Eleanor had just gotten off the ne when her phone chimed with a message. She stopped and pulled it out to check. Seeing the photo of Princess, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. In the picture, Princess was dirty, her head resting onn''sp, her eyes wide and damp with lingering fear.


    The image gave Eleanor pause for a few seconds.


    In her memory,n was fastidious about cleanliness. Even when she had brought Princess home without his permission, he had outwardly epted the dog, but she knew he was privately resistant to having a pet in the house.


    "Thank you. I appreciate it," Eleanor quickly replied before walking with Ryan to their waiting car.


    He looked down at Princess, who was gradually calming down in his arms, and felt the effort was all worth it.


    When they arrived at the veterinary clinic, Princess began to tremble all over again at the sight of the doctor. Ian held her himself, staying with her through her bath, the bandaging of her wounds, and her vinations.


    The female staff at the clinic werepletely charmed. They had never seen such a handsome man so lovingly and patiently attend to his pet.


    He had a cool, imposing demeanor that suggested he was a man of status, yet he didn''t seem to care that his expensive suit was covered in dog hair.


    And when he used his deep, maic voice to soothe the Beagle, the staff members'' hearts beat a little faster. They couldn''t help but imagine how blissful it would be to be his girlfriend, to be coaxed with such gentle patience. They''d probably faint from happiness!


    An hourter, Princess was clean and her wounds were properly dressed. She looked a little ridiculous wearing an Elizabethan cor.


    To keep her from biting at the bandages, she would have to wear the cor for a few days. Ian carried Princess to the car, then took a picture of the clean, cored dog and sent it to Eleanor. "Wounds are treated. I''m bringing her home."


    At Kingston, Eleanor was having lunch with Principal Maxwell and several other highly respected medical seniors. When she saw the message, she replied again, "Thank you."


    Now that she andn were divorced, Princess was a member of her household. As the dog''s owner, it was only right for her to thank him for everything he had done.


    "I''ll exin everything to Evelyn when she gets home tonight,"n texted back.


    Eleanor was listening to Principal Maxwell speak, so she quickly typed a one-word reply, "Okay."


    She put her phone away and focused on the discussion. Principal Maxwell looked at Eleanor with high expectations.


    The meeting happened at Ashford


    f


    Medical University''s teaching hospital. After the introductions, both sides had an open, friendly exchange about their respective technologies, and came away deeply impressed with each other


    After the meeting, Principal Maxwell asked Eleanor to take a walk with him in the hospital garden. She knew he wanted to talk to her privately.


    "Eleanor, you''ve worked so hard on the Neural Interface Project. I heard from Ryan that you often work overtime and have already started the first phase of testing with some impressive results."


    Eleanor nodded, and they discussed some technical details from the meeting and the future ns for the project.


    Just then, Principal Maxwell''s phone rang. He nced at it. "I need to take this."


    Eleanor waited for him, her gaze drifting over the elegantly designed garden. As evening approached, è many patients were out enjoying the sunset was then that a figure in a wheelchair, not far away, caught her attention.


    It was a young woman dressed in blue-and-white striped hospital pajamas, with a jacket draped casually over her shoulders. A nurse was pushing her wheelchair as she looked up at the birds flying Ch overhead. Her beautiful face held a look of resilience that was different


    from that of ordinary patients.