Esmeralda's outburst cout of nowhere.
Elodie barely had tto react.
Jarrod staggered back two steps under the force, but his core remained steady— he didn't even sway much.
His dark eyes flicked over Esmeralda. If he felt anything, he didn't show it.
Elodie understood; a man like Jarrod never bothered to argue with women about such things.
But Esmeralda's emotions had long since slipped out of her control. Elodie's illness had already pushed her to
the edge; all of her anger now found one target -the man in front of her. "Why is it that someone like you gets to
be just fine? What gives you the right? You cheat, you're cold and cruel, and you left Elodie to carry all that pain
alone—are you even human?"
Esmeralda was beyond furious.
She couldn't hold back anymore.
Nor did she care that the person she was shouting at was Jarrod.
All she felt was heartache and outrage for Elodie.
This anger had been waiting to be unleashed.
Jarrod watched Esmeralda silently, his voice calm, his gaze shadowed. "I get it— you're her best friend, and
you're standing up for her. That makes sense. But I've never seen you this angry before. What happened today,
Ms. Mercer? Mind enlightening me?"
Esmeralda froze, words caught in her throat.
She clenched her fists. "What reason do you want? Is there anything you've done that's innocent? Jarrod, without
you, Elodie's life would be a thousand times better. You're the reason for all of this!"
Elodie had worried Esmeralda might, in a fit of anger, reveal everything.
Thankfully, Esmeralda managed to hold herself back, not letting a single secret slip.
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Jarrod heard her words; his long lashes trembled just slightly.
In certain moments, even he had wondered the sthing—if Elodie would have been happier without him.
He fell quiet for a few seconds, then looked directly at Elodie. "All that twe were together, if there was
something you couldn't bear, why didn't you just tell me-like she does now?"
Elodie felt her throat tighten.
There was a tshe'd thought Jarrod didn't love her anymore—maybe he'd never truly loved her at all.
Women are sensitive about these things; the smallest change in the wind, and suddenly, it's impossible to speak
your heart. Because it feels humiliating.
"Cinside, Esmeralda," she said, taking Esmeralda's arm and punching in the code, not once looking back at
the man standing behind them.
Even though she knew Jarrod was probably waiting for her to cback.
But she'd spent enough of her life waiting around for him.
Jarrod stared at the door as it closed again.
He lowered his eyes, emptiness clouding his gaze.
Elodie had changed so much. She didn't tolerate any more injustice, didn't make room for compromise.
He exhaled, almost a sigh. She was finally moving on, growing stronger. How could he resent that?
The moment they stepped inside, Esmeralda's face was still twisted with anger. "What was Jarrod doing here?"
"He lives across the hall," Elodie replied, setting down her bag. She sounded far calmer now.
Esmeralda looked stunned. “He's not trying to get back together, is he?"
Elodie pressed her lips together, hesitated, and then said quietly, "There's something else | never actually
divorced him."
Esmeralda's eyes went wide.
She needed a moment to process that.
Elodie let out a slow breath. "There
was a problem with the papepyprk.
The SANE neverlpfobessed it so
taernical y, we're still married. And he
has no clue about my illness." The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
"So | figure, sooner or later, we'll have to sort things out. But he doesn't need to know about the pregnancy."
She didn't want to waste energy on
meaningless WAN Son nl
thexpod stayed out of each other's
lives as much as possible. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Esmeralda understood—and honestly, coming from Elodie, it made perfect sense.
That was just who Elodie was: when
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she loved, she gave her whole heart;
but when she decided to draw the line, she never looked back. She cut things off cleanly, never dragging things
out,
Now that she knew the divorce hadn't
gone through, Esmeralda was even
more furious. "You're absolutely right
not to tell him! Jarrod ans every
bit of hg Hehas he) t to know
what'you're going through, no right to
interfere with your choices or your
life. If he tries to win you back, and
finds out you're pregnant-of course
he'll care! But after your surgery, you
should throw it in his face. Let's see if
the almighty Mr. Silverstein can still
keep that smug smile." The content is
on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!