How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

```

It felt as if he'd been gutted, left with nothing but an empty shell.

A long, heavy silence settled between them.

Lucinda was the first to break it. "Can we talk?"

Jarrod's eyes were icy. "Go ahead."

Lucinda led him to a quiet alcove, then looked up at him. "Your grandmother's worried sick-she's been calling, but you didn't pick up. I managed to calm her down and keep her from coming over to make a scene."

After all, it was supposed to be a birthday celebration.

Not that it hadn't already descended into chaos.

"How's Elodie doing now?" Lucinda glanced toward the patient rooms, her expression conflicted.

She'd never really approved of Elodie before, but she'd never imagined someone so young would fall seriously ill.

now." Jarrod pinched the bridge of his nose, trying

Uterine cancer? How serious is it? What did

prognosis

left her lips before she could stop herself. "Will this affect her

Jarrod turned to look at her

faint, mocking smile. "What

tone confirmed

never have children? And especially not by choice-because you're forced into it. You're at the helm of the Silverstein Group, with the second branch of

in ordinary families, few people would

so for

was just being pragmatic-pointing out a simple

course she couldn't accept Jarrod

a solution," Jarrod said, his voice cold and flat. "You can leave the Silverstein family now, go back to the Howards. Who knows, maybe you'll end

face flushed at the

me be blunt: right now, you might think love is everything, that you're willing to give up anything for her, and maybe that's true-for a while. But ten years from now, twenty years from now, you'll change. You'll start to resent her and regret the choices you made today. That's human nature. Love only lasts for the moment-it's not enough

when regret comes, what

security. Without that, it's just