No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 232

Seeing her daughter clutch the dinosaur toy, Eleanor realized Vanessa must have been with Ian that night—not only together, but likely sharing the same phone call, maybe even the same bed.

“Ma’am, Mr. Vaughn said he’ll be having dinner here. I’ll start cooking,” Joslyn announced cheerfully.

“If there’s nothing to cook, don’t bother,” Eleanor said abruptly. She had no intention of letting Ian stay for dinner.

“There’s… there’s plenty! I bought groceries for two days,” Joslyn replied quickly.

Eleanor could tell Joslyn had grown fond of Ian and wanted to keep him comfortable, but this was her house. She was the one in charge here.

“Mommy, I want Daddy to stay for dinner. I don’t want him to go,” Evelyn chimed in, tugging at Eleanor’s sleeve with a pleading look.

With her daughter looking at her that way, Eleanor could only nod in reluctant agreement.

“I’m going upstairs to wash my face. I’ll be down in a minute,” she said.

As she passed, Ian looked over at her, but Eleanor ignored him and headed up the stairs.

Dinner was ready by the time she came back down. They gathered around the table, and suddenly Evelyn pouted, her little voice piping up, “Daddy, why are you always with Miss Vanessa? You never spend time with Mommy. Mommy’s your wife, not her!”

Eleanor froze mid-bite, startled by her daughter’s words. How did Evelyn even know how to say things like that?

Ian looked taken aback too, but then he smiled gently. “Alright. From now on, Daddy will spend more time with you and Mommy.”

“Promise! You’re not allowed to leave me and Mommy ever again!” Evelyn said, beaming.

“I promise,” Ian said, soothing her.

Eleanor watched this man weaving promises for their daughter, and a resolve started building inside her. She would need to talk to him soon—make it clear that she and Evelyn didn’t need him tangled up in their lives. She’d rather be honest with her daughter than let Ian spin comforting lies.

Eleanor huffed in annoyance. Princess was clearly playing favorites—probably because she’d always been too soft with her.

She handed the slobbery toy back to Evelyn, who hugged it protectively and shot Princess a glare. “Princess, I’m not your friend anymore!”

Ian returned to his seat and asked, “Is it broken?”

Evelyn inspected the toy and found a tiny tear. She pouted. “It’s a little bit broken.”

“I’ll take you out later, and we’ll get you a new one,” Ian promised.

Evelyn’s face lit up. “Really? Yay!”

Eleanor frowned, recognizing Ian’s ploy. This was just another excuse to spend more time with their daughter.