Evelyn climbed into bed after her bath, obediently looking at a picture book as she waited for her mother toe and read to her.


    After her own bath, Eleanor got into bed and held her daughter in her arms. She opened the picture book and noticed Evelyn''s vocabry had grown even more. "Has someone been teaching you to readtely?" she asked, curious.


    "It was Auntie. She makes time to teach me every day, and I''ve been studying really hard!" Evelyn answered honestly.


    Eleanor''s heart warmed, and she kissed her daughter''s head. "That''s wonderful, sweetie."


    The mother and daughtery in bed, and Evelyn recounted the events of the past few days before she gradually grew sleepy and drifted off, using Eleanor''s arm as a pillow.


    Eleanor, however, wasn''t tired. She gently slipped her arm out and went to the French windows, her mind reying everything that had happened on her trip abroad.


    Her father''s reasons for getting the bedside records,n''s confession, their conversation on the beach-


    She had seen his changes, his honesty, his efforts, and his respect.


    A tangle of thoughts and emotions weighed on her chest, and she finally started to


    feel drowsy. She lifted the covers and got back into bed. Her daughter immediately snuggled closer, seeking her warmth. Eleanor looked down at her daughter''s adorable sleeping face, smiled, and kissed her before closing her eyes.


    The next morning,n came by. He was taking their daughter to the office for the day, and Eleanor knew he was doing it to give her time to go to theb.


    Evelyn was excited to go to the office, so she left with her father.


    When Eleanor arrived at theb, she found that the equipment upgrade, which had been going on for a while, was nearlyplete.


    "Eleanor, you''re here," Gwenda said, spotting her in the lobby while carrying a stack of documents.


    Eleanor greeted her. "I just got back. Thought I''de in and see how things are going."


    "The equipment in yourb is almost all reced. You''ll be able to start your research soon," Gwenda said, a hint of envy in her voice.


    At noon, Eleanor called Simone Langley. As it happened, Simone was on campus with her students for a research project, so they arranged to meet in the cafeteria for lunch.


    After they sat down, Eleanor brought up the patient, Marilyn. Simone immediately looked up. "Why are you suddenly asking about her?"


    Eleanor told her the truth about her mother''s illness before she passed away. Simone''s expression turned solemn, tinged with apology. "Ellie, I''m so sorry. I actually knew about this before you did."


    Eleanor stared at her in surprise. "Professor Langley, you knew about my mother''s condition? Does that mean you also knew my father was doing this research back then?"


    Simone shook her head. "I only found out this year, and it was a coincidence. I was reviewing cases at the hospital one day and saw your mother''s name on the list of leukemia patients. I thought it was a mistake, but I checked, and it was indeed her."


    Eleanor was stunned again. "Then why didn''t you tell me?"


    Simone sighed. "From Marilyn''s recovery, I knew you had already conquered the disease that afflicted your mother. I askedn about it, and he was the one who asked me to keep it confidential for the time being. You were busy in Dr. Smith''sb back then."


    Eleanor fell silent.


    Simone quickly added


    apologetically, "Ellie, don''t men.


    He''s done so much for your


    research. When we were tracking Marilyn''s case he came to my office personally and asked me to pay close attention to her recovery. Everything he did, he did for you."


    Eleanor pressed her lips together. "I know."


    "I figured it outater. He invested in leukemia research, and even though it was a massive financial drain, he had written nk check after nk check without a single regret. think that was also because of you" Simone had onsidered it before,n had so many other projects he could have invested in, but he chose this one. It wasn''t to make money, but to find an effective treatment to save a future Eleanor.


    He had pushed Eleanor to speed up her progress and personally oversaw every step of the project. She remembered it wasn who had


    requested she monitor Marilyn waiving at her medical fees to save her. In a way, everything he did was for personal reasons.


    Marilyn was the only patient in the country with the exact same condition as Eleanor''s mother, and the only living subject for the research.


    "Eleanor, I really hope you can sit down and have a proper talk withn. He has


    truly done so much for you behind the scenes," Simone said with a sigh.