How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

The terms had nothing to do with the company; Sylvie had signed them herself.

Which meant that now...

Andrea looked at her calmly. "This agreement was signed in Ms. Fielding's personal capacity. It's not binding on the company, so Ms. Fielding will need to pay an additional sixty million herself."

Sylvie felt her face go rigid, then drain of all color.

She'd completely forgotten about the private bet she'd signed. Even though Neural Intelligence had changed hands, the agreement only bound her, personally.

Jarrod had never brought it up, and she'd taken that as a sign he didn't intend to hold it over her.

She never imagined that, now that she was backed into a corner, the agreement would resurface-

It was the final straw, the one that would break her.

Sylvie stared at Jarrod, disbelief etched across her face. "Jarrod, you're joking, aren't you?"

He stood beneath a black umbrella, approaching slowly, separated from her by the doorway.noveldrama

His expression was as unreadable as ever. "If everything's settled, you should head home."

Sylvie's breath came in jagged bursts, her eyes rimmed red. "Jarrod, what... what is this supposed to mean?"

He simply lowered his gaze, the darkness in his eyes reflecting the cold drizzle of the night.

Sylvie felt her world shatter. She lurched forward, grabbing the door frame. "Can we talk? I admit it—I shouldn't have tried to get involved with Mr. Ferguson. I know that put you in a difficult spot. But we... we made things official. I gave myself to you, Jarrod. Please don't do this to me."

It had taken them so long to finally become a couple.

Everything was supposed to be getting better.

She could take the disdain from Maurice and Joseph; she didn't care about them.

But Jarrod him, she couldn't accept losing.

If he chose this moment to demand payment on the agreement, it would destroy her.

Jarrod watched her, his demeanor unchanged, utterly composed. "What relationship do we have, exactly?"

The question hit her like a slap.

She looked into his eyes and felt a chill seep into her bones.

He'd looked at her like this before, but only now did she truly see it-the cold, indifferent distance that had always been there, just beneath the surface.

"You already accepted me, didn't

you? That night, you were so

passionate. You like me-I know you

do." Sylvie's voice trembled,

desperate to find any excuse, any way to deny the truth staring her in the face. She'd already won him over-compared to Elodie, that bland little woman, Sylvie had always thought she was the better choice.

Jarrod's manners never slipped, but beneath that veneer was a cruelty that cut to

the bone. "Ms. Fielding, what you do with other men is none of my concern."

Sylvie's eyes widened in shock.

"Other men...?" Her lips quivered. "It wasn't you? That's impossible!”

On the yacht that night, he hadn't denied it; that was why she'd believed they were together, that he'd leave Elodie, that he'd marry her.

He looked at her steadily, voice low and cold. “I don't recall ever saying I had any romantic feelings for you. When did I ever confirm we were together?"

She stared at him, numb with disbelief, the weight of hopelessness pressing down until she could barely breathe.

She remembered all those times she'd flaunted her status as his 'girlfriend' in front of Elodie. She'd been so sure that Jarrod accepted her.

Except for that one time she'd

brought up marriage, she'd never

questioned it. She was convinced a woman like Elodie could never compare-of course he would choose someone as outstanding as her. sŵnovel

But now, everything that was happening...

She couldn't stop herself from thinking about it—the doubts she'd always pushed away were clawing to the surface.

"Andrea, show her out." Jarrod didn't bother with another word. He was still Jarrod —still charming, but with a new, dangerous edge.

Sylvie stared at his tall, unyielding figure, unable to believe this was happening.

Andrea smiled at her, unruffled by Sylvie's humiliation. "Ms. Fielding if you can't pay the compensation, then please return the house Mr. Silverstein bought for you