How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

The world around him was still a blur of noise and chaos, people coming and going in a restless tide. But for Jarrod, it felt like the only thing he could hear was the thunder of his own heartbeat.

Elias spoke with the calm detachment of someone who'd merely observed it all- his tone straightforward, unembellished, yet every word was suffocating. Jarrod's usually refined features turned deathly pale in an instant. Something in his dark eyes seemed to shatter, losing all shape and coherence.

"She had to accept things no one should ever have to," Elias said quietly. "Even if it really did come to terminating the pregnancy, I don't think Mr. Silverstein would have had any right to blame her. It was her life at stake. Faced with life or death, what other choice did she have?"

Elias had seen Jarrod back then-seen the confusion on his face as he waited outside the operating room, convinced there'd been some terrible mistake. From Esmeralda's scattered words, he'd pieced together Jarrod's attitude, how it had driven a wedge between him and Elodie.

But Elodie... she was the one who had suffered most. She'd endured agony in both body and spirit, and she'd done absolutely nothing wrong.

Elias knew, as a doctor, he shouldn't let his empathy cloud his judgment. Yet he couldn't help thinking-Elodie had borne far too much.

"She never told me," Jarrod muttered, as if someone had driven a spike through his mind.

Elias kept his distance, his voice level. "She was hurting, Jarrod. She felt lost and overwhelmed. Your reaction determined what she could or couldn't say to you.”

helpless. How could she possibly have handled Jarrod's anger or accusations? What

braced against the wall as he struggled to breathe. Clutching his chest, he bowed his head and

was

what had happened to Elodie he would get

knew that. Even he couldn't forgive himself for the things he'd said, the way he'd acted toward Elodie at her most vulnerable. Every memory of

had to

her composure back then made it hard for Jarrod to breathe. Suddenly, he understood-why should she have to explain herself to him? Why should she be

another hit. Even if we change the surgical plan

it might not work?"

surgery fails, the disease could spread much faster. On the other hand, if we remove the uterus entirely..." Elias looked at the man before him, who seemed utterly

else Elias could say.

before, Elodie's condition would have allowed him to preserve her uterus. There might even have been hope for her to