It must have been becausen had donated his father''s body. That had to be part of it, but the more significant reason was the obvious adoration forn that her father had seen in her eyes.


    Eleanor took a deep breath, pulling her thoughts back to the present. She looked up and met his intense, searching gaze. She felt as if he could see right through her and instinctively put on a colder expression.


    "What else? What else did my father tell you? And why was my mother''s tissue sample given to you?"


    "I traded my father''s body for it,"n answered directly.


    Eleanor stared at him for a few seconds, then the pieces clicked into ce. Ian had known her mother''s sample was a match for his own mother and had used his father''s body as a bargaining chip. It was a cold, calcted move, perfectly in line with his character. That exined why he held the rights to her mother''s sample. And if he had paid such a steep price for it, she truly had no right to demand it back.


    "Then why did you refuse when I asked to use it?" she asked, her eyes fixed on him.


    "Why use your mother''s sample when there''s a living donor?" he countered.


    She had no response to that. She smoothed her clothes and stood up. "Fine. I think we''re done here." In the end, it all came down to another one of his ruthless transactions.


    "Eleanor, don''t you want to talk about anything else?"n asked, standing as well, his voice raspy.


    She shot him a cool nce. "No."


    His chest rose and fell with a controlled breath. He walked to the door and opened


    it for her, but he didn''t pull it all the way, waiting for her to approach.


    Eleanor was tired and just wanted to go home. As she reached the doorway arge hand closed


    around her wrist. She instinctively


    away her voice shar


    tried


    with annoyance. "What do you think you''re doing?"


    She red at him. "What is it?"


    Eleanor wrenched her hand free and took two steps back, her face a mask of cold rejection. "I don''t want to hear this."


    Back in her own home,n''s words weighed heavily on her. Whatever his motives, he had helped her father and supported his research, and for that, she was grateful.


    "Mommy, you and Daddy didn''t fight, did you?" Evelyn asked, walking over with a doll in her arms.


    Eleanor shook her head. "No, we didn''t fight."


    Joslyn, who was cleaning nearby, overheard and paused, a hopeful look in her eyes. She could see thatn still loved Eleanor deeply; they just needed to learn how tomunicate.


    In her room, Eleanor showered, reyingn''s words. She finally understood Gina''s reaction when she had first confessed her feelings forn Gina had known about the donation of her husband''s body and had disliked her for it, trying to pay her off to settle the debt of her caring fort all made sense now And her boldness toward Eleanor boldnesextoward


    during the marriage was even more understandable.