How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

The child Jarrod had brought home so suddenly was like a little bomb dropped right in the middle of the room, setting off a wave of tension.

Before Rosemary had come over, her expression had been thunderous. But as she joined the others and finally got a look at the baby in Jarrod's arms, she abruptly fell silent. Surprise flickered in her eyes, and she glanced at Elodie, who stood calmly at his side.

Maybe the others couldn't see it, but Rosemary had watched Elodie grow up-she recognized those eyes immediately. The baby's eyes were just like Elodie's when she was little!

But that was impossible. She struggled to wrap her mind around it.

Henrietta arrived next, and before she even glanced at the child, her palm landed sharply on Jarrod's back. "Jarrod! You'd better explain yourself! Who is this child, and where did they come from? If you've been fooling around behind our backs, don't think for a second I'll accept it. No child of uncertain parentage is stepping through the Silverstein family's door!"

The old woman was genuinely furious. After all, Jarrod and Elodie had spent years with no children, and Elodie had been undergoing treatment for her health, with no plans for a pregnancy. For a child to suddenly appear out of nowhere— how was she supposed to accept it? How was she supposed to explain this to Rosemary?

Henrietta's slap wasn't gentle, and Jarrod winced from the sting. He glanced down at Elodie, who was watching the scene unfold, clearly with no intention of rescuing him. There was a faint, knowing smile on her lips as she met his eyes, cool and unhurried. He realized Elodie was deliberately letting him take the heat.

Lucinda wasn't the sentimental type, and children had never really softened her heart. But the moment she held the little girl, the baby waved a tiny hand and gifted her a beaming, impossibly beautiful smile. Lucinda froze,

Jarrod as she

to get to the

right, Jarrod! I don't want

our family. My friends would have a field day mocking me for having a niece or nephew with no proper status." Octavia, evero dramatic

wasn't some trivial matter-suddenly producing a child out of thin air was

all over his face. Judging by the baby's age, she couldn't have been born long ago. A year back Jarrod had still been with Sylvie Fielding, and Sylvie hadn't been pregnant.

so composed and

the one at the center of the storm, finally spoke up. "You're all mistaken.

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