Chapter 1516

Facing this incredibly shameless yet utterly devoted promise, she glared at him. "Who wants to hit you or scold you? I'm not a psycho."

His smile deepened. "Then sentence me to a lifetime of hard labor by your side. I'll organize your study, move heavy boxes, walk the dog, pick up the kid, and... satisfy any of your needs."

The double entendre was obvious.

Any adult would catch it.

She shot him another glare. "Just eat your food."

"Alright, eating." He picked up his fork, but placed food on her plate first. "After lunch, we'll head to the new house to unpack. Evelyn will stay at my parents' place again tonight."

"Okay." She nodded.

After lunch, she went home to pack. At four o'clock, Gavin and his crew arrived to load everything into the truck. Eleanor rode with them to the new villa.

Once there, Gavin's team handled the heavy lifting while she organized. Before she knew it, it was seven o'clock. She sent the crew off to grab dinner while she stayed behind to organize her bookshelves.

She had banished lan to his own house to unpack his things. As she took a break on the couch, a news alert suddenly popped up on her phone.

She glanced at it and caught a name: Chinese-American billionaire philanthropist Aaron Dewitt's investments had collapsed, and he was facing bankruptcy.

Her breath hitched. Aaron had just pumped twenty billion into her lab. Was he really going bankrupt?

Her heart pounded. She instinctively clicked on the article, but before she could read it, she heard footsteps. Ian walked in.

She sprang up from the sofa. "Did you see the news about Mr. Dewitt?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I saw."

"Is he really going bankrupt?" she asked, genuinely worried for the philanthropist.

Realizing exactly what she was panicking about, he stepped forward. "Don't worry. Your lab's funding won't be affected."

She looked at him without hesitation. "Withdraw the funding and help Mr. Dewitt out of his financial crisis! I'll figure out a way to keep the lab running."

lan froze, staring deeply into her eyes. "That's not necessary. He isn't the one funding your lab." He paused, delivering the next words slowly and deliberately. "The real investor behind your lab is me."

Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "What did you say?"

He stepped closer. "When you pulled out of the Goodwin & Co. lab, I was terrified

you'd refuse any investment from me. So I had him act as a proxy. I tricked you into taking the money under his name. I'm sorry I lied to you."

Her breath caught. He had even lied to her about this?

"So... that twenty billion was your money?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry, shouldn't have kept it from you But I swear, that money is from my personal accounts. It has nothing to do with Goodwin, & Co and you can use it however you see fit," he promised in a low voice.

She looked down, her mind spinning too fast to form words.

Her emotions were a tangled mess.

"Eleanor..." He took another step toward her.

She instinctively backed away, desperate for some space to clear her head.

But the moment she stepped back...

*Crack!* A short circuit popped, and the entire villa was plunged into darkness. Even the emergency lights died.

It was a standalone villa, shielded by

trees outside, so the study was

instantly pitch black you coul

see your hand in front of your face.

Not a single sliver of light filtered in.

"Ow-" Forgetting the bookshelf was right behind her, she bumped her arm.

"Eleanor." With a swift movement, he found her in the dark, pulling her into his arms. His other hand

immediately cradled the back of her head, ensuring she didn't hit the

sharp edges of the shelves,

In the pitch black, she was pressed against a solid, warm chest, completely

surrounded by his clean, masculine scent.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here," he soothed.

"What happened? A power outage?" She looked up, but it was so dark she couldn't even make out his face.

"Yeah, looks like a total blackout," his voice came out raspy.

Because her head was tilted up, his breath washed over her face. The next second, her lips brushed against warm skin.

It was his lips.

The contact sent a jolt of electricity straight through their closely pressed bodies.

Her face instantly flushed hot. Her mind went completely blank as she heard his breathing turn heavy and ragged.