However, one piece of news did catch her attention: after Yeaton Holdings went bankrupt and was liquidated, its profitable overseas assets were acquired by an emerging medical technologypany.


    Yeaton Holdings would cease to exist, and her father, Rnd Yeaton, would have no chance of making aeback.


    At this thought, Vanessa felt fortunate to havetched onto a sturdy tree like Walden Wells, who provided her with support and a ce to belong.


    She caressed the enormous diamond ring Walden had just given her, which now sat on her ring finger. He might be old, but he could provide her with a life of luxury, and that was enough.


    Now, she began to anticipaten''s annual gesture. Though their rtionship was tense, the annual gift use was written in ck and white in their contract, and it was legally enforceable.


    This time, she needed to think carefully about what to ask for.


    She could start by browsing the major jewelry stores, deciding between diamonds or jade.


    In theb''s cafeteria, Eleanor had arranged to meet Joel Kingsley. As she carried her tray toward him, she caught sight of two figures walking in her direction out of the corner of her eye.


    But she quickly looked away and walked to Joel''s table. Just as she set down her tray,n and Gavin arrived.


    Just like that, the four-person table was full.


    "Mr. Goodwin, Gavin," Joel greeted them, maintaining hisposure.


    "Dr. Kingsley, Dr. Sutton, you don''t mind if we share the table, do you?"n''s voice held a hint of warmth.


    "Of course not," Joel said, pushing up his sses as his gaze flickered between Eleanor andn.


    Eleanor lowered her eyes and quietly picked up her fork. Joel quickly started the conversation. "Ellie, did you see the email I sent you? About I the interference algorithm for neural signals inplex environments? I wanted to get your thoughts—"


    Eleanor nodded, which was exactly what she had nned to discuss with Joel. She


    buried deep in his memory.


    His mind involuntarily shed back to a night four years ago.


    He hade homete and, passing by the study, saw that Eleanor''sptop was still on. She wasn''t there, but on the screen was an open chat window. The person she was talking to was Joel.


    He hadn''t meant to pry-he only wanted to shut down theputer for her-but as his eyes scanned the screen, a few lines of their conversation caught his attention.


    Eleanor was confiding her frustration and loneliness in her marriage, her tone more vulnerable than he had ever seen. "He''s always busy don''t even know what he''s thinking. It feels like there''s a pane of ss between us that can never be broken. I feel so tired."Content


    Joel''s reply was full of understanding and gentlefort. He had even called her Ellie.


    Ellie. That was the name he used for her during their marriage.


    "Ellie, don''t be sad. You deserve to be understood and cherished. Try to think of the good things, like our meeting in Montirst time. I could tell your smile was genuinely happy then."


    That night,nmitted the name Joel to memory. Although he never confronted Eleanor about it, the thorn had been nted in his heart, bing one of the many factors that created a rift between them over the next two years.


    That was why he had been so shocked to see Joel at Drexford Henry Holt''s private banquet. He discovered then that Joel was a medical genius from Montir—young, handsome, and brilliant.