But right now, Eleanor''s gaze waspletely clear. It was a pure, objective appreciation for his abilities, his striking looks, and his undeniable charm.


    Ian sharply caught her stare. Though he couldn''t read her thoughts, her look brushed against his heart like a feather, carrying a maic pull far more thrilling than any tant seduction.


    His fingers tightened around his ss. He felt an uncharacteristic flicker of anxiety, almost as if he were afraid she might find himcking.


    "What are you thinking about?" he asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice.


    She didn''t look away. Instead, she asked him withplete candor, "I was just wondering... if I hadn''t met you back then, where would I be right now? What would I be doing?"


    An invisible hand immediately grippedn''s chest.


    Was she... regretting it? Regretting that she had ever met him?


    Eleanor looked down at her wine, reminiscing about the past. "Honestly, that summer, I had already promised my dad I''d go to Kingston for an academic exchange. If I hadn''t gone to drop off those documents for him that day, we would never have bumped into each other in that hospital corridor. We might have never crossed paths in our entire lives."


    Or she might have joined the National Academy of Sciences and met Mansfield Ellington.


    Her trajectory would have been entirely parallel to his. Back then, he would have likely only invested in overseasbs. If he hadn''t seen her cutting-edge medical project, he might never have bothered investing in the medical field at all. There would have been absolutely zero chance of their lives intersecting.


    He might have eventually known of her, seen her figure at some medical summit, but they would have undoubtedly missed each other.


    He swallowed hard, his throat tight. "If you hadn''t met me, your life would have been much smoother, with far less turbulence. You would have learned and grown at your own pace in a much purer environment," achieving everything you wanted..."


    He paused, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "...And you wouldn''t have gone through all that unnecessary pain."


    Eleanor had just been musing aloud.


    She looked up at him. "But there are no do overs in life I don''t regret where I am today, and I certainly don''t regret having Evelyn


    he was the one part of her life she actually regretted?


    "But there''s no denying that I wouldn''t be where I am today, with all my


    achievements in medicine, without you," Eleanor added suddenly, her tone honest and direct.


    It was a fact, and she had no intention of denying it. She even raised her ss slightly. "Thank you,n."


    His gaze deepened. That stinging ache in his chest was nowced with an odd, overwhelming softness.


    "Life has no "what ifs''. What happened, happened. The path forward has both roses and thorns,


    She


    and going through all of it is exactly what made me who Lam toda Continued.


    Looking at the bright spark in her eyes,n held his breath for a few seconds. "Everything I did for you, I did willingly. You never need to thank me."


    He spoke in a low rumble. He had thousands of words caught in his throat, but he couldn''t voice a single one.


    Eleanor finished her half-ss of wine. It was gettingte. She stood up, walked to the ind, and set her ss down. "It''ste. We should get some rest."


    She turned to leave, butn''s hand suddenly shot out, grabbing her wrist. "Ellie," he rasped, his throat tight. "Don''t go."