Eleanor felt a wave of awkwardness. "How could I possibly go? I'm not even that close to Mr. Brown's family..."

"I want you to come with me," lan said, looking at her with a sincere, hopeful expression. "It's going to be incredibly boring going alone."

Over the past three years, they had attended a few galas together, but Eleanor had always ignored him. Because of that, he was eagerly anticipating attending a public event by her side properly this time.

Just then, Eleanor's phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Gwenda. She suddenly had a feeling this call was about the invitation.

She answered it. "Hey, Gwenda."

"Eleanor, I just grabbed your mail from the front desk. There's a fancy envelope here, looks like an invitation. Do you want me to bring it over?"

"Just open it and check for me, please," Eleanor said.

Gwenda tore it open and confirmed it was indeed an invitation to Mr. Brown's golden anniversary gala.

Hanging up, Eleanor looked at lan. "It was the invitation from Mr. Brown."

A smile touched lan's eyes. "So, we can go together."

Eleanor felt it would be too rude to refuse now, so she gave a small nod.

At that moment, Evelyn was trying to lift her bike up a step. Struggling to hoist it up, she turned back and cried for help. "Dad, help me!"

lan didn't rush forward to assist her. Instead, he stood in place, his gaze gentle and encouraging.

"Try again, sweetie. Use a little more strength. You can do it."

Hearing that, Evelyn puffed her cheeks in determination. She stepped up onto the ledge first, grabbed the handlebars, and pulled with all her might. The front wheel popped up, and the back wheel followed. The little girl had managed to conquer the obstacle all by herself.

"I did it, Dad!" Evelyn cheered happily, hopping back onto the seat, her small face glowing with a profound sense of achievement.

Standing nearby, Eleanor watched the interaction, feeling a sudden warmth in her chest.

She strongly approved of lan's parenting style. He hadn't

immediately taken over the task for her. Instead, he offered validation

and encouragement, guiding their daughter to solve the proble herself and fostering her

independence and resilience.

At the same time, a complex mix of emotions washed over her. Having her father actively involved in her upbringing made Evelyn's life infinitely richer and more complete.

Eleanor had never doubted lan's love for their child. That shared, mutual devotion to their daughter was something that always brought her an immense sense of peace.

Back at the house, Joslyn had dinner prepared Evelyn excitedly chattered about her day at school, eagerly sharing stories about her new environment and all the new challenges she faced.

After dinner, lan helped his daughter with her homework, read picture books with her, and practiced English with her, fully embracing his role as a hands-on, attentive father.

That night, after her bath, Evelyn ran straight over to her father's place.

Eleanor took a shower and came out to put her to bed, only to find the room empty.

It didn't take a genius to guess where the little girl had disappeared to.

When she went downstairs, Joslyn was tidying up the living room and smiled. "Evelyn went over to lan's side."

Eleanor checked the time; it was already ten minutes to ten. Ever since Evelyn started school, she was required to beam bed by ten aclock sharp t was a strict routine, and Eleanor

grew anxious if it was broken.

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"I'll go get her," Eleanor said, pulling open the connecting door to lan's side of the house. Joslyn just smiled; in her opinion, that door shouldn't even exist.

Eleanor expected to find her daughter in the playroom, but instead, she heard laughter drifting from lan's master bedroom.

Feeling slightly exasperated, Eleanor walked up to the second-floor bedroom doorway and called out, "Evelyn, time for bed."

"Mom, can I play just a little bit longer?" Evelyn pleaded from inside.