Elodie felt as if a fist had closed hard around her heart, draining what little color remained from her cheeks.

The air conditioning kept the house at a perfect temperature year-round, yet at this moment, she could have sworn she was trapped inside a walk-in freezer.

She stayed silent. After several seconds, Jarrod finally looked away from her face. "Sylvie's mother is getting worse. Her only wish is to see her daughter taken care of, to feel she isn't alone. Just keep your head down and be a good Mrs. Silverstein. I won't touch you."

He made his infidelity sound almost noble.

Won't touch her?

Elodie stood there, stunned, for a long moment then suddenly let out a laugh, struggling to keep the ache out of her voice. "If she needs someone at her side, you shouldn't be here with me. You really shouldn't."

With that, she turned and headed upstairs, shutting the door behind her without a trace of warmth.

A few minutes later, she heard an engine start downstairs. Jarrod was gone. She didn't have to guess where he'd gone-Sylvie was waiting.

Exhausted, Elodie dragged herself to the bathroom and splashed her face with icy water. The shock of it sharpened her senses, but did nothing to steady her heart.

She set up her laptop and contacted a lawyer she'd added on LinkedIn three years ago, asking for help drafting divorce papers.

"Ms. Thorne, do you have any special requirements?" the lawyer asked. "Property, car, alimony?"

answered, voice calm. "I

Why would she want

the paperwork goes through quicker. That

lawyer sent over the completed agreement in

was bone-white, but she signed her name, letter by

nursing the pain in her side, she packed

she looked back at the home she'd tended for three years—just

walked out without looking

then arranged for a courier to deliver the signed divorce papers to the front desk at

with trivial things like mail, so she

The Silverstein Group the day

near him at work. Instead, he

years, she'd never taken a single

about passion or even professionalism-it was just her nature to do everything as perfectly

that she'd decided to leave him, there was

was gone, Elodie checked

a fist. She

now.

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