"Alright, I'll bring her over," lan replied.

"This is driving me crazy! Eleanor's getting more and more stubborn. You two have been married for six years, and she still acts like a spoiled child-completely immature!" Gina couldn't help but vent her frustration to her son.

"Mom, I'll talk to her," lan tried to reassure her.

"I told you back then I didn't want you two to get married. Now, look what's happened. Not only is she unreasonable, but she doesn't even know how to show respect," Gina grumbled, unable to keep her annoyance to herself today.

Just then, a cough behind her made Gina jump. She turned around to see her mother-in-law standing there. Quickly, she said into the phone, "lan, I need to go." Magdalen had caught the end of the conversation. "Honestly, how old are you, Gina? Still letting Eleanor get under your skin."

"You didn't see how stubborn she was just now! If she were my daughter, I'd have given her a piece of my mind. The only reason I held back is because she's my daughter-in-law," Gina shot back, complaining to her mother-in-law.

Magdalen gave her a pointed look. "Haven't you noticed things have been chilly between lan and Ellie lately? Just stay out of their marriage."

Of course Gina had noticed, but it only made her worry more about her son.

"lan gives her a generous allowance every month-three hundred thousand, at the very least. What more does she want? Why does she have to sulk at him all the time?"

Magdalen, on the other hand, figured her grandson had probably been too busy lately and had neglected Eleanor, which must have left the young woman feeling hurt. She made a mental note to encourage them to spend more time together.

lan's house.

"Mommy, look at my drawing! This is you, and daddy, and me-and Princess," Evelyn announced, proudly holding up her picture.

Eleanor nuzzled her daughter's cheek and praised her, "It's wonderful,

sweetheart. You did such a good job. Tomorrow's the weekend-where should we go for fun?"

Evelyn threw her arms around Eleanor's neck, beaming. "I want to go to the amusement park!"

"Deal. Mommy will take you," Eleanor promised, hooking her pinky with her daughter's. "Let's make a pinky promise."

"Okay! Pinky promise!" Evelyn bounced up and down, giggling as she linked her little finger with her mother's.

At nine-thirty, the sound of the front door opening echoed downstairs, followed by Princess's excited barking-Daddy was home.

"Daddy!" Evelyn ran to greet him.

lan crouched down and pulled his daughter into a hug. "What did you do today?"

"I drew a picture! And Mommy promised to take me to the amusement park tomorrow. We even made a pinky promise," Evelyn said, her voice bubbling with excitement.

lan set her down, loosening his tie as he walked over to Eleanor. From his suit pocket, he pulled out a bank card and handed it to her. "There's half a million in here. Use it for whatever you need."

Since their wedding, Eleanor had never once needed to ask for money. Each year, lan deposited the entire household budget onto a card for her-always more than enough.

In the past, whenever Eleanor got the card, she would leap into his arms, shower him with kisses-whether he liked it or not-and laugh, "Thank you, honey!"

Sometimes lan would let her cover his face in kisses, sometimes he'd playfully push her away, telling her not to make a scene.

That was lan-never too warm, never too cold, always measuring affection in numbers.

Still, as a husband, he'd done everything expected of him.

And with Eleanor's cheerful nature, she'd always managed to keep their marriage running smoothly.

But now, something had changed.

Eleanor had changed. These days, he couldn't tell what she was thinking or what she wanted anymore.

Eleanor glanced at the card he held out. She shook her head. "That's not necessary."

With that, Eleanor stood up and moved to leave the living room.

"It's been six months. Are you still upset?"