The prenatal checkup went smoothly, both Blake Lockwood and the baby were healthy.
The examination ended.
Blake Lockwood got into Julian Jacobs’s car, but Eleanor Winslow did not.
"Senior, my ho and Blake’s are in different directions, so I won’t trouble you." Eleanor thanked him again.
Julian Jacobs’s expression was stiff for a mont, then quickly returned to normal, "I rember your place isn’t far from Miss Lockwood’s ho, it’s no trouble to take you too."
Julian Jacobs was referring to Eleanor’s large apartnt, which she had already returned to lody Nash.
"I... don’t live there anymore." Eleanor rembered what Blake had said and simply replied, "I’ve now moved back to live in the new house with Adrian Grant."
The subtext of this was already clear.
Previously moving out was due to argunts and a pending divorce.
So now moving back in indicated there’s room for reconciliation—at least that’s the ssage Eleanor conveyed to Julian Jacobs.
Julian Jacobs was silent for two seconds, then smiled, "Alright, send a ssage when you get ho to confirm that you’re safe, okay?"
"Of course."
This request wasn’t excessive, nor was it inappropriate; between regular friends, ensuring soone gets ho safely is normal.
Watching Eleanor get into a taxi, Julian Jacobs finally started the Cullinan, driving the SUV toward Blake Lockwood’s cottage.
Blake Lockwood looked at the man with clear, handso features in the driver’s seat, asking, "Young Master Jacobs, isn’t there sothing you want to ask ?"
"That’s the question I should be asking Miss Lockwood."
While Eleanor was there, Julian Jacobs seed to deliberately suppress his aura, making him feel very approachable, a paragon of a graceful gentleman.
But now, the man had removed his facade, still polite and courteous, but revealing his innately cool and taciturn nature.
Ask then, Blake Lockwood spoke, "You know Eleanor is still married, right?"
Julian Jacobs responded very calmly with a "Hmm."
He knows.
Then what else is there to ask?
Knowing she’s married, yet still being attentive to Eleanor ans nothing anyone says will make a difference.
As for any ntion of infidelity, Blake Lockwood was clear about her stance; she despises others cheating.
However, Eleanor is not like others.
She’s nothing if not a double standard hypocrite; as long as Eleanor isn’t committing a cri, anything else goes.
Besides, she didn’t think Eleanor would do such a thing, otherwise, she wouldn’t have refused the ride today.
-
Eleanor returned to Azurean Bay, still a bit unaccustod.
She stood dazed in the living room for a while before going upstairs.
After returning from the hospital, the first thing she did was take a shower.
After showering, Eleanor rembered she hadn’t yet assured Julian Jacobs of her safety, so she quickly grabbed her phone and sent him a simple ssage after leaving the bathroom.
"Hah."
A cold laugh suddenly ca from behind.
Adrian Grant had returned at so point, still in his suit from work, yet to change.
His gaze shifted from the phone upward, landing on Eleanor’s face, "Who are you ssaging? So urgent, you didn’t even dry your hair."
"A classmate."
Eleanor turned off her phone screen.
Adrian Grant’s eyes were filled with icy disdain and ridicule, "That classmate’s na is Julian Jacobs, right?"
Eleanor’s eyes widened in shock.
Before she could explain, Adrian Grant was already upon her in strides, full of imposing anger.
Eleanor instinctively retreated, her lower back hitting the sofa’s backrest, unable to move.
The man was in front of her in a flash, wordlessly snatching away her phone, tossing it aside, his expression terrifyingly dark.
"Mrs. Grant, without my interruption, was your lunch tasty?" The man rubbed the woman’s cheek, his fingertips filled with ambiguity and danger.
Did he, did he know?
Eleanor’s expression shifted slightly, just about to explain, "I—"
"Eleanor, you’re lying to !"
Adrian Grant cut her off, delivering his verdict.
Suddenly her waist was tightened!
Then loosened again!
Imdiately the robe’s belt was pulled open.
Eleanor only felt a chill on her skin, instinctively yelping; before she could even gather her clothing, the man suddenly clamped her by the back of the head, kissing her!
The kiss was fierce, aggressively invasive.
Like a siege weapon, all violence and possession.
His scorching hands road disobediently.
Eleanor was startled by Adrian Grant’s sudden movent, wanting to push him away, but this action only provoked him further.
Adrian Grant effortlessly twisted her arms behind her back.
