Eleanor held her phone, listening to the dial tone. She frowned for a few seconds before cing the phone back on the nightstand. She didn''t pick up her book again. There were some things she needed to think through.


    In saving Mansfield, she had inadvertently be indebted ton. For instance, his care when she was sick, and of course, the chip.


    Although he surely would have agreed once the Ellington family got involved, the fact that Eleanor had been the one to ask him first meant she had to count it as a personal favor.


    The chip had been the single most critical factor in Mansfield''s timely awakening, and Eleanor couldn''t deny thatn''s swift action in dispatching a private jet to retrieve it had been influenced by personal factors.


    It could be seen asn''s way of making amends for the past, all because she had been the one to ask.


    Since they were divorced, it was better to keep things clean and bnced between them. In the future, if he ever needed help, Eleanor would find an opportunity to repay him.


    ***


    At the hot springs resort,n stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his whiskey ss now empty. Although Eleanor''s final words had left a dull ache in his chest, it was strangely mixed with an inexplicable sense of anticipation.


    Was she dodging the question on purpose?


    ***


    At four-thirty in the afternoon on the seventh day,n''s private jetnded at the international airport.


    Eleanor was still at theb when she received a call from him, inviting her to dinner at Goodwin Manor that evening to see Magdalen.


    Eleanor hadn''t seen the old woman in a while, so she agreed to go.


    Around five o''clock, Eleanor left her office, stopping on the way to buy some of Magdalen''s favorite fruits.


    At Goodwin Manor, the roses nted by the matriarch were in full bloom, their fragrance filling the entire courtyard on the summer evening. Eleanor walked in, carrying the fruit.


    "Ellie''s here!" In the main hall, Magdalen looked up and saw her, greeting her warmly.


    "Grandma," Eleanor called out. Then, an adorable, child-like voice cried, "Mommy!"


    Eleanor hadn''t seen Evelyn in a week and missed her terribly. She opened her arms and hugged her daughter as she rushed into them.


    Evelyn buried her face in her mother''s neck, her cheeks soft and tender. Eleanor couldn''t help but cup her small face and kiss it. "Did you have fun at the hot springs?"


    "Yes, but I want to go with you next time, Mommy," Evelyn said with an expectant look.


    Eleanor nodded. "Okay, next time Mommy will go with you."


    "Ellie, you''re here." Serena Goodwin came down from the second floor. She was dressed in casual clothes and had a shorter, more stylish haircut that made her look more mature.


    "Yes," Eleanor nodded at her.


    In the kitchen, Gina, who was


    speaking with a servant, looked up and saw, Eleanor. She froze for a few


    seconds, then her eyes grew warm. said


    "Eleanor, you''re here she sale


    softly.


    Eleanor nodded at her. Gina walked over and said, n told me you''ve been very


    busytely and were even sick. Are you feeling alright?"


    Eleanor shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, Gina. I''m fine." Her tone was deliberately distant.


    "That''s good, that''s good." Gina nodded repeatedly, her fingers twisting together nervousky "I had the kitchen prepare a few of your favorite dishes. Please eat well tonight."


    "Thank you for the trouble," Eleanor said politely.


    "It''s my pleasure," Gina replied. She had always felt a deep sense of guilt towards Eleanor, knowing she could never truly atone for her past mistakes. All she could do now was


    QUTE


    be a de grandmother and


    lighten Eleanor''s burden.


    She was deeply sorry for what she had done. If only she had tried to see things from Eleanor''s perspective back then, she wouldn''t have made such an unforgivable


    error.