As arge hand gently pressed against the back of her head, Eleanor''s body went rigid.


    Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, but she didn''t struggle or respond. She simply stood there, limp inn''s arms, as if it took her a few seconds to process what was happening.


    When she finally did, her voice was cold. "Are you done?"


    Those three words were like a physical de, twisting deep inton''s heart. The strength of his embrace faltered, and the overwhelming surge of joy and gratitude instantly froze. He could feel the unyielding stiffness of her body—a rejection far more devastating than if she had pushed him away.


    "Sorry... I got carried away," he apologized, his voice low. His gratitude for what she had done was beyond words, and in that moment, he felt as lost and clumsy as a child, unsure how to express it.


    Eleanor smoothed down herb coat with a deliberate, detached motion, as if the embrace had been utterly insignificant something best forgotten.


    "If you have no other work-rted matters, Mr. Goodwin, I''ll be returning to myb," she said, picking up herptop and walking out the door.


    Serena, who had been waiting outside, was startled. She had expected them to talk for a while, but Eleanor was out in less than two minutes. "Ellie," she said, surprised.


    Eleanor gave her a brief nce and walked past without a word. Serena watched her go, not an ounce of


    too overjoyed. Eleanor''s


    resentment in her heart. She wan et


    breakthrough meant her brother was with


    no longer at Vanessa''s mercy. her own strength, she had pulled him out of a living hell.


    Serena turned to go back into the conference room to talk to her


    e


    brother. As she reached the doorway, she saw him standing there, one hand braced on the conference table the other presse to his forehead. His tall frame seemed to radiate a profound sense of loneliness and sorrow.


    Serena swallowed hard. After seeing Vanessa''s true colors, she was


    overwhelmed with guilt. She had not only been Vanessa''s aplice in hurting Eleanor, but she had also been a pawn in the destruction of her brother''s marriage, a weapon wielded by Vanessa.


    Now she understood why her brother had always warned her to stay away from Vanessa. She wasn''t just Vanessa''s pawn; she was now a roadblock to her brother''s chances of winning Eleanor back. She had done so much to hurt her.


    Looking back, Vanessa had been


    diabolically clever. Nearly every time they were together, she had perfectly timed Eleanor''s arrival so she could strike a blow, to wound her. At the time, Serena had been too foolish to see it, thinking each incident was a coincidence. Now she realized that for an ambitious woman who had been unscrupulously plotting to marry her brother from the start, every single move had been a calcted step toward her goal.


    Sensing someone behind him,n turned. Seeing his sister, his expression softened. "Go get some rest."


    "Brother, I''m so sorry. I was so stupid before, always fighting with you," Serena said, her voice choked with shame and regret as tears streamed down her face. "You told me to stay away from Vanessa, and I just pushed back even harder."n looked at his distraught sister, a mix of emotions churning inside him.


    He ced a hand on her shoulder and said, "It''s not all your fault. I didn''t handle things well."