How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Jarrod really did change rooms. Now, so early in the morning, he and Sylvie were coming and going together. There was no doubt they'd spent the whole night in the same room.

Elodie suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

She turned away from the two of them, slipped back into her room, and rushed to the bathroom, trying to throw up—anything, just to get rid of that nauseous feeling.

But nothing came up.

Her appetite had been terrible lately. Maybe things were even worse for her than she'd realized.

Elodie stared at her pale, hollow-eyed reflection in the mirror, a chill crawling up her spine.

People are so fragile, she thought.

At least she could be grateful she'd woken up before things became truly irreversible.

She still had time to become herself again.

With a determined breath, Elodie touched up her makeup, determined not to look so worn out.

She asked the innkeeper to arrange a car to take her back down the mountain. Just then, her grandmother called.

grandmother, Rosemary, was a stern, no-nonsense woman. With Elodie's grandfather gone

mother passed away, Rosemary grew even more quiet-except when it came to worrying about

her throat before answering,

her tone gentle for

her chest. "I'm eating now. Missing

I just finished knitting two scarves for you and Jarrod. The weather's getting colder, and these will keep you warm. When can you come by to pick them

in her eyes. "Grandma, you

insisted. "I know life isn't easy for you, married into a family like his. There's not much I can do to help, so I

of her eyes

beat. "Can you both come by in the

Rosemary had seen Elodie and Jarrod together,

and finally agreed, "Alright. I'll

talk to her grandmother about the divorce he owed her that much. At least they

even the biggest problems had to have a

and take a toll on her health. Better to find a gentler explanation, to

something Jarrod needed to

her room

noticed it was