"Elodie, tell me—are you and that boy... nothing happened between you two, right?" Rosemary''s sharp eyes fixed on Elodie, worry clear in her gaze.


    Elodie pressed her lips together, finding it impossible to exin Jarrod''s current situation with Sylvie. After all, Sylvie was Selma''s daughter; Grandma simply couldn''t handle that truth.


    "He... he''lle," Elodie managed, skirting around the real issue.


    Rosemary watched her for a long moment before sighing. "If Jarrod''s grandfather and your grandfather hadn''t been war buddies-if the families weren''t so close- I''d have marched right over to his house and demanded an exnation!"


    Back then, Henrietta had been the one to agree to the engagement without hesitation, promising again and again that Jarrod would never let Elodie down. That was the only reason Rosemary had trusted her.


    But now... This lukewarm attitude-what is she supposed to make of it?


    Elodie tried tofort her. "Grandma, it''s gettingte. Why don''t you go and get some rest?"


    She could handle this herself. Thest thing she wanted was for her grandmother to get dragged into this messy business and end up upset.


    Rosemary paused, as if wanting to say more, but finally just told her to be careful on the road before heading upstairs.


    Elodie had driven here, but since all the parking spots at the care home were full, she''d left her car near the main entrance. She decided to walk back, letting the fresh air clear her head.


    As she approached the parking lot, she was caught off guard by a flirtatious voice drifting from up ahead: "Ivan, kiss me again..."


    Elodie''s steps faltered.


    She nced over.


    Under the dim parking lot lights, by the door of a shy ck SUV, a woman was draped all over a man. She stood on tiptoe, pressing kisses along his jaw, her tone unmistakably suggestive.


    Ivan held her by the waist, his expression hard to make out, his voicezy with a hint of mischief. "Aren''t you a little too bold? Don''t you realize we could "


    He broke off abruptly.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he''d spotted Elodie standing not far away.


    Something flickered in Ivan''s eyes. In an instant, his demeanor shifted. He pulled Queenie close, one hand braced on the car door, the other lifting her chin as he bent down to kiss her neck-hard enough to draw breathless gasps from her.


    He hadn''t even been in the mood.


    But the moment he saw Elodie, he remembered what she''d said thest time they spoke.


    -"No one''s going to stand still and wait forever."


    Is that so?


    He''d like to see for himself was her heart really that cold, or was it just an act?


    Witnessing the scene, Elodie recoiled instinctively. She honestly couldn''t understand how Ivan had changed so much. He used to be wild and reckless, yes, but he''d always cared most about her feelings.


    When had he ever been so brazen, unting his worst self right in front of her?


    She looked away, exhaled slowly, and continued toward her car with a nk expression.


    Seeing her reaction, Ivan''s brow furrowed sharply.


    Almost at once, he let go of Queenie.


    Queenie, still giddy and a little out of breath, looked at him. "What''s wrong?"


    Ivan pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, frowning as he spoke. "Didn''t you say your stomach hurt? We''ll see what the test results say."


    Queenie pouted, clinging to his arm. "It doesn''t hurt anymore. Why don''t we just head home? You can''t leave me hanging like this..."


    She''d made a special trip to see him tonight, hoping to get a little closer, but Ivan had been buried in work and barely paid attention to her.


    Bored, she''d wandered around his home office, fiddling with his things.


    She''d identally knocked over and broken one of a pair of handmade ceramic cups disyed on a shelf.


    To her shock, Ivan had snapped at her for the first time, his face dark as he demanded to know why she couldn''t keep her hands to herself.


    He''d snatched the shards from her grasp.


    His eyes were full of raw distress and helpless panic.


    In that instant, the sting of being yelled at vanished entirely.


    She figured he must have been worried about her, afraid she''d cut herself on the


    broken pieces.