Eleanor had just settled into the car whenn''s call came through. She declined it without a second thought.


    If he was calling to plead Vanessa''s case, he was wasting his time. Eleanor refused to give him the satisfaction.


    She drove straight to the school and asked Miss Alice to speak with her privately.


    Inside the campus café, Miss Alice listened, eyes widening in shock as Eleanor finished. "Wait-Miss Shannon is your husband''s...?"


    Eleanor nodded. "Yes. She got close to my daughter for a reason. For Evelyn''s safety, I need your help. If Vanessa everes to the school, please let me know immediately."


    Miss Alice, herself a mother, looked at Eleanor with deep sympathy. She never would have imagined that Vanessa-the renowned pianist had forced her way into the family like this.


    "Of course, Mrs. Sutton. You have my word—I''ll contact you right away," Miss Alice promised, firmly on Eleanor''s side.


    Relief washed over Eleanor. With Miss Alice on alert, she''d know the moment Vanessa set foot on campus and could whisk Evelyn away before anything happened.


    She''d considered changing schools, but Vanessa had connections everywhere. That wasn''t a real solution.


    That afternoon, Eleanor met Joy for a walk to clear her head. When she heard Joy had thrown a ss of water in Vanessa''s face, Eleanor couldn''t help but grin. "Good for you. She had iting."


    "I could stomach her stealing my husband, but I''ll never let her take my daughter."


    "Can''t she have kids of her own? Why is she eggingn on to fight for custody of Evelyn? Does she want to y the saintly stepmother for show?" Joy huffed.


    Eleanor suspected Vanessa was putting on a performance for the Goodwin family, desperately trying to look like the perfect stepmom.


    Just then, Eleanor''s phone buzzed. She nced at the screen, her expression shifting in surprise.


    "Miss Sutton, I have business back in Ashford City. Would you be avable for dinner this weekend?" The message was from Mansfield Ellington.


    "Who''s distracting you now? Some handsome guy texting?" Joy teased.


    Eleanor shed her the screen. Joy''s jaw dropped. "Mr. Ellington is making his move, huh?"


    "Don''t be ridiculous," Eleanor said, but her tone was serious.


    After a failed marriage, thest thing she wanted was to get tangled up in another rtionship—no matter how wonderful the man seemed.


    "Come on! You''re really going to turn down a catch like him?" Joy looked at her as if she were crazy.


    Eleanor sighed. "He''s too good for me. I''m not in his league."


    Joy looked her up and down. "Not in his league? So you''re divorced-so what? Maybe he doesn''t even care."


    Before Eleanor could reply, another message from Mansfield popped up: "Miss Sutton, I only have one day. Could you give me a chance?"


    Eleanor hesitated. He only had a single day for business, and he wanted to spend


    it having dinner with her? Wouldn''t she be taking up his precious time?


    "Mr. Ellington, if you''re busy, let''s do dinner another time," she typed back.


    His reply came quickly: "Taking you to dinner is the most important thing on my list. Everything else can wait."


    Eleanor''s fingers froze over the screen.


    Joy peeked at the message and clutched her chest, dramatically swooning. "Oh my God!" She grabbed Eleanor''s shoulders, grinning. "Say yes! You can''t let a guy like this slip away!"


    Eleanor just took a sip of her coffee, sighing. "I''ve got too much on my te right now. I''m really not—"


    "Don''t be silly!n cheated because he''s an idiot, not because you''re not good enough. Get that through your head!" With that, Joy snatched Eleanor''s phone and typed a reply before Eleanor could stop her.


    "Joy, give that back!" Eleanor lunged, but Joy had already sent the message: "Sounds perfect. See you Saturday night."


    Eleanor tried to wrestle the phone away, but it was toote. Momentster, Mansfield replied: "Perfect. I''ll book the restaurant-see you there."