How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

The cramped elevator made Jarrod's voice ring out with startling clarity.

Elodie lifted her lashes, catching his gaze in the mirrored panel. The question had come out of nowhere.

She hesitated for a moment before meeting his eyes. "That night on the cruise... did you know I'd been drinking?"noveldrama

Jarrod glanced at the fading red rash on her wrist, his tone calm. "Do you want me to say I knew, or that I didn't?"

That answer.

Hearing it, Elodie felt an old suspicion flare up in her chest, one she'd tried hard to push down.

The air between them turned delicate again, even though neither of them said another word.

Ding-

The elevator reached the ground floor.

Jarrod finally moved, stepping forward to stand beside her. He lowered his eyes, giving her a brief look. "Your allergy still hasn't cleared up. Remember to keep using the ointment."

With that, the doors slid open. He left without another word.

Elodie watched his retreating figure for a moment before stepping out herself, her expression carefully blank, as if nothing at all had just happened.

Some things, she realized, suddenly made sense. Others, they both pretended had never occurred.

She grabbed a quick bite-whatever was handy-then headed back to her apartment to keep coding. After running into Jarrod, she didn't allow herself to dwell on it. She forced it from her mind, as though nothing at all had happened between them.

Since this was hands-on work, she could pretty well guess the direction things would go. The code as essential-if she didn't get it right, nothing else would fall into place.

Three days, three different projects-each one demanding solid skills and the kind of focus you can only muster when you're running tests and troubleshooting data right there on the spot.

The next morning,

Alexander showed up early to take Elodie to the sports center.

This time, it was a public tournament.

The line at the ticket scan was packed-no surprise, given the hype.

With a hundred contestants left, nobody knew who else had advanced until just before the start.

Elodie was genuinely surprised when she spotted Watts Aldridge across the lobby.

He flashed her a grin and strode over. "Surprised to see me?"

"You too?" Elodie raised her brows.

Watts broke into a broad smile. “See, keeping it a secret was worth it just to see your face right now."

He leaned in a little, lowering his

voice. "Honestly, besides wanting to compete with you, there was another reason I joined. I'm curious if the developer of U.N2 might show up. This sort of competition seems like something he'd be interested in." Cóntent

Elodie's eyes flickered. "Maybe."

Watts studied her for a moment, then quietly asked, "Are you alright after that night?"

Elodie paused, looking up at him.

He explained softly, "I checked on you. When I came in, you were already asleep, so I didn't want to disturb you. You didn't feel unwell afterward, did you?"

He'd been worried something had happened to her. After chasing her down, he'd peeked in to find her sound asleep. He'd quietly closed the door and left.

Still, something nagged at him. He wasn't convinced Elodie hadn't noticed there was something off with the drinks that night.

Elodie's eyes softened. "...No, I'm fine."

She figured that when Watts came in, he must've seen Esmeralda

sleeping and assumed it was

l.ne

her-otherwise, if she'd really been in that state and run into him, things could have gotten messy.

But now, Elodie showed no sign of anything amiss. She didn't even bring up the drinks from that night.

After watching her a moment longer, Watts shifted gears and said, "Today's simulation round is a team event. I just found out-we're together, plus one more: Lily Lockwood."

He nodded toward the far end of the hall.

A young woman was heading their way, and the look she shot Elodie was anything but friendly.

Elodie paid her no mind, pretending not to notice. "Hi."

Lily frowned and ignored her, stepping up beside Watts instead.

Elodie understood the situation now. So did Watts.

He didn't bother with Lily. Instead, he

leaned closer to Elodie. "Once we're

1.n

up there, the three of us will need work together-adjusting parameters on the fly and keeping the drones stable in spite of outside interference."