How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue novel Chapter 286

Naylor’s comment landed out of nowhere, catching everyone off guard.

Even Sylvie couldn’t help but glance over.

She instinctively shot a look at Jarrod, but he seemed completely unfazed, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him. “Mr. Whitaker is free to ask Ms. Thorne herself,” he replied coolly.

Naylor just raised his glass with a laugh. “Oh, Mr. Silverstein, you’re joking. We’ve barely spoken two words to each other.”

Jarrod didn’t bother to respond.

He clinked glasses with Naylor with a kind of effortless poise, making it clear he had no interest in discussing anything related to Elodie.

Sylvie arched an eyebrow, a knowing smile tugging at her lips—just as she’d expected.

—

Meanwhile, Ivan had just heard that Elodie had left.

He stood in place for a moment, stunned, then fished out a cigarette. “Got it,” he muttered.

He gazed out at the dark, endless stretch of ocean, smoke curling from his lips as silence settled in. Five or six cigarette butts soon littered the deck around his feet.

Elodie really was something else.

She’d made it through the entire night without exchanging a single word with him.

Not a hint of complaint about his engagement.

No scenes, no drama—nothing at all.

He had no idea how long he’d been standing there when someone finally came to fetch him. Apparently Queenie was looking for him.

Ivan stubbed out his last cigarette with the toe of his shoe, his face icy as he headed back to the main deck.

—

Watts arrived upstairs just in time to realize Elodie was already gone.

He asked a server about her, only to find out she’d left earlier.

Leaning against the railing, phone in hand, he wasn’t too bothered. They hadn’t exchanged numbers, hadn’t even properly introduced themselves, but—if fate wanted, opportunities would come again.

His gaze drifted to where Alexander was chatting with someone nearby.

A plan formed.

He walked over and greeted him.

Alexander and Watts had never met, but thanks to Watts’s earlier friendliness toward Elodie, Alexander’s impression was favorable. “Mr. Aldridge?”

Watts clinked glasses with him. “I’ve long heard of VistaLink Technologies’s Mr. Sterling and your impressive reputation. Glad to finally meet you. Would you mind if we exchanged contact info?”

Alexander raised an eyebrow. “Of course, not at all.”

After they added each other on LinkedIn, Watts was just about to ask if Alexander could introduce him to Elodie—

When Naylor and the others wandered over.

“Exchanging contacts?” Naylor said, having caught sight of Watts scanning Alexander’s QR code.

Jarrod glanced at Watts.

Even Sylvie sized him up for a moment.

Noticing the attention, Watts figured it would be strange to only connect with Alexander and ignore the rest. With practiced ease, he said, “Actually, I was just about to ask Mr. Silverstein and everyone else if we could stay in touch as well. Would that be alright?”

Jarrod seemed to know who Watts was, and wasn’t about to make a scene.

He nodded coolly. “That’s fine.”

Sylvie, hearing Watts’s smooth, diplomatic move, paused thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on his face. She was already forming a quiet suspicion about his intentions.

Still, she didn’t seem surprised as she took out her phone. “Of course.”

—

Elodie was ferried back to the nearest harbor on a small tender from the yacht.