How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

The little fridge was hers alone.

She'd picked out this model after much deliberation; it had long been discontinued, and she was certain it was the same one from before. After all, the surface was still covered with the collection of magnets she'd gathered from her travels.

Noticing her gaze, Cara-who'd been busy all day setting up the new house- came over, opened the fridge, and pulled out a small glass jar filled with dried fruit. "Would you like a snack, ma'am?" she asked, offering it to Elodie.

Cara always remembered Elodie's preferences. Her movements were practiced and familiar, and even the dried fruit was freshly stocked.noveldrama

Elodie had assumed the fridge would be empty. But a quick glance told her otherwise the dried fruit was clearly homemade, and the date on the label was

recent.

"No, thank you," Elodie declined.

Just then, Jarrod strolled in, cup of water in hand, and caught the tail end of her reply.

When Elodie noticed him, she grew a little suspicious.

Did Jarrod like these snacks, too? Was that why the house was always stocked with them?

Jarrod, sensing her stare, rapped his knuckles lightly on the table and drawled, "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I not allowed to like this fridge?"

Only the two of them knew what he really meant.

After all, the whole house had been gutted and redecorated after the wedding, so

it was odd that this one thing remained.

Elodie met his gaze coolly. "It's mine."

Jarrod turned to leave, his tone lazy. "Not for sale."

Elodie was left speechless.

He always seemed to know what she was about to say, always shutting her down before she could get a word in.

Cara, standing off to the side, couldn't make heads or tails of their cryptic

exchange-it was like listening to a conversation through fog.

Jarrod had barely made it to the side hall before his grandmother pulled him into the conservatory.

She glanced back to make sure Elodie was still in the other room before giving Jarrod a sharp smack on the back. "So, the whole world suddenly knows about what happened between you and Elodie years ago. Care to tell me what actually happened? You two barely act like a couple now-don't tell me you've regretted it all this time?"

Jarrod took a sip of water and lowered his gaze. "When did I ever say I regretted

it?"

His grandmother bristled. "Don't play coy with me! You agreed to it yourself. You chose to take responsibility, and yet you've been cold to Elodie ever since. If that's how you felt, you should've left her alone back then."

The truth of what happened that year was complicated.

To the handful of people who knew, it looked like Elodie had schemed her way into the marriage.

His grandmother had indeed

pressured Jarrod to marry Elodie,

but what

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t everyone got wrong was this: Jarrod had confided in her privately, admitting the whole was his mistake, not Elodie's and that he was willing to take responsibility.

She hadn't forced his hand all that much. Her grandson was a hard one to read, but she knew him well enough—if he truly didn't want something, not even the sky falling could make him budge.

As for what mistake he meant... Jarrod had never explained.

Eventually, the marriage went through without a hitch. She'd seen enough of life to recognize when

things weren't as simple as the net

seemed. Based on Elodie's reactions and a string of odd events, she had already guessed the Harcourt family had meddled behind the scenes.

But Jarrod's attitude was the real mystery-he'd deliberately shielded Elodie from blame.

Did he worry she'd take it out on the girl?

She had never intended to. Elodie was not just a Harcourt, but also her own family's child. The news had simply shocked her; she had no real reason to fault Elodie.

She liked the girl, after all. It had all worked out well enough.

Whatever the Harcourts had done had little to do with Elodie.

But Jarrod's insistence that it was his own mistake-that was what convinced his grandmother that he truly cared for Elodie. For years, she'd believed it.

And later, when their marriage hit trouble, she did everything she could to keep them together, hoping they'd find their way back to each other one day.

If she hadn't been so sure Jarrod's feelings had once been genuine, she would never have worked so hard to repair what was broken.