But he never really saw her. Even if she offered him her heart on a silver tter, it would go unnoticed.


    "Come on, let''s head up! Dinner''s on me tonight," Eleanor said cheerfully.


    "In that case, I won''t hold back."


    The two of them stepped into the elevator. As they did, it began to rise from the underground parking garage, and the doors slid open.


    Immediately, the couple inside took a step apart.


    Of all people, it wasn and Vanessa.


    Vanessa reached up to cover her lips-still flushed red. Maybe it was just the lighting, but Eleanor couldn''t help but notice thatn''s lips looked a little too red as well.


    It was almost as if they''d been making out just moments before.


    Joy grabbed Eleanor''s arm. "Mr. Goodwin, why don''t you go on ahead? We''re waiting for someone else," she said quickly.


    Joy huffed. "Seriously, can''t those two just get a room? Do they have to put on a show for everyone? Let''s find another restaurant."


    Eleanor folded her arms. "Fine by me."


    They picked a different ce nearby, and Eleanor''s appetite was unaffected. The two friends chatted andughed over dinner.<fn0ce9> Fresh chapters posted on find~novel</fn0ce9>


    When the conversation turned to Eleanor''s bet with Simone, Joy looked at her in admiration. "You''ve got guts, I''ll give you that. But my money''s on you. You''ll shut up everyone who''s ever underestimated you."


    Joy didn''t know exactly how good Eleanor was, but she was determined to stand by her best friend.


    At 9:30, Eleanor went home to study. Not long after,n came back as well.


    Joslyn greeted him at the door. "Good evening, sir. Mrs. Goodwin is upstairs reading." She carried a te of sliced fruit up the stairs.


    She knocked on Eleanor''s door. "Ma''am, your husband''s home." She set down the fruit.


    "Mm, I know," Eleanor replied, eyes still fixed on her book.


    She absentmindedly popped a cherry into her mouth, her gaze intent on the dense medical text. Ian''s shadow appeared in the doorway.


    The door was open. Eleanor nced at him, then turned back to her reading.


    His gaze darkened. He stared for a few seconds, then finally said, "Don''t stay up toote."


    With that, he left.


    Eleanor didn''t stay upte either. By eleven, she was downstairs to shower and get ready for bed.


    Around eleven-thirty, she was lying in bed, scrolling through her phone, when she heard footsteps outside her door. The doorknob-locked from the inside-twisted softly.


    After a moment, everything went quiet again.


    Eleanor rxed, finally able to drift off to sleep.


    Next week was her big exam—a special opportunity the university had granted her to skip a year. Partly thanks to Dr. Lyman''s rmendation, and partly because of her own recent achievements.


    She was the developer of a groundbreaking new drug, the architect of the Marlowe Vige evidence chain, and her recent solo article had just been named one of the world''s top 1% most-cited scientific papers.


    Add to that her six published domestic research papers and her role as the founder of a global gicsb—and Eleanor''s aplishments spoke for themselves.


    She was also preparing for her uing exam with an innovative new research project. The paper was already finished, and in two weeks, she would officially announce her results.