The new school year began when Eleanor's daughter turned seventeen.

That morning, Eleanor dressed her daughter in the crisp, formal school uniform, then took her hand and led her downstairs. Ian was already waiting in the living room, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit.

Eleanor buckled her daughter into the backseat of lan's car, and together they drove her to the front gates of the school. After dropping her off, Eleanor turned to lan and said, "I'll walk home from here."

As soon as she got back, Eleanor grabbed her keys and drove off again. The preparations for the new research lab had started right after the holidays, and there was a planning meeting scheduled for ten o'clock this morning.

She headed straight to the research building at Ashford Medical University. As she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into Joel. He still had that polished, quietly handsome look. They exchanged a few words about life and work, then made their way together toward the conference room.

Inside, Eleanor and Joel greeted Dr. Lyman, then took their seats. Once Jude Vaughn saw everyone had arrived, he stood up to kick off the meeting.

"First, I'm thrilled to announce that our laboratory has received strong approval from the government. We've been designated as a key support project, and our site's already been approved. The government will allow us to set up our experimental center in the East District's industrial park, with a full package of subsidies."

Jude went on, sharing more good news about passing quality inspections and approvals. Partway through, he paused to sip his tea before continuing, "Earlier, we submitted our business proposal to several companies. Six have given us clear responses. Given the scale of this project, we've had to be thorough in vetting our investors. Aside from two pharmaceutical companies, we've also been in talks with the major venture capital firm Goodwin & Co."

Eleanor's grip tightened on her pen. Across the table, Jude caught her eye and smiled knowingly.

She had asked Jude in confidence to keep her marriage to lan a secret for now. Other than Joel and Jude, no one else in the room knew she was lan's wife.

With excitement, Jude announced, "After careful vetting, we've secured funding from three companies: Goodwin & Co., which will take a 60% stake, and Hyperion Pharmaceuticals and Harmony Pharma, each with 20%. We expect the initial investment to be around 30 billion dollars."

"So, Mr. Vaughn, does this mean our lab is really happening?" someone asked.

"Absolutely! We even have a building ready to go," Jude replied. "As long as we move quickly and the funds come through, we'll launch the project in no time."

Joel glanced at Eleanor, concern flickering in his eyes, but she seemed lost in thought.

Frustration welled up inside her. There was no escaping lan after all-he had actually invested, and not just a little, but with a controlling 60% share.

Her chest felt tight. She took a sip of water, trying to steady herself.

The meeting was filled with one piece of good news after another, and the excitement in the room was palpable. After everyone else had left, Jude came over to thank her personally. "Ellie, we owe it all to you. Goodwin & Co. wouldn't be investing if it weren't for you. You're the real hero here."

Eleanor was taken aback. "I didn't talk to him about the investment."

"You didn't?" Jude looked genuinely surprised.

He'd assumed that Eleanor had been the one to bring Goodwin & Co. on board.

"I haven't even mentioned the lab to him yet," Eleanor said, shaking her head.

Jude just smiled, let it go, and turned back to his work. Eleanor and Joel left the conference room together, heading toward the cafeteria.

"So," Joel asked, "how does it feel, knowing your husband is now our biggest investor?"