"Oh, andn specifically told his mother and me not to tell you," Magdalen added. "He didn''t want you to feel burdened by it."


    An indescribable mix of shock and confusion churned in Eleanor''s chest. Ian had made such a monumental decision and had hidden it from her all this time.


    "Grandma," Eleanor''s voice was strained, "did my father know it wasn''s decision alone?"


    Magdalen nodded. "Ian handled all the donation paperwork himself."


    Eleanor felt a sharp prick in her heart. Ian had never said a single word about it.


    "Ellie, you don''t need to feel any pressure about it. It''s been so many years, and our family has moved past it. I just thought I''d mention it," Magdalen said. There was a hint of helplessness in her eyes, as if she wouldn''t have brought it up if her grandson weren''t so guarded, if she didn''t feel Eleanor needed to understand him better.


    "You sit here for a bit. I''m going to check on dinner," the old woman said, getting up and heading to the kitchen.


    Eleanor took a sip of her now-cold tea, her thoughts a million miles away. She couldn''t help but think ofn in the hallway earlier, his eyes filled with a desperate need to exin. Maybe she did need to find a time to talk to him, to ask what her father had really told him, to understand why so much had been kept from her.


    A few momentster, Evelyn ran over with a drawing, pulling Eleanor from her thoughts. She took the picture; it was abstract but full of childish charm.


    "This is wonderful," Eleanor praised.


    Soon, dinner was served. After a pleasant meal filled with light conversation, Eleanor saw that it was gettingte and decided it was time to take her daughter home. Though Magdalen was sad to see them go, she understood and waved them off.


    As Eleanor pulled into her parking spot, she noticed a ck Maybach parked in the adjacent space, its engine still running.


    "It''s Daddy''s car!" Evelyn eximed happily.


    Eleanor frowned. Before she had even turned off her own car,n was getting out


    of the driver''s seat. He waited for her to kill the engine, then opened the back


    door. Evelyn scrambled out and threw her arms around him.


    "Daddy!"


    "Yes! Great-Grandma and Mommy talked for a long time," Evelyn reported.


    Eleanor got out of the car with her purse, avoiding his eyes. Ian turned back to his daughter. "I''ll walk you two. His words were meant for Eleanor as much as for Evelyn.


    The elevator rose to their floor. Ian carried Evelyn to the door, and Eleanor opened it. Joslyn was there to greet them, her surprise evident at seeingn.


    Eleanor paused for a moment, then spoke softly to her daughter. "Evelyn, you go inside. Mommy and Daddy need to talk about something."


    Evelyn nodded obediently. "Okay." She looked from one to the other, her big eyes serious. "But you can''t fight, okay?"


    "We won''t. We''re just going to talk," Eleanor promised.


    Satisfied, Evelyn nodded and allowed her mother to close the door.


    "Come over to my ce?" he invited.


    Eleanor looked up at him. "We can talk here. I want to know what my father told you back then. I want you to tell me everything you and my father discussed that I don''t know about." She added, "Your grandmother told me about your father''s donation today."<pn''s body went rigid. He hadn''t expected his grandmother to bring that up.