How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue novel Chapter 452

With that thought lingering in his mind, every time he looked at Sylvie, there was a strange new glint in his eyes.

Sylvie noticed those looks. Her face remained expressionless, but her grip on the pen tightened ever so slightly.

The sudden shift in how people saw her was too much to adjust to all at once.

Elodie, on the other hand, had always kept herself at arm’s length from this sort of drama, and so she remained unaffected.

Whenever anyone tried to pry a little deeper, Alexander would deftly step in, a few well-placed words enough to shut down their questions.

Once it was all over, Elodie and Alexander stood up and left together.

She didn’t even spare a glance for Jarrod across the room.

She had no interest in being the center of gossip—or in giving Jarrod and Sylvie any more chances to play their parts.

Whatever conclusions others drew about their relationships didn’t matter to her.

—

The rumors, though, were spreading like wildfire.

But for Naylor, one of the so-called “participants,” the whole thing left him reeling.

He couldn’t quite describe what he felt—something close to embarrassment, almost wishing he could hit reset on the whole day.

That evening, he called up Elias, asking to meet.

Elias had just gotten back from out of town and, with no work the next day, agreed to check in on Naylor.

When he arrived at their usual booth, Naylor had already been drinking alone for a while.

“What’s up? Heartbroken?” Elias dropped his bag and ordered a house cocktail, sliding into the seat beside him.

Naylor shot him a look, frowning. “Heartbroken? I wasn’t even dating anyone.”

“So what are you drinking away, then?”

Naylor opened his mouth, but the frustration just sat heavy in his chest. The whole ordeal had rattled him more than he cared to admit. Finally, he told Elias the whole story about the birthday party.

Elias swirled the ice in his glass, not even glancing up. “And?”

Naylor stared at him. “Dude, doesn’t it seem insane to you? The real girlfriend gets cast as the homewrecker, and the mistress becomes the legit partner! I feel like a complete clown—ashamed and humiliated!”