Eleanor had expected nothing less. He''d sooner let go of any chance to mend things with her than breathe a word about the secret.


    "Why?" Eleanor looked directly into his eyes, her tone calm but unyielding. "What''s hidden in there? What''s so important that you''d rather I continue to hate you than tell me?"


    Eleanor bit her lip. Even though they were divorced and she had grown so much, confronting him like this still made her eyes well up uncontrobly.


    n, you''re always like this. You high-handedly decide what I should know and what should be kept from me. That has always been the biggest problem between us."


    But as his hand approached, Eleanor pped it away and turned her face from him in rejection.


    Eleanor quickly wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye, refusing to look at him. "Since you''re not willing to make the exchange, there''s nothing more to talk about."


    "Eleanor—"n started to say, but she cut him off.


    "You should go," she said, reopening herptop and fixing her gaze on the screen. "I have work to do."


    The dismissal was clear. Ian stood up but remained in ce for a moment before finally replying, "Alright."


    Eleanor didn''t look up until she heard the door close.


    She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. The moren wanted to keep that document hidden, the more she felt it had something to do with her. No, with her father.


    What kind of secret wasn guarding so fiercely?


    Eleanor''s gaze fell on the crystal ornament. In the photo, her


    daughter''s innocent smile was like a beam of light cutting through her sorrow, making her own lips curve into a faint smile.


    Later, when Joslyn returned and saw thatn was gone, she couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed. She had hoped Eleanor would ask him to stay for lunch.


    But that was just her wishful thinking. She could sense a faint air of mncholy surrounding the working figure on the sofa. Had Ma''am and Mr. Goodwin argued again?


    Joslyn had been the closest third-party witness to their rtionship: She had been their live-in postpartum nurse right after Evelyn was born. Her performance hadimasedn so Eleanor hired her as a housekeeper to help with the baby.


    Joslyn tiptoed into the kitchen and began preparing lunch, her mind drifting back through the memories of this little family.


    She first met Eleanor the week she came home from the hospital after giving birth. She remembered thinking how young the new mother was.


    Though only two years older,n seemed much more mature. While Joslyn was in charge of Evelyn''s newborn care dan had hired two other senior mannies and


    nutritionist to look after Eleanor. But most of the time,n cared for her himself. As a new father, the


    tenderness in his eyes was


    impossible to hide.


    Back then, Eleanor was a happy young mother, with a doting husband, a wealthy home, and an adorable daughter.