Naylor''smentnded out of nowhere, catching everyone off guard.


    Even Sylvie couldn''t help but nce over.


    She instinctively shot a look at Jarrod, but he seemedpletely 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 ss with augh. "Oh, Mr. Silverstein, you''re joking. We''ve barely spoken two words to each other."


    Jarrod didn''t bother to respond.


    He clinked sses with Naylor with a kind of effortless poise, making it clear he had no interest in discussing anything rted 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 ce 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 ofint 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 hisst 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 woulde again.


    His gaze drifted to where Alexander was chatting with someone nearby. A n 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 sses with him. "I''ve long heard of VistaLink Technologies''s Mr. Sterling and your impressive reputation. d 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 nced 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.


    A car was waiting to take her back into the city.


    The next day, Elodie arrived at VistaLink Technologies for work and immediately spotted Esmeralda, clearly suffering from a hangover.


    Esmeralda groaned that she''d had another round at the end of the party, met a bunch of industry folks, and actually made out pretty well.


    Elodie, seeing how miserable she looked, made her a cup of honey water.


    Alexander emerged from his office, looking a little worse for wear. "Spent the night on the yacht. Lucky you left early-lying there, I felt like my stomach was still rolling with the waves."


    Elodie chuckled and gestured toward the honey water. "Want some too?"


    Alexander helped himself to a cup, then tossed his phone to Esmeralda. "I can barely look at a screen right now. Contact Mr. Ableson for me, will you? We''re visiting his office this afternoon."


    Esmeralda grumbled as she dragged herself up to send the message.


    When she finished confirming the meeting with Mr. Ableson, she absentmindedly started scrolling through her feed, forgetting she was on Alexander''s phone.


    Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, frowning. "Wait-Sylvie and Jarrod shared a room on the yachtst night?"


    Elodie nced up.


    Esmeralda turned the screen for her to see. "Sylvie posted this."


    It was a photo of the suite''s window view. Reflected in the ss, Jarrod could be


    seen sitting on the couch behind her.


    "A quiet drink at midnight with someone who makes you feel at ease. Maybe this is what happiness looks like."


    Posted at two in the morning.


    A man and a woman. Alone in a room. In the middle of the night.


    They weren''t even bothering to hide it anymore.


    Elodie calmly looked away. It was the first time she''d seen Sylvie openly acknowledge they''d spent the night together.


    "So it''s baby-making time already!" Esmeralda scoffed. "You think Henrietta will


    allow an illegitimate child to show up out of nowhere?"


    Just yesterday, Queenie had asked Jarrod and Sylvie that pointed question about having kids.


    Clearly, the topic had moved up the agenda that very night.


    Elodie stood up, her tone matter-of-fact. "In families like that, having an heir is everything. If it happens, they might just ept it.”


    Especially since she herself hadn''t had a child with Jarrod after three years of marriage.


    Anything was possible.


    Besides, Jarrod would move heaven and earth to clear a path for Sylvie.


    Esmeralda was momentarily speechless.


    Alexander flicked Esmeralda''s forehead. "Sometimes, not being chosen is the real blessing. There''s no such thing as a one-time betrayal; if someone cheats once, they''ll probably do it again. In the end, karma catches up."


    Esmeralda rubbed her forehead but found herself agreeing.


    Elodie, at the center of it all, had no interest in Jarrod and Sylvie''s ns. She


    quickly threw herself into work, letting nothing and no one disturb her.


    The new project was in the nning stages.


    As always, she was leading the charge.


    On Tuesday afternoon, Elodie had an appointment to meet Mr. Charlie Sterling for


    dinner at a restaurant.


    She had no idea who else would be there, but anyone vouched for by an


    academic of his standing was bound to be impressive.


    She arrived a little before seven.


    It was a discreet, elegant bistro.


    When she walked into the private dining room and saw the person sitting beside


    Charlie-


    Even Elodie, usually unppable, found herself genuinely taken aback.