No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 277

Xavier’s post disappeared quickly, but everyone in his circle had already seen it.

That included Vanessa and Serena.

Serena, especially. She stared at the post, her mind going blank for several seconds. Who had Xavier cooked pasta for? And who made him feel so happy?

He’d posted it at eight-thirty that night. Did that mean this person was staying over at his place? Were they about to spend a wonderful night together?

The thoughts tumbled through Serena’s head until she could barely breathe, when suddenly her phone rang. It was Vanessa.

She took a shaky breath and answered, her voice flat. “Hey, Vanessa.”

“You saw Xavier’s post too, right?” Vanessa asked.

“Yeah. I follow him.”

“So, do you know who he made pasta for?” Vanessa pressed.

“No idea,” Serena replied, unable to guess. There were always so many women orbiting around someone as exceptional as Xavier.

“It’s Eleanor,” Vanessa said.

Serena’s eyes widened. “Her? How could it be her?” But even as she spoke, she muttered to herself in denial, “No, it can’t be. Maybe it’s some other woman…”

“Henry asked Xavier privately. The pasta was for Eleanor,” Vanessa said, shattering her hope.

Tears stung Serena’s eyes. She couldn’t believe Xavier would cook for Eleanor himself.

“How… how could it be Eleanor?” she whispered, her nails digging hard into her arm.

“Serena, are you okay?”

Serena bit her lip, her voice trembling with quiet sobs. “Vanessa, I don’t understand… Why would Xavier fall for someone like her?”

She had no idea when Ian had arrived, but now his car was parked in front of her house, and he was crouched down, giving Princess a good scratch behind the ears.

“Daddy!” Evelyn ran over, her backpack bouncing.

Eleanor felt utterly powerless. She couldn’t stop her dog, and she certainly couldn’t stop her daughter from running into his arms.

With a stony face, she watched as Ian scooped Evelyn up for a kiss. “I’ll drive you to school today.”

“Okay!” Evelyn grinned, then turned to wave at Eleanor. “Bye, Mom!”

Eleanor forced a smile and waved back. Once her daughter climbed into the car, Princess leaped in too, leaving Eleanor fuming, her chest tight with frustration.

She watched the car drive off toward the preschool, let out a slow breath, then grabbed her bag and headed for her own car.

By the time she arrived at the lab, Callie had already set up everything. Eleanor was grateful for such a reliable teammate. They split the work efficiently, but around noon, while Eleanor was conducting her cell experiment, she realized the lab’s equipment wasn’t up to the task.