Shaun had always been a man driven by staggering arrogance. Being publicly humiliated by a younger relative in front of the entire board of directors was something his ego absolutely could not tolerate.

Even knowing the catastrophic consequences of pushing back, he was determined to defend his shattered pride. He shot up from his chair, glaring venomously at lan before turning his furious gaze onto Eleanor.

"Ian, I know exactly why you're targeting me! It's because of this woman sitting right next to you, isn't it?"

Shaun let out a vicious sneer. "I merely offered some friendly advice. I told her that you need to marry a real wife-someone who can give the Goodwin family the heirs it deserves. If you remarry this ex-wife of yours, she won't give you a son. What exactly did I say that was so wrong?"

The moment the words left Shaun's mouth, a deathly, suffocating silence slammed into the boardroom.

Every single pair of eyes darted toward Eleanor, then immediately snapped away, utterly terrified of invoking lan's wrath.

Shaun, completely unhinged, plowed forward. "I don't just say this to your face. Even if your mother were standing right here, I'd tell her the exact same thing! The Goodwin family needs a bloodline. You need a proper male successor. I was only looking out for the future of this empire!"

Eleanor hadn't expected Shaun to drag this deeply personal attack into a corporate boardroom. She calmly picked up her glass of water and took a small sip, but she could instantly feel a terrifying drop in the room's atmospheric pressure.

She looked up at lan. His eyes were completely, violently cold.

"Mr. Wallace, please, that's enough. This is a private family matter, let's just—" one of the older shareholders stammered, desperately trying to de-escalate the situation. "Exactly! I'm sure Mr. Goodwin has his own plans. There's no need to meddle. Let's just focus on the agenda!" another chimed in, practically begging for peace.

But Shaun was blinded by rage. He pointed a shaking finger directly at Eleanor. "Eleanor Sutton, I'm asking you directly! If you remarry lan, are you actually willing to give the Goodwin family two more children? Specifically, a boy?"

*BANG!*

lan's fist slammed into the mahogany table with the force of a gunshot.

Every single person in the room violently flinched.

They watched in sheer terror as lan stalked around the long table, closing in on Shaun. Beneath lan's deceptively calm exterior was a volcanic rage unlike anything they had ever witnessed.

When a man reached the absolute peak of fury, his face went completely still.

Every step lan took seemed to crush the air out of Shaun's lungs. Instinctively, Shaun tried to back away, but his legs hit his chair. He froze.

"I—lan, what are you doing?" Shaun stammered, his voice trembling as he desperately tried to appeal to his nephew's rationale.

He stumbled back another inch, his knees giving out as he collapsed into his chair.

lan stopped dead in front of him, towering over the older man like a grim reaper.

"What did you just say?" lan's voice was a low, guttural whisper, holding the terrifying calm before a devastating hurricane. "Say it again."

Shaun swallowed hard, his face pale with terror, but his stubborn pride forced him to double down. "I said... Eleanor can't give you any more children. The Goodwin bloodline is going to—"

Before he could finish the sentence, lan grabbed him by his designer tie, hauling him bodily out of the chair.

Eleanor shot up from her seat in alarm. "Ian—"

lan didn't even look back. His dead eyes remained locked on Shaun's rapidly purpling face.

"Shaun." The name dropped from lan's lips like shards of ice. "You listen to me; and you listen well. In this lifetime, the only woman I will ever want is Eleanor Whether she wants more children, or if she never wants another child again, is entirely up to her. I have a daughter, and that is more than enough. Evelyn is my sole successor."

lan suddenly released his grip. Shaun crashed backward into the chair, gasping for air as he stared at lan in utter horror.

"As for you... you're an outsider. You think you have the right to dictate my life?"

lan's voice slashed through the air like a blade. "If you ever say another word against her, I will personally see to it that you lose everything."

The boardroom was completely paralyzed. The shareholders who had tried to play peacemaker clamped their mouths shut. Provoking lan Goodwin right now was essentially throwing themselves intora woodchipper. No one wanted to die.

el.not

Shaun's face shifted from stark white to a mottled, sickly red. His lips trembled violently as he tried formulate a response, but not a single sound came out Every ounce of his arrogance and corporate dignity had been incinerated. Cóntent

He finally understood his place in the food chain.

Eleanor stood frozen, her mind blanking for a second. She watched as lan turned around to face her. The blinding fury in his eyes vanished the moment they locked onto hers, instantly replaced by a deep, silent reassurance.

It was meant entirely for her.

Eleanor's eyes stung. She had never expected him to lay down the law so publicly, so fiercely. He had shielded her in front of his entire board of directors without a single hesitation or compromise.

lan closed the distance between them. Without another word, he interlaced his fingers with hers. "Let's go," he said softly.

His voice had returned to its usual steady cadence, but the crushing grip he had on her hand betrayed the lingering adrenaline coursing through his veins. Eleanor didn't resist. She let him lead her out of the suffocating boardroom.

The hallway was dead quiet, echoing only with the sound of their footsteps.

Right as they reached the elevator, lan abruptly stopped. He turned around and pulled her completely into his chest, burying his face in her hair.

"Ellie," he whispered, his voice incredibly hoarse.

Eleanor rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the rapid, thundering beat of his heart.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."

Eleanor let out a soft sigh. She gently pushed back just enough to look up into his eyes. "You don't need to lose your temper over people like him."

lan tightened his arms, pulling her even closer. "No one has the right to judge our relationship."

"I don't care what outsiders say, and neither should you," Eleanor said softly.

Seeing him lose his legendary control like that had actually terrified her.

The elevator chimed open. Ian guided her inside, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Okay. I'm calm now."

Back in the boardroom, a shareholder cautiously offered a hollow word of comfort to Shaun, who was still slumped in his chair, his face a mask of bitter humiliation.

"No good deed goes unpunished," Shaun muttered, furiously straightening his wrinkled suit jacket. "What a complete waste of time."