How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Esmeralda messaged Fleming early that morning, letting him know she'd be out of town on business. Only then did she learn Fleming had also been assigned to the same trip. Without hesitation, he drove straight to the Mercer residence to pick her up so they could head to the airport together.

When Elodie saw the group waiting ahead, she stopped and turned to Jarrod. "It's fine, you should go back."

Jarrod's gaze lingered on her, intense and unreadable. "Call me when you've landed,” he said. "I need to deal with some things at work, but once I'm done, I'll fly out to join you."

Elodie looked surprised. "You don't have to go through all that trouble."

"What, do you expect me to just sit around missing you?" His tone was remarkably calm-on that cool, aristocratic face, the words sounded almost out of place.

She hadn't expected him to take it that far.

"I'll come when I can get away. Then we'll head to New York together," Jarrod said, reaching up to gently pinch her cheek, a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

Even he thought he was being a bit clingy. He'd never used to be like this. Last night, just thinking about Elodie being out of his sight for two months had kept him restless and unable to sleep.

Two months felt impossibly long.

He'd never realized time could stretch out like this.

Elodie, meanwhile, was still thinking about their child. She took a deep breath. "Alright."

She glanced at her watch and waved goodbye to Jarrod.

He didn't move, just watched her quietly.

Elodie waved again. "I'm heading up now, you—"

Suddenly, Jarrod bent down, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her right on the lips, not caring who was watching.

"Wait for me," he murmured, taking a step back and raising an eyebrow, half- smiling.

Elodie flushed, caught off guard. People were coming and going all around them, and some of her colleagues had seen everything.

For a moment, she felt like a lovestruck teenager again. Everything about this felt

new.

Her heart fluttered, but she kept her cool, nodding calmly. "Okay."

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

Jarrod watched until she

disappeared from view. Only then did he narrow his eyes and pull out his phone, scanning Andrea's latest updates. He was keeping tabs on Watts' situation, too. Even though Patricia's matter had been suppressed for now, Jarfod wasn't about to let his guard down.

After making her way through security, Elodie headed straight for Esmeralda. She pulled Esmeralda aside, catching a glimpse of Fleming out of the corner of her eye, and whispered, "Did you two come here together?"

Esmeralda hesitated. "Yeah."noveldrama

"Spent the night together?"

Esmeralda cleared her throat and hooked her arm through Elodie's. "No."

Elodie was genuinely surprised. Fleming had only just come back for his birthday -she'd thought they'd at least have arranged to meet up.

"Come on, let's go chill in the lounge," Esmeralda said, steering away from the topic. She felt that the more she explained, the more it sounded like she was making a big deal out of nothing.

Elodie picked up on Esmeralda's mood-she didn't seem all that happy. She shot Fleming a quick, silent glance but let it go.

This business trip was somewhat under wraps. Their flight would take about ten hours, with a layover before their final destination. Staff from the local office would be meeting them when they arrived.

It was Elodie's first time in this country, and she quickly understood why they needed technical support on the ground.

They landed just after 4 p.m. local time and were taken to a special facility to get settled in. Fleming's group of pilots, including Heath and Adrian, would be staying there for two days before moving on.

Elodie unpacked her things, exhaustion weighing her down. Back home, it was already past midnight. She thought she'd lie down for a bit before calling Jarrod to let him know she was safe.

Esmeralda, noticing how fragile

Elodie looked, immediately

volunteered to help hang up the rest of her clothes, muttering as she worked, "Honestly, they just had to send you, didn't they? I guess the more capable you are, the more responsibility they pile on"