How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

He would never let Elodie shoulder everything alone again.

He didn't mention anything about the Harcourt family.

But Elodie understood.

She realized, perhaps, that whatever was going on with the Harcourts was no simple matter.

So she wisely refrained from pressing him further.

As for the surgery-

"Thank you." She knew Jarrod had gathered nothing but the world's top

specialists for her, and the least she could do was express her gratitude.

With her life hanging in the balance, this was hardly the time to fuss over pride or dignity.

Besides, Jarrod had helped her so many times, overtly and behind the scenes, she'd lost count.

"If you really want to thank me, then cooperate with the treatment. I won't accept anything less than a smooth recovery-no surprises, no setbacks." Jarrod stood, his gaze fixed on her pale face. His voice caught in his throat before he continued, softer, "Elodie, you're the only one I'm responsible for. If you're worried about your grandmother and uncle, then you need to fight through this—no matter what. Let me put it this way: if anything happens to you, I won't be the one looking after them. That's your job, not mine."

He finished.

Gently, he patted the top of her head.

and walked

let Elodie see the

Elodie knew exactly what kind of emotion was behind Jarrod's so-called

Maybe, just maybe...

He was truly afraid.

resort

unconsciously

old family estate, Jarrod noticed a call from Malcom flashing on

He ignored it.

he drove straight back

knew guests would

on Elodie's mind-he needed to resolve it

Jarrod headed upstairs, Andrea hurried to catch up and brief him. "Mr. Silverstein, President Harcourt of Harcourt Group

"Send him in."

barely sat down before Malcom

exhausted-clearly weighed down by pressing troubles-but his eyes brightened when he caught sight of Jarrod. "Jarrod, finally!

days had not been kind to Malcom. He'd expanded a project, convinced the team was reliable, only for things to unravel. Just two days ago, major issues surfaced:

not just from banks, but also leveraged Jarrod's name-his son-in-law's reputation-to

project collapsing, he

for Elodie's help. And yet, his own

him, heartlessly ignoring her father's

nothing, just watched

restless, anxiety bleeding into his voice. "Jarrod, about