No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 1270

Eleanor held her phone, listening to the dial tone. She frowned for a few seconds before placing the phone back on the nightstand. She didn't pick up her book again. There were some things she needed to think through.

In saving Mansfield, she had inadvertently become indebted to Ian. For instance, his care when she was sick, and of course, the chip.

Although he surely would have agreed once the Ellington family got involved, the fact that Eleanor had been the one to ask him first meant she had to count it as a personal favor.

The chip had been the single most critical factor in Mansfield's timely awakening, and Eleanor couldn't deny that Ian's swift action in dispatching a private jet to retrieve it had been influenced by personal factors.

It could be seen as Ian's way of making amends for the past, all because she had been the one to ask.

Since they were divorced, it was better to keep things clean and balanced between them. In the future, if he ever needed help, Eleanor would find an opportunity to repay him.

***

At the hot springs resort, Ian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his whiskey glass now empty. Although Eleanor's final words had left a dull ache in his chest, it was strangely mixed with an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

Was she dodging the question on purpose?

***

At four-thirty in the afternoon on the seventh day, Ian's private jet landed at the international airport.

Eleanor was still at the lab when she received a call from him, inviting her to dinner at Goodwin Manor that evening to see Magdalen.

Eleanor hadn't seen the old woman in a while, so she agreed to go.

Around five o'clock, Eleanor left her office, stopping on the way to buy some of Magdalen's favorite fruits.

At Goodwin Manor, the roses planted by the matriarch were in full bloom, their fragrance filling the entire courtyard on the summer evening. Eleanor walked in, carrying the fruit.

In the kitchen, Gina, who was speaking with a servant, looked up and saw Eleanor. She froze for a few seconds, then her eyes grew warm. "Eleanor, you're here," she said softly.

Eleanor nodded at her. Gina walked over and said, "Ian told me you've been very busy lately and were even sick. Are you feeling alright?"

Eleanor shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, Gina. I'm fine." Her tone was deliberately distant.

"That's good, that's good." Gina nodded repeatedly, her fingers twisting together nervously. "I had the kitchen prepare a few of your favorite dishes. Please eat well tonight."

"Thank you for the trouble," Eleanor said politely.

"It's my pleasure," Gina replied. She had always felt a deep sense of guilt towards Eleanor, knowing she could never truly atone for her past mistakes. All she could do now was be a devoted grandmother and lighten Eleanor's burden.

She was deeply sorry for what she had done. If only she had tried to see things from Eleanor's perspective back then, she wouldn't have made such an unforgivable error.