How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 600

Elodie's brows knit ever so slightly as she glanced at Jarrod, the movement so subtle it barely registered.

She was surprised, of course, but more than that, a creeping sense of strangeness settled over her-something she just couldn't rationalize.

It had been ages since Jarrod last wore his wedding ring. So long, in fact, that she couldn't even remember when he'd stopped. For years, she'd been the only one still wearing that symbol of their marriage, clinging to the illusion of happiness, keeping up appearances for a life that only existed on the surface.

She used to tell herself it was because they both worked at The Silverstein Group. Perhaps if they both wore those rings-designed by some celebrated French jeweler-it would be too conspicuous, too easy for prying eyes to connect the dots.

So she never asked.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn't about keeping things discreet at all. He simply didn't want to wear it.

His grandmother had asked about the ring countless times, reminding him to put it on, even if only at home. Yet Jarrod never agreed. He always brushed it off.

It was never about pretense. It was his own unwillingness.

After a while, Elodie just assumed he'd lost the ring altogether. She'd believed that for so long-until now.

left no room for

silence the rumors and speculation that had

He made no effort to hide it, and soon enough, people around them started to notice. Their

if the gossip had any truth to it, why would he bother with

and the smile at the corner of

you're not usually one to attend these events. What brings you

oblivious to the shifting glances. He stood calmly at Elodie's side. "There were some baseless rumors floating around today," he said, voice even. “I was worried it might upset my wife, so I cleared my schedule to be here

A perfectly reasonable answer.

who was listening, it struck

from the sidelines remained impassive, but the ones

anymore? The man himself had shown up to set

strange mix of emotions. Jarrod's actions, intentional or

nothing more than a public denial, even if he used the uproar as an excuse to prepare his grandmother for a future divorce, she'd likely just blame it all on a

the internet forgets.

story would

as the "injured