How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

When Elodie woke up, she felt weak and lightheaded, her limbs heavy as lead. As she stirred, Freya's voice rang out in relief, "You're awake! Are you feeling okay? Anywhere still hurt?"

Elodie turned her head. "Why are you here...?"

Freya helped her sit up, fussing over her. "My brother and I brought you to the hospital. He's gone to print your test results. We were worried something was wrong, so we had them run every check-"

"What floor is he on?" Elodie's face changed. She threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Freya blinked in surprise. "He's right on this floor."

Ignoring the lingering ache in her body, Elodie hurried out.

She made straight for the self-service printer in the hallway. Sure enough, Joseph was there, waiting as the machine spat out paper.

Elodie rushed over and yanked the report out before he could react, clutching it tightly.

"You're awake?" Joseph looked both surprised and concerned. "What are you doing out of bed?"

was still racing, and she pressed her lips into a tight line.

guard by the frost in her gaze, hesitated a moment before handing it over. "Sorry. It

hadn't noticed anything unusual

condition, Jarrod would know soon enough, and then

let her keep her dignity. He might even go to her family, use her illness as an excuse to break things off, and she couldn't

"How much were the medical bills? I'll

lips together. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing. You still look pale, though. The test results are

Elodie replied, her voice cool and

you were unconscious, you kept

up even in her sleep, whispering softly

she endured to end up

Still, send me the total cost later, please. I want to

the message—she

let me take you

shook her head. "That's not necessary.

pressed his lips together, an unexpected sting of defeat in his