If lan remembered correctly, their relationship had been incredibly strained during that period. She had even tried to restrict his visitation rights with their daughter. Because of that, his mood had been foul for an entire month, and naturally, his temper had been explosive.

"It seems Dr. Sutton still asks around about me in her spare time," lan teased, a smirk playing on his lips.

Eleanor was quick to deny it. "I'm not that bored."

His smile only deepened. "It's fine. You can gossip about me all you want. And if you'd rather hear it straight from the source, you can ask me anytime."

She let out a soft laugh. "I'm genuinely busy. I have no interest in your rumors." "Then do you want to know what happened to that engineering team I fired?"

Eleanor wanted to say no, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Where did they go?"

"They went straight to my competitor and took the core design blueprints with them," lan admitted openly. "My legal team spent six months battling them in court." He narrowed his eyes, giving her a teasing look. "Want to know if I won or lost?"

Eleanor paused with her fork halfway to her mouth, hooked by the suspense. "You lost?" she guessed.

A flash of absolute, predatory confidence crossed his face. "I won. And I won beautifully."

Eleanor was momentarily speechless. She wasn't a businesswoman, and the cutthroat, manipulative nature of his industry was completely foreign to her-and even a bit off-putting.

But she understood that this was lan's world. It was a vicious ecosystem where a single misstep could cost millions of dollars.

"Try this," lan said, transferring a slice of signature roast beef to her plate. Eleanor naturally offered her plate to accept it, and as he set the food down, a soft smile curved his lips.

That afternoon, Eleanor returned to the lab while lan went to pick up Evelyn from school.

When Eleanor arrived home later, she found the house empty. Joslyn mentioned that Evelyn and lan had gone out for a bike ride.

The gated community had a massive, tranquil park that was perfect for spending time with kids.

Eleanor wandered out to look for them and soon spotted Evelyn riding her bike, with lan strolling casually beside her his long strides easily keeping pace. The little girl's goyous giggles filled the air.

Infected by her daughter's laughter, Eleanor couldn't help but smile as she quickened her steps toward them.

"Mom! Mom's here!" Evelyn spotted her and happily pedaled in her direction.

Eleanor went to meet her with a warm smile. Evelyn didn't stop but rode her bike in circles around her mother, as free and happy as a bird.

lan walked up to Eleanor, his gaze

lingering on her face for a few

.nèt

seconds. She looked up, but as their eyes mer she was the first to look away.

"Come on, let's walk a lap with her," lan invited.

Eleanor nodded.

After accompanying Evelyn around the park and heading back to the house, Eleanor asked, "Is the renovation on your parents' place starting?"

"Yeah, it's almost finished. They should be able to move in sometime next month," lan replied.

Eleanor nodded. Then, lan asked, "Did you receive the invitation for Mr. Brown's golden wedding anniversary?"

She blinked in surprise. "His golden anniversary?"

"Yes," lan confirmed. "It's this Saturday."

Eleanor had been so busy all day that she hadn't checked her mail.or tooked for any envelopes on her desk. "He probably didn't invite me,' she murmured.

"He did. I specifically checked; you're on the guest list," Ian said with a low chuckle.