Of course Elodie was a little bewildered-she couldn''t understand how the problem could possibly be with Jarrod, her ex-husband.


    She took a moment to collect herself before asking calmly, "Can you be more specific? What exactly is the issue?"


    The sharply dressed man across from her seemed surprised by herposure. After a brief hesitation, he pulled out a file. "ording to the paperwork you submitted, Ms. Thorne, you indicated that you''re divorced. However, after a thorough review on our end, we''ve confirmed that you are still legally married." "That''s impossible. There must be some mistake," Elodie blurted out instinctively. Wasn''t this absurd? She had the divorce papers, signed and sealed. Clearly, something had gone wrong somewhere along the line.


    "No, ma''am, I''m afraid not. As it stands, you''ll need to provide your spouse''s information for your application to proceed."


    A spouse''s details count as essential information-nothing could be left out.


    The office needed to verify everything, cross every ''t'', and dot every ''i''.


    A heavy weight settled in Elodie''s chest, her usuallyposed expression faltering for the briefest moment.


    She nced down at the documents the official had handed her.


    It was all there in ck and white-she was still registered as married.


    They processed these requests all the time; mistakes like this were supposed to be impossible.


    So then...


    Her lips lost their color, and her grip tightened unconsciously around the stack of documents. "Alright... I''ll look into this in detail and get back to you as soon as possible."


    "Thank you, Ms. Thorne. Please make sure the information is urate," the official replied. He, too, seemed to sense something was off, but stuck to protocol and said nothing more.


    Back in her department, Clifford raised his brows at Elodie. "How does something like this get mixed up? Elodie, you''re a special case-everything needs to be airtight, especially for you. But don''t worry, just get the paperwork sorted and it''ll be fine."


    All she could do was force a small smile.


    She didn''t let any shock show on her face.


    As soon as she stepped out of the office, her heart was pounding, a tangled mess of emotion surging inside her.


    She needed to get to the bottom of this-fast.


    Especially now, when everything was so critical. There was no room for error.


    Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Elodie gathered her IDs and headed straight for city hall.


    She booked an appointment at the records office, handed over her identification, and asked, "Excuse me, I''d like to check my marital status."


    The clerk looked a little puzzled that anyone would need to check something like this, but processed her request anyway. After a


    moment, the clerk announced, Ms. Thorne? ording to our system, you''re listed as married."


    Elodie''s face went utterly still.


    A cold wave shot straight to the top of her head.


    For a long moment, she just stared, dazed, before numbly taking her ID back.


    Stepping into the zing sun, she climbed into her car, her ears ringing. ...Why?


    It took a while before she managed to pull herself together. With a steely expression, she dialed Jarrod''s number. Whatever this ridiculous situation was, it was theirs to sort out together.


    This time, for whatever reason, his phone was off.


    Elodie''s frustration was reaching a breaking point.


    She forced herself to stay calm and decided to head home first.


    On the way, she phoned Jarrod''s secretary''s office.


    The moment they heard her voice, the secretary''s tone became unfailingly polite. "Mrs. Silverstein, Mr. Silverstein is on a business trip in Sunspire today. If it''s urgent, you can reach out to Andrea first."


    Elodie let out a slow breath in the car. "Alright, please give me her number."


    She quickly dialed Andrea, relieved when the call connected. "It''s me, Elodie."


    "Yes, ma''am? Is there something I can help you with? Mr. Silverstein is currently in a meeting with important clients."


    Elodie didn''t care what high-stakes deal he was in the middle of. Her voice was ice-cold. "I don''t care where he is please tell him I need him back here immediately."


    Andrea hesitated, but agreed. "Of course, ma''am. Please try not to worry-I''ll let Mr. Silverstein know as soon as I can."