No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 218

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Noon.

Two pairs of mothers and daughters sat together in an upscale restaurant.

Vanessa’s mother, Iona Shannon, was in her early fifties, still graceful and striking. Once a minor actress, she’d left the country pregnant, scraping by for eighteen hard years. Then, on Vanessa’s eighteenth birthday, everything changed overnight.

From washing dishes in diners, Iona became the mother of an internationally acclaimed pianist. Suddenly, she found herself the subject of admiration and envy, ushered into a world of privilege.

Eight years had passed since then, and Iona had perfected the polished mannerisms of a society matron—every gesture radiated the confidence of someone used to luxury.

Mrs. Yeaton was fuming. “That homewrecker finally quieted down these past couple of days, but honestly, she’s been driving me up the wall.”

“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll handle Roland. You just make sure to show that woman exactly who’s in charge,” Iona replied, her own frustration simmering.

Vanessa and Faye stayed silent, uncomfortable as their mothers rehashed their fathers’ latest indiscretions.

Before long, the conversation shifted, as it always did, to the daughters’ love lives. Mrs. Yeaton brightened. “Vanessa, I heard Mr. Goodwin is officially divorced now. Looks like we’ll be celebrating your wedding soon!”

Iona shot her daughter a look of thinly veiled irritation. “If only she’d shown a little more backbone, she’d have been Mrs. Goodwin eight years ago.”

“Vanessa’s still young, only twenty-six,” Mrs. Yeaton offered. “This is the perfect age to settle down.”

Vanessa smiled politely. “I’m not in any rush.”

“We’re divorced,” Eleanor said simply.

Jude looked genuinely surprised. He’d worked with Ian recently and found him to be both decent and attractive—he couldn’t imagine why Eleanor would leave him.

“Well… you’re still young. You’ll have no trouble finding someone else,” Jude said, managing a smile.

After they parted ways, Eleanor and Joel headed into the lab, where they dove into simulating analyses between real and AI-modeled cells.

Eleanor and Joel worked seamlessly together, often anticipating each other’s thoughts. They were a perfectly matched team.

“This weekend there’s a conference in Kingston,” Joel told her as they prepped the next round of experiments. “It’s all about integrating biology, AI, and physics—multi-disciplinary approaches. Any chance you can make it?”