How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Chapter 630

Elodie truly couldn't accept any of this.

She'd convinced herself she'd come a long way—after being told her days might be numbered, she'd worked hard to change her life, and she was both proud and grateful for who she'd become.

It's human nature to run from pain, to stay tucked away in the comfort zones we believe are safe, unwilling to pay the price of real change.

So, given all that, she felt she'd done pretty well to get this far.

Yet behind this supposed "newfound happiness," she realized she still hadn't broken free of the cage that had given her both love and heartache.

And that's why she simply couldn't accept Jarrod's deception and secrecy.

This was a siege laid around her heart, and her heart alone.

She wasn't some computer program that could just delete everything, erase all traces with a click, and move on without a ripple. The pain she'd endured was hers and hers alone; how could she be expected to forget it so easily?

"I'm sorry." Jarrod was staring into her eyes, which shimmered with angry tears. His Adam's apple bobbed as he instinctively reached out, wanting to wipe them away.

But Elodie stepped back, looking utterly spent. Her voice was a tired murmur: "There's nothing left for us to say."

What was she even hoping to win here?

was almost laughable,

Elodie reached for the door and

it shut. He knew Elodie wasn't the type to

I

him with

this from you because I was scared to deal with it. I've always prided myself on never regretting anything, but with you, I second-guess everything. I couldn't make

don't want to see me right now, or even hear me out. I'll be next door, Elodie. When you're ready, when you've had time to process this,

it all in-he knew how much this must

Elodie said nothing.

She closed the door.

she walked over to the couch and sat down, staring at

situation was so surreal-she

rain drummed quietly against the window, the

her mind

wandered again and again to her past with Jarrod all of it: the happiness, the pain, the heartbreak, the

like stabbing herself, and watching him with Sylvie during the divorce proceedings was

for the life

now, after all that pain, she was being told, "You never really broke

more than she

closed her eyes and let out a soft,