylvie’s proposal without hesitation.

She turned to gaze out the window, unmoved by the phone call. Jarrod, for his part, didn’t bother to explain anything further.

Half an hour later, they pulled up in front of her apartment complex-a high-end building in a neighborhood known for its good security.

Elodie climbed out. Jarrod got out as well, standing by the open car door and watching her.

Elodie spoke first. “You know as well as I do that none of this was my idea. I never wanted anyone to know I ve

about our past, and I never wo

brought it up myself. So if you want to take responsibility for admitting the truth, that’s on you. The breach of contract clause doesn’t apply to me.”

That was the point she needed to make clear. If Sylvie hadn’t tried to propose tonight, none of this would have happened.

Jarrod regarded her in the dim light, his tone unchanged. “You’re right. It’s not your fault-it’s mine.”

Elodie felt a bit more at ease after hearing that.

“Now that this clause is out in the open, it’s void,” Jarrod continued. “But you’ll still need to keep the divorce a secret.”

Elodie

been willing to keep up pretense et

then by Lood. If she hadn’t

she wouldn’t have played along with e Silverstein family charade today.

“Fine,” she replied. As long as Jarrod wasn’t blaming her for the exposure, she didn’t care about the rest.

She didn’t bother inviting him up for coffee, just turned and walked through the door.

Jarrod lingered by the car, leaning against it with a weary air, taking in the neighborhood and lost in thought for a while.

Sylvie hadn’t told Selma about what happened. She worried it would upset her. She barely slept that night.

By the time she arrived at Neural Intelligence the next morning, she looked pale and drawn.

The moment she walked in, she could feel eyes on her from every direction.