BossNovelElodie could sense Octavia's awkwardness, but she wasn't about to bring it up herself. After all, Octavia was an
adult now, no longer a child; slessons had to be learned through personal responsibility and mistakes. Life
itself was a long, winding class, and there were still so many values and perspectives yet to be understood.
After dinner, the family matriarch arranged everyone's rooms. Elodie didn't want to be apart from Nadia for even
a second, so she carried her already-sleeping daughter upstairs. She had just finished settling Nadia in when
someone knocked at the door.
Assuming it was Jarrod, Elodie called out, "It's your house. Why bother knocking?"
There was a brief pause on the other side, and then the door opened. To her surprise, it wasn't Jarrod, but
Lucinda.
Lucinda didn't step into the room. She lingered just inside the doorway, her gaze drifting to Nadia, who slept
soundly in the bed. Then, her eyes met Elodie's. The formidable, coolly elegant matriarch of the Silverstein
family-so often sharp and distant-wore an unusually complex expression, but it lasted only a heartbeat.
She drew a slow breath, then faced Elodie squarely. "I've seen how Jarrod feels about you. And | remember when
you were sick, barely holding yourself together, yet you still went to Silverstein Enterprises to help him bring
order to the chaos. That day, my view of you changed. Honestly, | admired you. | was surprised, too—
considering how Jarrod, and frankly, the rest of us treated you before. You didn't owe us anything, but you helped
anyway. Jarrod should be grateful, and as his mother, so should I. So, thank you."
Elodie was taken aback. Lucinda, who always seemed to stand above everyone else, her sights set only on
power and advantage, had never been one to lower herself for personal matters. People in her position rarely
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtapologized, especially for things brushed aside as family politics.
Change, Elodie knew, was never easy.
But Lucinda didn't wait for the polite, automatic "You're welcome." Her cool, composed voice cut through the
moment again. "And for how | treated you before | neglected you. I'm not asking for forgiveness. You don't owe
With that, she turned and left, not expecting Elodie to smooth things over with meaningless words. Lucinda had
never cared for empty gestures. Now that Jarrod and Elodie were mseparable, witha child between them, Lucinda
would inévitably be part of their lives. A gesture like this might ease the tension, making things a little less
awkward in the future. Beyond that, she wouldn't interfere. s
Elodie was still stunned, watching as Lucinda quietly closed the door. The thanks alone had been unexpected
enough, but the apology-however understated-made Elodie realize something. Lucinda, for all her privileged
background, wasn't the type to be trapped by the em rituals of high society. Once she made up her mind, she
was more open-minded than most. s
Elodie stood there for a while before allowing herself a small, silent smile. She knew Lucinda hadn't needed to
say any of this. As the Silverstein matriarch and the family elder, she could have glossed over everything,
pretending nothing had
happened just as so many elders did, sweeping old hurts under the rug in the nof family harmony. s
Taking that step was harder than most people realized.
Elodie turned back to her own tasks,
not letting the encounter ee! 1pp
heavily on her pind Holveber hings
played Dt in the future, she refused
to let a single apology dictate her
expectations. The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Jarrod finished settling Rosemary
and Emile into their jopgis@rd 138!
penuh slipped into the
bedroom, careful not to wake Nadia.
Elodie had just cout of the
shower, toweling her hair, when she
spotted Jarred lead dasualy
aGalRsthS wall, one hand in his
pocket, watching her with that lazy,
familiar smile. The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
She shot him a quick glance and adjusted her towel, then rummaged through her bag for her skincare. "Is
Grandma asleep?"
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