How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Elodie didn't understand what Jarrod had just said, and for once, she didn't try to

hide how she felt. She'd always known that after the surgery, grief and pain would

hit her hard-but she hadn't expected it to come crashing down so violently,

impossible to dodge or ignore.

She locked eyes with Jarrod, noticing how hard he was trying to ease her burden,

to make things a little lighter for her.

"What person?" she asked, her voice raw. Was he talking about Sylvie-her

closest confidante?

Right now, nearly everyone she cared about was in Eldermere. A tiny circle, really.

She couldn't imagine who else could possibly matter this much.

Jarrod hesitated, taking in the deep hurt in her expression before speaking, slow

and deliberate: "It's a girl. As of today, she's been alive for six months."

Elodie's face tensed. "What do you mean?"

"She's... our child."

For a heartbeat after Jarrod's words, Elodie just sat there, numb, as if someone

had struck her squarely in the head. Her thoughts scattered, refusing to come

together.

It took her a long few seconds to find her voice, her words shaky and bewildered:

"Our child? When did we ever-how could we have another child?"

Jarrod gently took her hand and led her over to a small, plush armchair he'd

carefully arranged for her. He knelt in front of her, his sharp, handsome features

deadly serious. "The procedure you had a few months ago wasn't what you

thought it was. The doctor who performed it, I flew in from overseas. It looked like

a termination, but actually the doctor used a technology that's only available

abroad. They removed the embryo intact and transferred it into an artificial womb."

Elodie's eyes went wide, stunned.

She stared at him, completely unable to believe what she was hearing. Was that

even possible now? Did such technology really exist?

Jarrod must have read her doubts; his voice was steady, calm. "Don't doubt it.

Don't look at me like that. Medical science has reached a level that most people

can't even imagine."

He reached up and gently pinched her still-gaunt cheek, a rare gesture of

tenderness. "I'm sorry for telling you only now."

Elodie realized her breath was

coming in ragged bursts, her eyes

burning from not having blinked in

ages. She forced herself to speak,

her voice hoarse. Is this real?

Jarrod, please-don't say this just to

make me feel better."

A part of her truly feared this was nothing but a desperate lie to ease her pain.

But Jarrod held her gaze firm, grounding her. "Have I ever lied to you?"

"This technology isn't public yet," he

explained quietly. "It's reserved for

the highest echelons of the medical

and business world. The costs are

astronomical-not many can afford

it, not even most so-called

millionaires. It's only been in clinical

trials for a couple of years."

In this world, everyone lived in their own bubble of information. What you knew

depended on who you were.

And right now...

The child Jarrod had entrusted to a specialized facility in New York City was finallynoveldrama

stable. Almost completely out of danger.

The weight of this revelation crashed over Elodie, leaving her ears ringing. Her

hands were clammy with sweat as she clung to Jarrod, her voice catching. "How

did you arrange all of this... so quickly?"

Surely, something this complex couldn't have been organized at the last minute.

The logistics alone were mind-boggling.

Jarrod's lips curled into a faint, resigned smile as he remembered the man he'd

been back then. "It wasn't quick. Every single step was planned out, right from the

start."

"I got an email from someone-a

photo of you in the maternity ward. I

recognized the hospital immediately;

it's where my uncle had his surgery, I

remembered the symbol in the

background. I guessed you'd be

handling everything there, so I

started putting things in motion."