No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 625

When Joel asked the question, what he really wanted to know was whether Eleanor would ever give Ian another chance. Eleanor lowered her eyes, her voice calm but resolute. “That’s not going to happen.”

Joel exhaled in relief, but quickly furrowed his brow. Eleanor might be firm about never getting back together, but what about Ian? Lately, he’d been showing up at Meridian Dynamics far too often.

“Does your hand still hurt?” Joel asked, genuinely concerned. After all, hitting someone took effort.

Eleanor paused, instinctively glancing at her right hand. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Though, right after she hit him, her hand had gone numb for a few minutes.

“If you need any help, just let me know,” Joel offered warmly.

“Thanks, but I can handle my own affairs.” Eleanor smiled.

Back at the office, Faye was being consoled by her two assistants. Both of them were well aware that Faye’s sister, Vanessa, was set to marry the future CEO of Goodwin & Co. With Faye possibly becoming Mr. Goodwin’s sister-in-law, they naturally wanted to stay on her good side.

“Faye, you really shouldn’t provoke Eleanor right now,” one whispered.

“Yeah! Even Mr. Goodwin has to ask for her help with the neural interface project!” the other chimed in.

“Ask for her help? You make it sound like Meridian Dynamics would fall apart without her,” Faye retorted, rubbing her wrist where Joel had grabbed her earlier, clearly annoyed.

“Well, there’s you and Dr. Kingsley too, of course!” one assistant added hastily.

Faye waved them off. “Get back to work. I’m fine.”

The two exchanged glances and left. Faye let out a long sigh, then picked up her phone and dialed Vanessa. She was determined to report that Eleanor had hit Ian.

“Are you serious?” Vanessa sounded incredulous on the other end.

“I saw it with my own eyes. But the real shocker was Mr. Goodwin’s reaction—he didn’t fight back at all. He didn’t even seem angry,” Faye replied.

Vanessa was quiet for a few seconds, her voice turning cold. “Ian’s a father. There’s no way he’d lay a hand on the mother of his child. That’s not who he is. I heard Evelyn’s been sick and missed school. Maybe Ian feels guilty about that.”

Faye hesitated. Vanessa made sense, but Eleanor’s behavior had been outrageous.

“You should make sure to comfort Mr. Goodwin,” Faye said, seizing the opportunity. “He must be really hurt right now.” After all, Ian was at his most vulnerable—and that was Vanessa’s best chance to win his heart.

Vanessa promised she would, then hung up. Faye, thinking about how Joel had been so rough with her just to protect Eleanor, felt a pang of hurt herself.

But she knew, no matter how much Joel shielded Eleanor, she only saw him as a colleague and a friend—she’d never marry him. For a moment, Faye couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for Joel.

Meanwhile, in her office, Eleanor sifted through project files. York Windsor had sent her the old lab reports under the pretense of corporate collaboration. Pushing aside her emotions, Eleanor focused intently on the data.

It wasn’t until nearly half past four that she slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and headed out. Joel was waiting at the door. “I’ll walk you out,” he said.

Eleanor nodded. The two of them headed to the elevator together, chatting about some of the project’s theoretical points.

Xavier’s expectant gaze told her just how much her presence meant to him.

She was acutely aware of how others might see it, and she’d always intended to keep things with Xavier strictly platonic. But then, she’d already said she was free, and after he’d just saved her, turning him down now would be hurtful.

Xavier seemed to sense her hesitation, but he didn’t withdraw his invitation. He wanted Eleanor to step forward, even if he had the patience of a hunter—he still hoped for a sign.

Meeting his hopeful eyes, Eleanor finally nodded. “Alright. I’ll bring Evelyn with me.”

A spark lit in Xavier’s eyes. “Great. I’m sure Evelyn will have a wonderful time.”

Later, when they picked up the kids, Xavier extended a formal invitation to Evelyn. “Evelyn, there’s a party at my house this Saturday. Vivian will be there too. Would you like to come?”

“Really?” Evelyn’s eyes lit up at the mention of a party.

Vivian grabbed her hand. “Let’s go together, Evelyn!”

“Okay!” Evelyn beamed.

Eleanor took Evelyn home, where she played with Wiz while Joslyn busied herself with dinner in the kitchen.

Just then, Eleanor’s phone rang. It was Ellington calling.