Back then, young and spirited, he had faced the camera and said, "You''re an adult now, so I won''t hold it against you for calling me old. Since you seem to be afraid of me, I sent you a bouquet of yellow roses anonymously. Elodie, happy graduation."


    It was clear he was annoyed, yet indulgent, a posture full of youthful arrogance.


    The video shifted again.


    It was still a solo recording, but this time he looked genuinely angry, his brows tightly knitted. "You threw my kindness right back in my face. I flew all the way back from another country for your graduation ceremony, and the flowers I sent you? You thought your brother sent them. He''s not even in town, how could he have sent them? Then you turned around and gave the flowers away to your ssmates. Did you even bother to look at the card?"


    This was a Jarrod Silverstein no one had ever seen before.


    They were too stunned to react.


    Even Maurice Nilsson thought he was seeing things in broad daylight.


    The scene changed once more.


    Another solo monologue.


    "September 27th. Ran into that illegitimate daughter of the Harcourt family at the hospital, stirring up trouble. You got into a huge fight with your dad, which sent your mom into shock. Why are you crying now that she''s gone? Elodie, you''re so damn stubborn. When you''re treated unfairly, why be so obstinate? You should have gone up and pped each of them across the face to see if it hurt. Forget it. To help you vent a little, making the Harcourt family lose a few projects isn''t hard."


    "I also happened, by pure coincidence, to be giving a guest lecture at your university. You were sitting in the fifth row and fell asleep as soon as you got there. I was up on stage talking my heart out, and you didn''t pay any attention. The moment you opened your eyes, some guy was hitting on you. You just started university, shouldn''t you be studying instead of thinking about romance? Also, you really need to work on your taste in men."


    Listening to Jarrod''s recorded monologue at the wedding, the crowd couldn''t help but chuckle at this part.


    "Grandpa retired today. We met again, and you put on that professional fake smile. Grandpa is quite pleased with you. So am I."


    "I found out you''re also studying aerospace engineering. I had more schrships than I knew what to do with, and a bit of savings, so donating an aerospace researchb to your school wasn''t too difficult."


    "I did the math. Before I even


    finished my doctorate, I was flying back from overseas twice a month just to see you at your university. I''ve collected quite a stack of ne tickets. You''re a girl with her own mind. to up, but you never took the bait. I'' know you weren''t willing. Was I supposed to lower myself and shamelessly chase you? Of course not. But I could do it secretly."


    Grandpa wasting set us


    This line brought broad smiles to many faces.


    The media aimed their long-lensed cameras, frantically recording every second.


    Even Lucinda Howard couldn''t suppress a slight smile, but a momentter, her expression turnedplicated.


    Because...


    This was the Jarrod from his wild younger days.


    A son she herself had never fully known.


    "Elodie, you won another award. The schrship money must be pretty good. You''re so outstanding, a perfect match for me. Why don''t you just close your eyes and marry me after you graduate?"


    "Elodie, what are you thinking?


    tare


    Spending all your time in theb so


    "Today, Maurice said you''re very beautiful. I wanted to gouge his eyes out, but he was right."


    Maurice, who had been smiling as he watched the videos, felt his smile freeze on his face. "..."


    He had to hand it to Jarrod. Could the man be any more secretive? Back then, Jarrod had been smiling at him, but apparently, he was plotting to remove his eyeballs.


    The video continued.


    "Today, you were driven to tears


    &


    het


    again by those pests from the Harcourt family. I was a living, breathing person standing right in front of you. Couldn''t you, one impulse, out of a desire for revenge, just grab onto me and say, "Why don''t you marry me?'' and then let me get back at them for you? Fine. You''re slow on the uptake, after all. You don''t even know how to use people to your advantage."


    "Elodie Thorne, I don''t think you''re ever going to love me."