Eleanor felt his eyes on her. She pursed her lips and tried to focus on her work.


    Half an hourter, she finished entering the data and writing her report. With a soft sigh of relief, she saved her work and shut down theputer.


    "Finished?"n rose to his feet just as she was done and walked over to her side. Eleanor nodded and stood up. "Did you book a restaurant?"


    "I did,"n confirmed, waiting for her to lead the way before following.


    Eleanor decided to ride withn, as she was too tired to drive.


    The car ride was quiet, but the atmosphere wasfortable, as if they had never been apart all these years.


    The restaurant was a private, upscale establishment. After they ordered,n looked up and asked with concern, "Are you facing any difficulties at work?"


    Eleanor shook her head. "Not at the moment."


    "For the renovation, are there any particr designs you like? Or anything you want to add?"n asked in a low voice.


    Eleanor had already nned to leave the renovation to him. She thought for a moment and said, "Just put some extra effort into Evelyn''s room. For the rest, you can just have the design firme up with a n."


    "Thank you," Eleanor said out of habit.


    Eleanor took a sip of tea. "Okay," she replied.


    When the waiter served their food, Eleanor began to cut her steak gracefully.n watched her te with a smile. "Can I try some of yours?"


    Eleanor paused, her knife hovering over the steak, and looked up at kim. There was a hint of expectation in''s eyes. Back when they were together, Eleanor used to love trying his food at restaurants like this.


    Each time,n would cut a piece and feed it to her. Eleanor would savor it with satisfaction and offer him a bite of her own steak in return.


    Now, his simple question brought all


    those memories rushing back.


    Eleanor cut a piece of steak but


    didn''t hand it over. Instead, she just


    lifted her chin slightly motioning for him to get it himself.


    A smile bloomed inn''s eyes. He picked up a spare set of utensils from the side


    and reached over to take the piece of steak.


    "Thanks." He put the steak in his mouth and chewed slowly, as if savoring every bit of the vor.


    "This is good. I like it," he said with a smile.


    Eleanor didn''t reply, simply lowering her head to continue her meal. Dinner ended at eight o''clock.


    Asn was driving her home, he suddenly said, "Evelyn ran into Vanessa at the stables this afternoon."


    Eleanor''s expression instantly tensed. She turned to face him. "I told you, I don''t want her anywhere near Evelyn."


    Regret shed inn''s eyes. "I''m


    sorry. I had no idea she would be there. She and Serena were arguing, and Evelyn overheard some malicious things. She was a bit


    Pavel.


    scared, but I''ve alreadyforted her."


    Eleanor turned her face toward the window. She could almost guess what Vanessa had said—something about how she''d used her daughter to get close ton, or some other attack directed at her.


    She had always worried that her daughter was too young to understand the grudges of adults, afraid it would hurt her. But now, Vanessa herself had torn off her own mask in front of their daughter.