Tonight marked the anniversary celebration of her father's company-a glittering affair, and Eleanor hadn't even made it onto the guest list.

As a waiter crouched to collect the shards of a broken glass, Eleanor leaned down with genuine concern. "Careful you don't want to cut yourself."

The young man's anxious face softened, touched by her kindness. At that moment, other staff hurried over to help. Eleanor straightened up, only to see lan making his way through the crowd toward her.

Behind him, Vanessa lingered, swirling a glass of red wine. Her expression was frosty, tinged with a hint of smug amusement, as if she was waiting for a show.

What, did Eleanor actually follow lan to this party? Honestly, the lengths she'd go to just to get his attention were almost impressive.

The moment Eleanor spotted lan approaching, she set her glass of juice down on a passing tray and turned to leave. She hadn't made it three steps before lan caught her by the wrist.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone even but unmistakably cool.

She tried to pull her hand free, her voice quiet but steady. "Let me go."

"If you needed something, you could've just called." His words carried an unspoken accusation—she shouldn't have come here.

Eleanor turned to face him, meeting his gaze head-on. "I'm here with friends. I won't bother you. Go enjoy yourself."

"If you need to talk, let's do it at home. Gavin's downstairs-I'll have her take you back," lan replied, clearly trying to usher her out.

The last thing he needed was his wife and mistress crossing paths at a society event. If Eleanor decided to make a scene, it would do serious damage to his reputation among these people.

Eleanor was just about to make her exit when Vanessa's gentle voice drifted over. "Ilan, since Miss Sutton is here, why not let her enjoy the party?"

Vanessa had deliberately avoided calling her Mrs. Goodwin, making sure no one realized Eleanor was actually lan's wife.

Eleanor couldn't be bothered with Vanessa's little games. She scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face-Jude Vaughn.

Before she could find him, the middle-aged man who'd been trying to chat her up earlier sidled over, holding out a business card. "Miss, how about exchanging numbers? Maybe we could grab a coffee sometime."

Annoyed but not wanting to cause a scene, Eleanor took the card and mustered a polite smile. "Sure, I'll be in touch."

lan's eyes swept over the man, his gaze icy. The other man faltered, catching the warning in lan's stare was lan interested in this young woman, too? He forced an awkward laugh and quickly retreated.

Finally, Eleanor spotted Jude Vaughn deep in conversation with another guest. She walked over, calling softly, "Jude."

He turned, relief lighting up his face. "Ellie! I was just looking for you."

He leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Ellie, do you think you could introduce me to your husband?"

Eleanor blinked, half exasperated, half amused. "Jude, you dragged me here just to say hello to him?"

Jude was a bit of an academic and hopeless at these kinds of social events. He'd heard lan would be here tonight and figured that with Mrs. Goodwin herself making the introductions, it would be much easier to get acquainted with the company's biggest investor.

He offered an apologetic smile. "I know, I know—but your husband is intimidating.

With you vouching for me, I'll have a much better chance, don't you think?"

Eleanor made a mental note to ask more questions before agreeing to

accompany Jude to any future parties.

"Ellie, I'm begging you. I'm hopeless at this sort of thing," Jude pleaded, his eyes

earnest. "Would you mind helping me out, just this once?"