"I heard from one of the staff that someone booked all ten floors of the banquet hall tonight for her celebration party. It can''t ben, can it?" Joy said, raising an eyebrow.


    Eleanor shrugged, rubbing her neck. "Who cares who it is? As long as they''re spending money here, I''m happy.” Business was business, and her doors were always open.


    Joy grinned. "That''s the spirit."


    Eleanor nced over her shoulder, her expression softening as she watched her daughter build towers with her blocks. "Let her show off all she wants. The only thing I care about is keeping my daughter safe.”


    On Saturday, Eleanor was having lunch at the restaurant with her daughter while Joy had already left for another appointment.


    Eleanor was scrolling through emails when she heard her daughter''s excited voice. "Daddy!"


    She looked up and there wasn, just a few steps away, holding a gift in one hand. Eleanor watched as her daughter dashed toward him like a butterfly, and she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it.


    Eleanor watched the tender scene, but her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. No matter how much she resentedn, she could never sever


    the bond between father and daughter.


    But some boundaries had to be drawn.


    When Evelyn wandered off to the sofa, hugging her new present, Eleanor walked over ton and said in a cold, even voice, "You have ten minutes. Then I want you to leave."


    Eleanor turned and stepped out onto the balcony, giving him his ten minutes.


    About ten minutester, as she stood lost in thought, her daughter ran out to the balcony. "Mommy, Daddy has to go now! Will you y with me?"


    Eleanor smiled and nodded. "Of course, sweetheart."


    That evening, Eleanor took her daughter home. Joslyn started making dinner in the kitchen while Princess, their golden retriever, yed with Evelyn in the living room, herughter ringing through the house.


    Joslyn had set a bouquet of fresh flowers on Eleanor''s desk; under the softmplight, their pastel colors looked especially lovely.


    This house was Eleanor''s haven, the ce where exhaustion and irritation melted away.


    On Monday morning, Eleanor spotted the Vaughn family''s nanny dropping Vivian off at school. The nanny gave her a warm smile.


    "You must be Miss Sutton!"


    Eleanor smiled back. "That''s right. Are you taking Vivian to school now?"


    "Yes, Mr. Vaughn is away on a business trip-he won''t be back until next week." The nanny nced at Eleanor, then added with augh, “You''re so pretty, Miss Sutton. No wonder Mr. Vaughn likes you so much!"


    Eleanor froze, caught off guard and unsure how to respond.


    The nanny quickly covered her mouth. "Oh, I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have said that."


    With that, she hurried back to her car.


    Eleanor shook her head, deciding the nanny must have misunderstood something. She set off for the Meridian Dynamics building.


    Another day packed with back-to-back meetings.


    In the office, employees from other departments were already chatting about their ns for the long weekend. In Byron''s research team, everyone was buzzing with energy-some huddled in the conference room for discussions, others hard at work in their offices.


    Faye used to be just as busy, eager to dive into theb''s core projects and get her hands on the most cutting-edge research. But since Eleanor joined, there was little left for her to do.


    Now, her days were slow-reviewing data reports, drafting a few memos, and not much else.


    That afternoon, Faye got a call from Gwenda, asking if she had any ns for the long weekend.


    "Don''t you guys have any work to do?" Faye asked, a little annoyed.


    "Not really! I''m just gathering background info. I''m not like Callie, practically living in theb."


    "Callie''s in charge of Eleanor''sb now, right?" Faye''s eyes shed.


    "Yeah! He''s running animal trials, and Professor Langley checks in whenever he can."


    "Back in school, I always thought Callie was just shy. But now...honestly, I think he''s just kind of clueless," Faye said.


    Gwenda didn''t get it. "Really? I heard his experiments have been going really welltely."


    Faye let out a shortugh. "We''ll talk after the holiday. I have things to do."


    "I''m so jealous you get to be part of such an important research team," said Gwenda.


    But Faye''s face darkened. Thatment stung more than Gwenda realized.


    With Eleanor at Meridian Dynamics, Faye had already been pushed to the sidelines.


    After hanging up with Gwenda, Faye dialed Callie''s number.


    "Hey, Faye. What''s up?" Callie answered.


    "Long time no see, Callie. I was hoping to pick your brain about some work stuff.


    Are you free for dinner tonight? My treat," Faye said brightly.


    Callie chuckled. "You need my help? That''s a first."


    "Are youing or not?" Faye pressed.


    "Alright, just send me the address. I''ll be there," Callie agreed.


    After confirming the restaurant, a sly smile shed across Faye''s face. Eleanor,


    you can''t have all the good things to yourself.