Chapter 578
When had it all changed?
Somehow, she’d become nothing more than a bystander, forced to watch this gut- wrenching scene unfold.
For a split second, anger and humiliation nearly overwhelmed Sylvie.
Once upon a time, it was always Elodie who had to watch Sylvie standing next to Jarrod.
Now, suddenly, Sylvie understood exactly why Jarrod had avoided her for so long -Elodie must have been scheming behind the scenes, keeping him occupied with her little manipulations.
Sylvie’s glare was sharp enough to cut glass. When Elodie turned in her direction, her eyes were icy and indifferent. She stood a few steps above Sylvie, looking down at her from the landing, taking in the way Sylvie’s lips trembled and the resentment swirling in her eyes.
Gone was the proud, polished woman Sylvie used to be. Now, she was a shadow of her former self-her fall from grace was nothing short of humiliating, and she felt it keenly.
She’d wanted to appeal to Jarrod’s sympathy, to make him worry after seeing her caught in the rain. Instead, her bedraggled state was now on full display for Elodie, who stood there dry and unbothered, being cared for.
Elodie was honestly surprised-Sylvie was nothing like the woman she used to know.
But she couldn’t summon even a flicker of pity.
In fact, all she felt was…
Well, it was nothing more than karma.
Even now, what Elodie saw in Sylvie’s expression wasn’t remorse for her mistakes, only anger and bitterness. That’s when Elodie realized: there are some people whose minds are so twisted, they can never see reason.
“There’s no need-Jarrod’s attention belongs elsewhere now,” Elodie said coolly, not sparing Sylvie another glance. She had never intended to actually wear Jarrod’s coat-she knew perfectly well how much that would upset Sylvie, but she had no interest in playing those childish games. Their mess was theirs alone; she wanted nothing to do with it.
Although…
She couldn’t help but notice-Jarrod and Sylvie didn’t seem nearly as close as she’d once imagined.
Jarrod watched Elodie with his usual inscrutable calm. After she shrugged off his coat, she got into her car without a backward glance.
She had no intention of sticking around to see what would happen next.
She just started up the engine and drove away.
Jarrod stood there, watching as her car faded into the night.
Sylvie caught every nuance of his expression. Even though Jarrod had always been hard to read, she suddenly realized she’d never really known him at all. But now, with that uncanny intuition women have, it hit her—
Jarrod had never shown any real dislike or rejection toward Elodie. Not once.
He finally turned back to Sylvie, sliding his hand into his pocket as he fixed her with that steady gaze.
Meeting his eyes, Sylvie felt a chill run down her spine.
For the first time,
she understood:
Jarrod had never looked at her with anything but that calm indifference It had never changed-not from the beginning, not even now. And beneath that calm, there wasa coldness she’d never noticed until
tonight.
“Jarrod…” The last traces of anger toward Elodie vanished, replaced by sudden panic. Sylvie’s voice trembled. “Did Elodie say something to you? Is that why you’re acting like this?”
Jarrod said nothing.
Just then, a car pulled up beside Sylvie.
Andrea stepped out, umbrella in hand, and walked right over to her. She handed Sylvie a folder. “Ms. Fielding, I have a contract here you signed earlier. Please take a look.”
Snapping out of her daze, Sylvie looked down at the document with a frosty expression.
The moment she saw what it was, all the color drained from her face.
It was a performance agreement.
Jarro
Back when Jarrod had invested in
her company, Neural Intelligence,
she’d promised him a flawless report within two years. Jarrod had claimed not to care about the numbers, but Maurice had jokingly suggested a contract-something like a friendly wager between the two of them. If she delivered, all was well. If not… she’d have to “pay him back” in other ways.
At the time, Sylvie had laughed it off, but she’d agreed anyway. After all, Jarrod had invested a lot, and she wanted to prove herself, to show the world she wasn’t just riding his coattails. So she’d suggested putting her name down on the agreement-something like a personal pledge. If the company failed to meet its targets or ran into trouble, she would reimburse Jarrod with 70% of his investment.
Jarrod had balked at the number. “Seventy percent is too much,” he’d said, and changed it to thirty. He never wanted to put that kind of pressure on her.