How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

She turned her head, hastily wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. That's when she suddenly realized something was on her finger.

Looking down, she saw it-the wedding band she'd taken off long ago.

Now it was back, slipped onto her finger as if it had never left.

The rush of old memories made her dizzy for a moment.

Jarrod noticed her surprise. "I didn't get to put that ring on your finger myself the first time. After all these years, Elodie... don't take it off again, okay?"

A heaviness settled over Elodie's heart.

To be honest, she'd worked through a lot during Jarrod's days in the coma.

Seeing the ring now, she didn't even feel the urge to reject it anymore.

But at the moment, her mind was somewhere else entirely.

She'd pushed herself down so hard for so long, never letting herself break or cry, never giving herself an outlet.

The tears had caught her off guard, triggered by Jarrod hitting a nerve she'd kept hidden for years.

All her life, there'd never been anyone who chose her-truly chose her-without hesitation.

Not even Malcom, not even Ivan.

Malcom had always given his attention to his illegitimate daughter; Ivan's love always came with conditions.

So, for as long as she could remember, the only thing she'd truly wanted was her own child, someone who would be bound to her, someone who'd always choose her in return. She and her child, forever facing the world together.

But Jarrod

was the man she'd fallen out with so badly,

absurd. Things never lined up the way

when he caught sight of her tear-streaked face, something inside him cracked. He couldn't help but reach out to

fingers unconsciously tracing the diamond ring on her left hand. "You've got a lot of patience,

again, cupping her face in both hands, carefully wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "You need to focus on getting your strength back. The wound might be small, but after being sick for so long, you need time to

"What news?"

can't say yet. It's not the

eyes and gave up trying to get a straight answer out

Jarrod's gentle persistence, the storm inside

that afternoon,

bed on

the same time, she heard

1.n

bastards in a hospital now too," Rosemary grumbled, her hands shaking with anger. "He got himself into trouble-someone finally decided to get back at him. Broke every bone in his arms and legs, I heard. He's in bad shape, and after they patch him up, he's headed straight

spoon hovering over the bowl

"Revenge?"

no surprise. He's made plenty of enemies. Now that he's fallen from grace, there's a long line of people

Elodie suspected it wasn't that

too perfect-right before Malcom was about to

age? He'd never be able to care for

His life was over.

honestly? She'd stopped hoping for anything from Malcom a long time

even the memory of

that ledge, could

only