There’s a natural physical and strength disparity between n and won. Previously, Eleanor had only succeeded because Adrian Grant hadn’t been on guard, indulging her.
"Adrian—mm!"
"So keen on showering? Hmm?" The man murmured as if enchanted, kissing her while saying, "Is it because you want to wash sothing unspeakable away?"
His voice was deep and cold, mirroring his mood.
Eleanor didn’t initially realize his aning, not until his fingers touched...
He actually thought of her in such a filthy way!
"Adrian Grant!"
Eleanor nearly scread, inexplicably fueled by frustration, she swung a slap at the man with a reversal of hands.
However, the man moved faster, intercepting her wrist in mid-air.
His eyes lifted, catching sight of the bracelet made up of various gemstones on her wrist, with a small silver tag in the center bearing a hand-engraved Sanskrit character.
Zoe Nash’s words echoed in his mind.
--"That handso man seems to be her senior, and he even gave her a beautiful bracelet before."
Adrian Grant’s gaze on the bracelet beca increasingly frigid, "That classmate who gave you this bracelet, is it also Julian Jacobs?"
"Adrian Grant, let go of !"
Eleanor’s wrist ached from his grip.
Adrian Grant seed oblivious, continuing, "Do you like it that much? Hmm? You scoff at the gifts I give you, but cherish Julian Jacobs’s trash! Eleanor, do you rember, we are still not divorced? You are my woman!"
Adrian Grant still recalled when they were in Los Angeles; at first, she was unwilling to change out of her gown without the bracelet. She secretly put it back on after returning ho!
So it was a gift from Julian Jacobs!
"That’s not trash!"
In Eleanor’s eyes, the bracelet was the sa as the one Jonah Grant gave, so how could it be trash?
Eleanor turned her head, trying to avoid his kiss, but it was inescapable.
"Adrian Grant, let go! I don’t want to be intimate with you!"
The statent completely enraged Adrian Grant.
"You don’t want to be intimate with , so who do you want to be with? Julian Jacobs? Eleanor, this ti, you’re certainly committed. Your feelings for him have lasted quite a while, what good is he, sickly as he is, suppose he dies soday?"
Adrian Grant unpredictably moved, taking off the bracelet from Eleanor’s wrist, raising his arm, it turned into a parabola and smashed into an unknown corner.
Eleanor instinctively wanted to retrieve it, but the man forcibly held her down on the sofa.
"Adrian Grant, don’t go too far!"
"Too much? I can be even worse."
Before he finished speaking, the man had already taken complete control—
Eleanor’s pupils widened in shock.
Droplets fell from the tips of her hair, dampening the woolen carpet...
Eleanor gradually lost her resistance, staring at the ceiling, feeling as if a part of her heart had beco vacant.
...
Eleanor’s consciousness beca fuzzy towards the end; she couldn’t rember when Adrian left.
She regained consciousness upon receiving a strange phone call.
"Zia..."
The familiar female voice instantly brought Eleanor to full alertness.
"Zia, why haven’t you been ho lately? Mommy ca to see you twice, but no one answered the door." lody asked gently.
Eleanor sat up from the bed.
As soon as she moved, she felt a soreness and discomfort all over her body, drawing a sharp breath.
The bright sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, indicating it was already the next morning.
"The jewelry you left behind, I had it sent to Zoe’s hotel. I don’t know if she’s given it to you." Eleanor said, "That house, you and Zoe can live in it."
"Zia, those are all things Mommy left for you. Do you really hate Mommy so much that you want nothing?" The sobbing voice ca through the phone, filled with heartache.
It seed she had received them.
Leaning against the headboard, Eleanor’s head felt heavy and woozy.
"I don’t hate you—I’m just a bit tired, and if nothing else, I’d like to hang up now."
lody sensed the odd tone in Eleanor’s voice and anxiously asked: "Zia, are you sick? You don’t sound right. Where are you? Mommy is very worried about you. Can you tell Mommy, please? Mommy wants to see you! Mommy can take care of you!"
"I’m fine." Eleanor closed her eyes, "I hope you have a happy life. Goodbye."
—Since you chose to leave back then, since you chose a new life and love, then don’t look back.
Her body was dry; Adrian must have cleaned her up before he left.
Eleanor rested for a while, her gaze inadvertently falling on her wrist, suddenly rembering the bracelet that Adrian had thrown away. She endured the discomfort in her body and got out of bed to look for it carefully.
However, she found nothing.
