"She and my husband are friends," Eleanor replied.

"Alright, I won't keep you then!" Coco's mother's intentions were as transparent as

ever.

Eleanor's answer clearly put her at ease.

It was obvious-Coco's mother had set her sights on Xavier as a potential match. Otherwise, why would she have gone out of her way to mention that he was single? Her entire demeanor practically radiated enthusiasm and a knack for taking initiative.

Eleanor couldn't help but find it amusing. She wondered if Coco's mother was even Xavier's type.

The next morning, Eleanor didn't take her daughter to school. Around eight o'clock, the doorbell rang.

Joslyn opened the door.

"Good morning, sir! You're here," Joslyn greeted lan cheerfully.

"Has Evelyn gotten up yet?" lan asked.

"She's up and just waiting for you to pick her up," Joslyn replied, inviting lan inside. Just then, Eleanor was coming down the stairs, so Joslyn quickly corrected herself, "Mr. Goodwin, have a seat. I'll get you some tea."

Eleanor had made it clear: in this house, they were to address lan formally, with his last name.

lan caught the change in Joslyn's tone and understood immediately-he was no longer the head of this household.

"Evelyn, hurry up!" Eleanor called up the stairs.

"Coming, Mom!" Evelyn's voice floated down from above.

Eleanor wore a crisp white shirt and jeans. At five and a half feet tall, with her long hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, she radiated an effortless, natural beauty. The kind that was far more captivating than anything contrived.

"Dad!" Evelyn bounced down the stairs and landed right at lan's side.

He knelt to fix her hair and straighten her collar, then couldn't resist kissing her cheek.

When she was born, Evelyn had looked just like him, but now she was the spitting image of Eleanor.

"Bye, Mom!"

Eleanor grabbed the little bag she'd packed for her daughter. "Don't forget your bag."

"I want Daddy to hold it," Evelyn said in her sweet, stubborn way.

Eleanor handed lan the bag by its strap, but as she did, his large hand closed over both the strap and hers.

She pulled away quickly, a flicker of disdain flashing in her eyes.

lan froze for a second. "Come on, Daddy!" Evelyn tugged at his hand, pulling him eagerly toward the door.

lan let Evelyn lead him outside.

Eleanor grabbed her own things and headed out to the lab.

Today, Simone was being discharged from the hospital. She was coming in for a meeting to hear progress reports, and Faye had already prepared a summary last night, just in case.

But as soon as Simone sat down, she called on someone unexpected.

"Eleanor, why don't you update us on the latest developments?"

Faye's face fell. Eleanor had spent most of the summer working from home, while she'd been running back and forth to Meridian Dynamics, handling all the communication. Surely, she should be the one giving the report.

"Professor, I can present the update," Faye offered immediately.

"Last night, Meridian Dynamics' VP, Chase, told me he'd already sent the new research directions to Eleanor. Let's have her give us a summary first," Simone said.

Faye's face went beet red. Had Eleanor gone behind her back to get the report from Byron? Was she just blatantly trying to take credit for Faye's two months of hard work?

Eleanor had, in fact, received Byron's report the night before and read through it. She nodded. "Alright, I'll summarize the upcoming research directions."

Eleanor's summary was thorough, even touching on a few key points that Faye had missed entirely.

Beneath the table, Faye's right hand curled into a tight fist as she dug her fingernails into her left palm, masking the simmering anger she felt inside.