How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue novel Chapter 726

“My feelings for him—whether it was family affection or any kind of emotional dependence—never once crossed into our marriage.”

Elodie spoke with a calm that came from deep exhaustion. There was nothing left for her to hide; Jarrod knew everything now.

She was done letting him believe that during those three years of marriage, she’d been unfaithful in her heart. If nothing else, she owed herself that much honesty.

Jarrod’s lashes trembled. Red tinged the corners of his eyes as he kept his gaze fixed on her.

Elodie closed her eyes, her voice steady and soft. “Jarrod, I did love you.”

During those three years, she had given him everything—her whole heart, her entire self. But she wasn’t one for grand declarations; her love was quiet, almost weightless in the air, yet it landed in his chest like a stone cast into a still lake, sending ripples through everything he thought he knew.

He felt his heart twist painfully, realizing that in all the years she had loved him, he had only ever misunderstood her.

Elodie was so tired. After those words, she simply closed her eyes and rested, leaving Jarrod alone with a flood of emotions he couldn’t begin to contain.

His ears rang; his vision burned with the image of her pale, narrow face, tinged with the faintest flush. He bent his head and drew a shaky breath, feeling as if her simple confession had nearly undone him. Years of silent obsession and resentment—all of it seemed to dissolve in an instant.

It was enough.

Just those few words from her, and it was enough.

For a moment, he felt as if the clouds parted and he could finally see the sky—he could finally breathe. He sat there, watching over Elodie as she slept, unwilling to leave her side. Her illness felt like a ticking time bomb in his chest, filling him with a fresh surge of dread.

He didn’t know how long he sat there.

Eventually, Jarrod got up and gently tucked the blanket around her before leaving the room to take a call.

Andrea had already gone to handle other matters.