How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 180

Maurice was genuinely surprised.

Elodie was being all businesslike?

Cold, detached, as if they were discussing a merger and not the end of a

marriage.

But that veneer cracked in an instant.

A faint crease appeared between Elodie's brows as she scanned the rest of the agreement. Whatever charitable assumptions she'd made about Jarrod's intentions vanished without a trace.

She'd found the other two conditions.

The first: for one year, she was forbidden from telling Henrietta the truth about the divorce.

The second: unless Jarrod gave explicit permission, she was not allowed to reveal to anyone that they'd been married for three years, nor was she allowed to disclose the exact date of their divorce.

If she broke the terms, Jarrod had the right to defend his reputation and reclaim the house, the shops, the financial settlement-everything he'd promised her. And if she breached the agreement, he could demand "reasonable compensation." The definition of "reasonable" would be up to Jarrod.

Elodie's fingers curled slowly into a fist. She looked up at him across the table.

does this mean?" Her voice was cool, but there was steel beneath

"Which part don't you understand?

we tell your grandmother the

his tone almost gentle.

in a slow breath. "And the

of a smirk.

She knew perfectly well what that clause

preventing her from disclosing their marriage or the date of their divorce to protect

had come into the picture, no one could accuse her of being the other woman. The

was bending over backward to keep

"And

Jarrod

at the box. She recognized it

would have

that effort to bring Baxter here, to negotiate the return of the ring, had been for nothing. Jarrod had intended to

down her spine. For the first time, she wondered if Jarrod had bought the ring for Sylvie at the charity gala simply out of kindness or if he'd planned from the very start to

truth from his grandmother meant Elodie would have to play along with Jarrod's charade, surrendering a measure of her freedom. The other condition was even more insidious-a

Jarrod had offered weren't out of fairness-they were hush money, insurance to keep Sylvie's image

really, it was

"Go on,

sign today. I can negotiate with Mr.