Joel''s guilt deepened. "I''m sorry, Eleanor. I never expected this... I just found our discussions so insightful back then, I didn''t consider how it might affect your marriage."


    "It wasn''t your fault, Joel." Eleanor shook her head. "The problems were already there between us. Poormunication, ack of trust... it''s all in the past now."


    Even if it hadn''t been Joel, there was still Vanessa Shannon. At the time,n Goodwin was unwilling to be open about his rtionship with Vanessa, and she would have ended up just as embittered.


    Of course, Eleanor did recall a few times whenn had tried to exin, but by then, she no longer wanted to hear any of it. She was sure that even if he had exined back then, nothing would have changed.


    Given her capabilities at the time, upon learning about her daughter''s potential gic condition, she might have divorced him even faster to make way for Vanessa, allowingn to maintain his connection to Vanessa as a donor.


    Seeing Joel''s remorseful expression, Eleanor got up and walked over to pat his shoulder. "Joel, don''t dwell on it. It really wasn''t your fault."


    Joel sighed and looked up at Eleanor, a deeply hidden secret held tight in his heart.


    The truth was, when he first learned of Eleanor''s unhappiness, he had developed feelings for her. After all, the real reason he had returned to the country was because of her.


    Eleanor might not have known, but he was suren knew everything.


    As for Eleanor joining theb,n must have approached Dr. Lyman privately. However, the theoretical foundation for theb was Eleanor''s own proposal.


    So, even ifn had talked to Dr. Lyman, it would have been impossible to kick Eleanor out.


    "Ellie, do you think... if it hadn''t been for me, would you two not have..." Joel looked at Eleanor, specting.


    "We would have," Eleanor said, looking at him. "We still would have gotten divorced."


    She was certain of that.


    Joel suddenly looked at her with curiosity. "How did you end up falling forn in the first ce? If you don''t mind me asking."


    In the quiet office, Eleanor hadn''t expected Joel to be curious about that. It had been


    a long time since she had thought about her past withn.


    "His father''s attending physician was


    my dad. Fused to go to my dad''s


    him


    office after school to keep i


    that''s how met him Eleanor said, involuntarily drifting


    into her memories.


    At neen,n already had that polished, untouchable rich-kid aura, calm and self-possessed in a way that didn''t match his age, to her seventeen-year-old self, he was the kind of man you couldn''t quite figure out but couldn''t look away from, all cool distance and quiet pull.


    Eleanor, in the first blush of love, couldn''t help but want to get closer to him, to know him. One time, after his father''s condition turned critical, she ran inton on a secluded balcony.


    He stood with his back to the hallway, shoulders shaking, but without a sound. An unshakable aura of grief and despair surrounded him.


    When he turned around, Eleanor''s heart pounded. She fumbled to pull out a clean handkerchief, awkwardly stuffed it into his hand, and then turned and fled.


    Heter returned the handkerchief to her, washed and clean. He was still cold and unapproachable, like someone from a different, higher world.


    But Eleanor had seen his vulnerability. Combined with the purest flutterings of a young girl''s heart, it made her fall for himpletely.


    Joel waited for her to continue, but Eleanor''s gaze flickered. "That was all a long time ago. It''s better not to bring it up."


    Joel felt a touch of disappointment but didn''t press further. Seeing her clear reluctance to talk about it, he knew that while the beginning of that story might have been sweety the ending had been painful.