After getting dressed, Eleanor went downstairs and happened to see a maid doing housework. She asked, "Have you seen a colored bracelet? In the master bedroom or sowhere else?"
The maid shook her head, "Madam, when did you lose the bracelet you ntioned? Sir said you were still resting, so we didn’t go in. We last cleaned yesterday morning."
Eleanor slumped on the carpet, her eyes stinging again. She covered her face, pressing her fingers against her eyes to hold back the stinging sensation, resisting the urge to cry.
What’s the use of crying?
Adrian saw her crying, yet he still did what he did.
It was too much.
Hard and cold, this was Adrian Grant’s true self.
The atmosphere between them, which had finally eased a bit, plumted back to freezing point.
"Madam, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" the maid asked anxiously.
Eleanor shook her head, waiting for the stinging to pass, then slowly got up and went out.
The maid dialed Adrian’s phone number.
"Sir, Madam is awake."
Adrian sat in his office chair, massaging his temples, and after a two-second pause: "What is she doing?"
The maid was taken aback: "Madam... she went out."
Adrian asked, "What did she have for breakfast? How much did she eat?"
Eleanor’s appetite was small, but when she felt upset, she ate less; when she felt good, she ate more.
"Madam didn’t have breakfast; she left directly. Madam seed to be in a bad mood."
Adrian’s expression darkened, though it was unclear whether it was because of the first part of the sentence or the second.
...
Eleanor didn’t know where to go, wandering aimlessly down the asphalt road.
Her phone wasn’t charged, and the battery soon reached a critical level, forcing Eleanor to head back.
Just as she arrived ho and was changing shoes, the door that she had just closed suddenly opened again.
Adrian appeared at the doorway, his tall figure blocking half the light.
Eleanor instinctively looked up, eting his gaze, then quickly looked away as if not seeing him at all.
"Sir, why are you back?" the maid asked in confusion. "Are you here to see Madam?"
Wondering if what she said earlier had made him worried enough to co back in person.
"No," Adrian said, looking at Eleanor’s back, "I ca for the docunts."
The maid looked at Eleanor, then at Adrian, and didn’t dare to speak further.
This atmosphere was so strange and suffocating!
Madam had co back to live; wasn’t this supposed to an reconciliation?
Why are they fighting again?!
Adrian glanced at the maid.
The maid: "?" She was utterly puzzled.
Nervous as she was, the maid suddenly had an epiphany and imdiately turned to Eleanor: "Madam, there is bird’s nest porridge simring in the kitchen. Would you like so?"
"No need." Eleanor went straight upstairs.
Ignoring Adrian completely from start to finish.
Adrian was silently fuming, feeling a tightness in his chest.
At least she didn’t leave ho again, and Adrian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew he had to thank lody sowhat, as Eleanor had only moved back from lody’s place to Azurean Bay. If she moved out again due to their struggle, moving would seem like a child’s ga.
Eleanor was indeed thinking this way.
Moreover, when Adrian said, "This villa has her share," it did sowhat persuade her.
However, Eleanor still promptly contacted a real estate agent, asking them to keep an eye out for properties and planning to quickly finalize her new ho for future convenience.
Eleanor opened her laptop intending to read so literature, but her mind was foggy and she couldn’t focus.
Seeing her surroundings reminded her of all that happened from afternoon to evening the day before; she closed her eyes, not wanting to see or rember.
Not knowing how much ti had passed, the maid knocked on the door.
"Madam, it’s ti to eat."
Eleanor found it strange because usually, the maids didn’t live in the villa and wouldn’t knock on her door to remind her to eat. She would pre-arrange al tis, and they would prepare als accordingly.
But now, with her mind feeling heavy, Eleanor didn’t want to think, so she went downstairs directly.
Just to sit in the dining room for less than a minute when Adrian walked over, sitting right across from her.
Eleanor had no appetite and imdiately put down her chopsticks and got up to leave.
"Skipping als to throw a tantrum with ?" Adrian suddenly spoke.
Eleanor’s body was sore and tired; she had no desire to speak with him.
The maid received a look from Adrian and quickly moved to Eleanor’s side to ask: "Madam, is today’s al not to your liking?"
"The al is fine."
After speaking, Eleanor headed upstairs.
Adrian heard what she said.
So no appetite?
Was she trying to say he made her sick?
Just as anger was rising, Adrian suddenly recalled Eleanor’s earlier appearance, her cheeks flushed with an unusual red, like... was she sick?
Reviews
All reviews (0)