How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

She turned around calmly.

Watts was standing just a few steps behind, his expression unreadable.

He watched her, thoughtful, as if weighing something only he understood.

"How am I supposed to sleep when there's still no word from Jarrod?" she replied, sidestepping his question with the safest answer she could muster.

Watts slipped one hand into his pocket, a faint, elusive smile tugging at the corners of his eyes. "I thought maybe you just didn't trust me. Maybe you were planning to run away."

His words sent a chill crawling up Elodie's spine for no reason she could name.

She met his gaze head-on. “It's the middle of the night. I'm in a foreign country. Where exactly would I go?"

Watts shrugged. "Fair point. Things are a little chaotic around here right now."

Quietly, Elodie slipped her phone back into her coat pocket, then started walking slowly toward the house. "How are my colleagues doing? Are they alright?"

"They're fine. I'm planning to arrange for them to head home tomorrow," Watts replied breezily, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

But Elodie's guard was up-more than ever before.

She used to think of Watts as a bright, easygoing young man, open and sincere. But after everything that had happened, she realized how dangerous he truly was -far more than she'd ever imagined.

She walked toward the house with a calm, unhurried stride, giving nothing away.

Watts simply matched her pace, walking beside her.

He'd never really thought about it before, but now, just strolling quietly like this, it almost felt... pleasant.

Elodie stopped at the front door and finally looked at him. "How long do you plan to stay here?"

Watts enjoyed talking to her, so he raised an eyebrow and replied, "Depends on work, really. But, to be honest, things aren't looking stable around here. How about I take you back home tomorrow?"

Elodie's gaze darkened. "Mr. Aldridge, you do realize my husband's still missing? Would it really be appropriate for me to leave now?"

The affectionate way she said "my husband" made Watts' smile falter, just for a second.

He'd never minded that title before, but now, hearing it from her lips, it grated.

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He leaned back against the railing sitting so he could look at Elodie at eye level. For once, his face was free of that usual sharpness or bravado; he looked young, even gentle.

"I said I'd help you find him. Your safety comes first. Besides, everyone back home is worried about you. Wouldn't it be better to go back for now?"

As he spoke, something flickered in his eyes—something he himself didn't fully grasp. He reached out, as if to take her hand. "I'll go with you."

With Elodie, it was different. Other women held no appeal for him; he never cared

to get close. All these years, aside from Patricia Aldridge, no one had ever caught his eye.

But Elodie made him want to get closer, to cross that invisible line.

Elodie took a step back.

She avoided his touch, deliberately and unmistakably.

The movement froze the faint smile at the corner of Watts' mouth. In that instant,

he seemed to see straight through her—her dislike, her resistance.

Was she... was she repulsed by him?

A bad feeling twisted in Elodie's gut.

Watts wouldn't let her leave, but now he wanted her to go back home. Did he really know nothing about Jarrod's situation?

"This is personal-it's between me

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and my husband. I'm not leaving him behind. Thank you for the offer, M Aldridge, but I'd appreciate it if you'd just arrange for me to leave tomorrow. I won't take up any more of your time."

Watts saw right through her calm exterior to the resolution beneath.

Her loyalty to Jarrod blindingly clear.noveldrama

"He's really that important to you?" he asked, unmoving, just watching her.

Elodie answered without hesitation. "Yes."

Watts' mouth twisted into a thin, hard line. He straightened up and leaned down, meeting her eyes with a sudden, almost cruel intensity. "And what if I told you there's a very good chance Jarrod's already dead?"