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    It felt as if he''d been gutted, left with nothing but an empty shell.


    A long, heavy silence settled between them.


    Lucinda was the first to break it. "Can we talk?"


    Jarrod''s eyes were icy. "Go ahead."


    Lucinda led him to a quiet alcove, then looked up at him. "Your grandmother''s worried sick-she''s been calling, but you didn''t pick up. I managed to calm her down and keep her froming over to make a scene."


    After all, it was supposed to be a birthday celebration.


    Not that it hadn''t already descended into chaos.


    "How''s Elodie doing now?" Lucinda nced toward the patient rooms, her expression conflicted.


    She''d never really approved of Elodie before, but she''d never imagined someone so young would fall seriously ill.


    "She''s resting. The pain''s under control for now." Jarrod pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head.


    Lucinda frowned. "What exactly is the diagnosis? Uterine cancer? How serious is it? What did the doctors say?"


    "She''ll need surgery. The prognosis is uncertain." Jarrod answered honestly.


    Lucinda''s eyes widened in shock. The next question left her lips before she could stop herself. "Will this affect her ability to have children?"


    This time, Jarrod turned to look at her directly.


    His lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "What do you think?"


    Something about his tone confirmed Lucinda''s fears.


    Her expression grew grave. "Jarrod, I''m not trying to be harsh, but you need to face reality. Given your status and position, do you really think it''s practical to never have children? And especially not by choice-because you''re forced into it. You''re at the helm of the Silverstein Group, with the second branch of the family circling like vultures. If you don''t have an heir, it''s a problem, isn''t it?"


    Even in ordinary families, few people would ept that.


    All the more so for a family like theirs.


    She was just being pragmatic-pointing out a simple fact.


    Of course she couldn''t ept Jarrod throwing everything away for Elodie.


    "If you''re worried that I''ll lose everything one day and that your life as thedy of the house will suffer, I can offer you a solution," Jarrod said, his voice cold and t. "You can leave the Silverstein family now, go back to the Howards. Who knows, maybe you''ll end up with a bigger slice of the pie."


    Lucinda''s face flushed at the jab.


    "Are you really going to be reckless over one woman?" she snapped. "Let me be blunt: right now, you might think love is everything, that you''re willing to give up anything for her, and maybe that''s true-for a while. But ten years from now, twenty years from now, you''ll change. You''ll start to resent her and regret the choices you made today. That''s human nature. Love onlysts for the moment-it''s not enough to sustain you for a lifetime. It''s a fantasy!"


    And when regretes, what then?


    Love conquers all? Every rtionship needs a foundation of stability,fort, and security. Without that, it''s just a matter of time before me and bitterness creep in.


    Jarrod didn''t argue. "So what''s your solution?"


    Lucinda''s voice softened. "End it. Make a clean break. Compensate her fairly, find her the best doctors. No one owes anyone anything."


    Jarrod didn''t even bother to be angry. He didn''t me Lucinda for her advice or for thinking the way she did.


    Just because someone''s views differ from your own doesn''t make them wrong.


    Especially since, in truth, what Lucinda said was what most people would think.


    So he didn''t mock her, didn''t contradict her.


    He simply answered, calm and certain. "If my wife isn''t her, then I can tell you right now-there won''t be anyone else to give you grandchildren. I can''t control what you think, but I can control what I do."


    Elodie stepped out just in time to hear those words.


    She froze.


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