How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

She clenched her fingers and said evenly, "No one wants to get a stye. Just so everyone's aware."

She didn't want to explain, nor did she feel the need to.

Jarrod studied her, his expression unreadable.

"Stop making excuses. If I hadn't caught you, you'd never have admitted it," Octavia complained, glaring at her. "This is so annoying. This is a guesthouse- everything's taken care of here. Why are you even following us around? We don't need you."

For the past three years, to escape her mother's nagging, Octavia often spent weekends or holidays at her brother's place. Elodie had always fussed over her like a housekeeper.

Octavia had gotten used to it, so she automatically assumed that Elodie was using the pretense of looking after her to stir up trouble for everyone.

"What's going on?" Queenie and Ivan came out one after the other.

Ivan glanced at the isolated, outnumbered Elodie and grinned. "Mr. Silverstein, why's the mood so tense?"

Octavia, though young, could read the room. She knew Ivan was, at least in name, Elodie's brother, so she just pursed her lips and fell silent.

But Elodie understood-Ivan was offering her a way out, a chance to move past this.

Sylvie didn't comment, just turned to Queenie. "Let's go grab a bite."

Queenie wasn't interested in the drama either, and left with Sylvie.

Elodie's awkward predicament. "Mr. Silverstein, I'll leave you to your family matters. I'm going to

that Jarrod was parading his mistress around he wasn't going to get

her a look. The girl's shoulders

Ivan's

Jarrod's cool, detached voice snapped her out

met his deep,

gaze was cold, emotionless.

spying on you,"

He almost

Elodie frowned. "Why?"

from her hand. His long fingers tapped the

so stunned her breath trembled. "You actually

this supposed to be some kind

there-then handed

prickle. "Three years ago you managed to

understood-Jarrod still couldn't let go of what happened three years

taken advantage of him when he was drunk. That she'd called in

she explained herself, it all

had nothing to prove

you really worried that your thing with Sylvie will make even bigger headlines?" Her voice was

her a look. "She's different. If photos like that got out, it

was a world of