"Just like Joel, Mansfield, and Xavier. I want you to grant me the same rights they have,"n''s breathing grew slightly heavier, his deep gaze locked onto her, refusing to look away.


    He had lowered his pridepletely, his tone bordering on a humble plea, yet at the same time, hismanding presence trapped her in his line of sight, leaving her nowhere to run.


    It wasn''t that Eleanor hadn''t noticed his intentionstely. But the scars of the past were still there. Three years of divorce had made her ustomed to being alone. Stepping back into a romance required courage.


    "Are you drunk?" Eleanor tried to snap him out of it. He had already gone through more than half of that bottle of wine earlier, plus whatever he drank at noon. She honestly couldn''t tell if he was fully lucid.


    "No! I''mpletely sober," Ian shook his head, his eyes growing even more intense. "All I need is for you to nod and let me back into your world. Please?"


    The cool night breeze brushed past, stirring the loose strands of hair by Eleanor''s cheeks and unsettling her thoughts. She looked at the man in front of her, seeing the near-obsessive persistence and hope in his eyes. She knew he wasn''t drunk.


    She let out a soft sigh. "Ian, rtionships aren''t a transaction."


    "I know. I know I''m being unreasonable, but I have no other choice. Eleanor, watching you smile at Joel, watching younger men smile at you—I get jealous and terrified. Right now, all I want is for you not topletely shut me out of your world. Can you do that?"n swallowed hard, continuing to beg.


    "Isn''t it fine the way we are?" Eleanor looked off into the distance. She genuinely felt that their current, peaceful dynamic was enough.


    He knew he was being greedy and asking for too much.


    He didn''t just want an opportunity; he wanted Eleanor to try trusting him one more time.


    "Ian, rtionships go both ways. The choice is yours, and mine," Eleanor said, turning around and walking back into the banquet hall.


    She left the man standing there, parsing through her words syble by syble.


    Eleanor meant that she wouldn''t stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do, but whether he could actually win her heart back would depend entirely on him.


    His brows suddenly shot up. A wave of wild ecstasy surged in his chest. He took a deep breath, straightened his cor, and strode confidently back into the hall content


    When Eleanor returned to the party, a few fellow scientists approached her.


    "Dr. Sutton, I''ve always admired your work. I absolutely must toast you," a middle- aged man smiled, raising his ss.


    Eleanor couldn''t exactly decline.


    Just as she was about to raise her


    ss in response, a well-defined


    handreached out from the side and


    smoothly intercepted her drink.


    "I apologize, but Dr. Sutton isn''t much of a drinker. I''ll take this one for her."n


    appeared out of nowhere, his voiceced with a subtle smile.


    The male guest immediately beamed. "Mr. Goodwin! A pleasure to meet you."


    He was officially exercising the right he had just fought for.


    Eleanor averted her gaze and shook her head in mild exasperation. She knew it.


    The moment she gave an inch, this man would take a mile.