Elodie was puzzled. The Aerie Dining Club''s red bean dessert was legendary in Eldermere. Did he have no taste?
Perfect. She hadn''t had enough anyway.
She immediately took it. "Okay."
"Mm."
Silence descended again.
Elodie thought to herself that Jarrod was truly a man of few words.
He had just gotten married, yet he was so calm? Didn''t he want to give her the cold shoulder?
Elodie was still unsure of what he was thinking.
She mentally rehearsed a few times how she would bring up the topic of getting through this initial period, and how she would bepletely cooperative if he wanted a divorce.
Just as she was about to speak, Jarrod suddenly ced a small box on the table. Elodie recognized it as a ring box.
Jarrod looked at her. "Wedding ring. If you don''t like it, we can buy another one." She hadn''t expected there to be rings.
But from the way he said it, she could tell he had probably just bought it randomly, without much thought, which was why he suggested getting another.
She didn''t feel she had any right to be dissatisfied with this marriage. She was the one who had taken advantage of him, so how could she have anyints?
She didn''t even open the box, just took it. "It''s fine. Anything is okay."
Seeing that she had no intention of looking at it, Jarrod''s fingers brushed over the men''s ring in his own pocket.
"Mm."
He stood up and walked towards the bedroom.
Elodie breathed a sigh of relief.
Clutching the ring box, she prepared to head to her own room.
After Jarrod entered the master bedroom, he looked around.
There was no trace of Elodie.
No clothes.
No makeup or skincare products. The vanity he had specially arranged to be delivered showed no signs of use.
He had heard that women loved to change the bedding to various shades of pink and other soft colors. He had prepared himself for it and had no objections. But the sheets hadn''t been changed; they were still the same deep gray silk set.
He hesitated for a moment, then backed out and re-entered.
He wasn''t mistaken.
Nothing had changed.
It was as if he hadn''t gotten a wife at all.
Just then, he saw Elodie open the door across the hall ande out.
"..."
His brow twitched. "What are you doing over there?"
Elodie couldn''t read his tone but was self-aware enough to know this was Jarrod''s territory. "I can''t stay in this room either? Should move to another one?"
He just stared at her silently for a few seconds.
"Go to the room on the left. Move your things back."
His tone was decidedly cold.
Elodie sensed he was emotional
about something, but maybe it was her imagination. He was justposed.
Out of politeness, she instinctively asked, "What about you?"
Seeing her serious expression, Jarrod was silent for a moment.
"I''ll stay on the right."
Elodie was even more confused.
"But the room on the left is betterin
every way. It''s bigger and has a
view Why would you want to
S"
Jarrod didn''t want to answer.
He knew Elodie hadn''t adjusted to all this yet. He would have to take it slow.
He gestured for her to go into the master bedroom. "You don''t need to worry about that."
With that, he walked past her and entered the room she had juste out of.
Elodie opened her mouth to say something, but Jarrod had already closed the door.
She had wanted to tell him that all her clothes and belongings were in there.
But in an effort not to bother him or get on his nerves, she returned to his room on the left.
She hadn''t showered yet.
She paced around, wondering if she should wear his clothes or go knock on his door.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Jarrod opened the closet and saw Elodie''s meager collection of clothes.
She had a lot of books, though.
It was clear she hadn''t had an easy life these past few years.
Her clothes were all basic, not many pieces. She had almost no jewelry, and her
bags were student-style.
He stared into the closet for a long time, his expression growing darker.
How exactly had the Harcourt family mistreated her?
Was this all she owned in the world?
In that moment, he felt a surge of both anger and heartache.