She had stayed up half the night, acting cute and charming, all to persuade Henry Holt to take her to a medical conference thatn Goodwin was interested in.


    Back then, Henry,n, and Xavier would take her everywhere they went. It wasn''t because she was actually invited, but because she would privately beg Henry to let her tag along and see the world. At the time, Henry would do anything she asked.


    As she kept up the act, Vanessa Shannon sometimes truly felt like she was the one and only princess surrounded by these three men. The feeling of being subtly adored byn, Henry, and Xavier-three of the most elite men in the world-was like an addictive drug that left herpletely intoxicated.


    She knew, of course, thatn always kept his distance, that Xavier was mostly just humoring Henry, and that Henry himself was just a backup n she could wrap around her little finger.


    But the envious res from outsiders and the spective media reports all fed her vanity immensely.


    Whenever the media was present, she would deliberately move closer ton, shing him adoring looks and radiant smiles, carefully cultivating the image of his morous mistress. It made the world see her as the sole darling within the inner circle of these three top-tier men.


    She did this so often that she was certain Eleanor Sutton, back in their home country, would eventually see it.


    From the moment their lives became entangled, she knew the carefully woven facade would sessfully shatter the fortress of Eleanor''s love forn.


    Maybe it would be a tripn had to take abroad, or a phone call she intentionally made to her daughter, or perhaps a rainy night when Eleanor was lying awake, alone in her bed.


    In short, once a seed of doubt is nted in the heart, it only takes a crack for it to grow until it shatters everything.


    But now...


    Vanessa looked at the radiant


    Eleanor on the tablet and then at her own situation. Ian was retaliating against her, Henry despised her, and Xavier Bouldn''t have been bothered with her from the start. There was no longer a ce for her in their inner circle.


    Meanwhile, the woman she once looked down on, the woman she thought was fragile, had established a firm foothold in the world of scientific research on her own merits, earning the respect of everyone, includingn.


    And now,n was even trying to win her back.


    The stark contrast felt like a resounding p across her face, stinging with a burning pain.


    All her schemes, all her careful nning, had turned out to be nothing more than a joke. She had broken up Eleanor''s marriage, only to inadvertently create a stronger, more captivating Eleanor.


    Vanessa tossed the tablet back to Laverne. "You actually believe this gossip the media is peddling?"


    Laverne quickly grabbed the iPad, afraid Vanessa might smash it in a fit of anger. She smiled. "I knew it


    was impossible. A man liken cale


    have his pick of eighteen-year-old girls. Why would he go back to an ex? Besides-"


    Vanessa turned to look at her. "Besides what?"


    "Besides, the Eleanor of today is no longer the young woman from ten years ago whose eyes were filled with nothing but love for him," Laverne quickly continued. "Once a woman''s heart is dead to you especially someone like Eleanor who is sessful and has seen the world, getting her to fall in love withn again won''t be easy. I think they''re just interacting more for the sake of their child. After all, you can''t unring a bell, and some things just can''t be undone."