Vanessa hadbeled Eleanor a viin. Compounded by Eleanor''s role as a stay- at-home wife after the marriage, Serena had assumed she was just a freeloader, which only deepened her contempt. Whenpared to the aplished Vanessa, Eleanor was, in Serena''s eyes, azy, ordinary housewife who did nothing but live off the Goodwin name.


    Only now did she realize that during her marriage, Eleanor had not only raised a daughter but had also been constantly growing. She used to mock Eleanor for reading novels to pass the time, but the truth was, Eleanor had been studying medicine.


    The more she recalled her past cruelty, the more ashamed Serena felt. She had been living in a bubble of her own prejudice and arrogance. She had not only misjudged Eleanor but had treated her with such malice.


    Like the incident at the pool party. That night, she''d gotten a call from Vanessa to go out for dinner, and on a whim, she tricked Eleanor intoing, hoping to embarrass her in front ofn''s friends and expose her as an inadequate wife. But then she and Vanessa both ended up in the water, and she had been too stunned to think clearly.


    Serena bit her lip. There were things she needed to ask her brother. Could he really have been unaware of how brilliant Eleanor was during their marriage?


    Over the past few days, Serena had noticed that whenever Eleanor was around, her brother''s gaze never left her. So, did he still love Eleanor or not?


    With that thought, Serena headed for a conference room thatn had been using as a temporary office.


    She walked to the door and knocked.


    "Come in,"n''s voice called out.


    Serena pushed the door open to seen at arge table, signing documents, a hint of exhaustion in his features.


    "Ian, are you busy? I need to ask you something," she said, pulling a chair up beside him.


    "I want to ask about you and Ellie."


    "Be honest with me," Serena began, her gaze intense. "When you married loved her? Or was it just to repay a debt?" She watched his face closely, searching for any flicker of emotion.


    Ellie was it beca you


    Serena was taken aback. "Both? You


    mean you loved her and felt indebted to her? But you were in aa when she took care of you.. How Could you have fallen in love was aspletely


    With her then?" Sheen in love


    baffled. Had it been love at first sight? But at that time, the brilliant and beautiful Vanessa was already in his life. How could he have fallen for Eleanor?


    whenever she dared to speak to him.


    Who could have known that back then, the sightn looked forward to most each


    day was the quiet figure reading in the corner of the library?