Chapter 1578

Under the umbrella, it was just the two of them.

Rain hammered against the muddy ground as the workers finished securing the headstone, completing their final tasks.

The storm was only growing heavier. One of the workers looked at lan. "Mr. Goodwin, you should head back. It'll take us at least another hour to finish up here."

lan nodded and looked at Eleanor. "Let's go back."

Eleanor nodded. As they turned, she instinctively angled the umbrella more toward him to keep him dry. Ian reached out and wrapped his hand around the handle.

"I've got it," he said, his voice quiet but solid.

He shifted the umbrella so that it completely covered Eleanor, leaving the entire left side of his body exposed to the downpour. They began the slow, slippery descent down the narrow path.

When Eleanor's foot suddenly slipped on the slick mud, a strong arm instantly wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him. For the rest of the walk down the hill, lan kept his arm tightly around her, never letting go.

Back at the reception hall, the staff handed out dry towels. Eleanor patted her face dry, but lan didn't come inside.

Eleanor's phone buzzed with a work call. She stepped out into the covered garden area to answer it.

From there, she spotted lan standing in a secluded corner. He was leaning against a pillar, smoking a cigarette. The gray smoke curled up, blending with the mist and rain, blurring the harsh lines of his tall silhouette.

He looked profoundly isolated, yet entirely unbreakable.

He looked like a man who could carry the weight of this storm, and the entire Goodwin empire, on his shoulders alone.

His strength wasn't just in his title or his wealth-it came from his unyielding core and relentless will.

After finishing her call, Eleanor walked back into the hall. Gina approached her, inviting her to join them for dinner with two tables of extended family members who had stayed behind.

Eleanor didn't refuse, bringing Evelyn along to eat.

During dinner, Eleanor caught sight of the woman who had been talking so loudly earlier. She learned the woman was Shaun Wallace's wife, Miranda.

Eleanor didn't interact with her, but Miranda's venomous words from earlier still echoed relentlessly in her mind.

At nine o'clock, Lanny drove them back. By the time they arrived at the villa, Evelyn was fast asleep in Eleanor's arms.

Joslyn helped wipe the little girl down before tucking her into bed. Evelyn was completely exhausted from the long, emotional day.

Eleanor took a hot shower. Around ten o'clock, she heard the familiar sound of lan's car pulling into the driveway.

lan was home.

A moment later, her phone chimed with a text from him. "Is Evelyn asleep?"

"Yes."

"Can you come over and stay with me for a bit?" he pleaded.

Eleanor went downstairs. "Joslyn, I'm going next door for a while. Keep an ear out for Evelyn, please."

"Of course, Ma'am."

Eleanor pushed open the connecting door and stepped into lan's house. She found him sitting on the sofa. He had taken off his suit jacket and was sitting in his black shirt and trousers. The main lights were off; only a dim wall sconce cast shadows across the room.

"Do you want to go take a hot shower first?" she asked.

He had been completely soaked in the rain today; he had to be freezing and uncomfortable.

"I'm already dry," lan replied. He looked up, his eyes glassy and devastatingly vulnerable. He reached his hand out to her, silently begging her to come closer.

fo

Eleanor didn't move. She just stared at him, her gaze growing remarkably cold. "You

need to get some sleep. If you need something, we can talk tomorrow."

She turned to leave. Ian stared at her back in stunned silence for a second,

completely caught off guard by her sudden icy demeanor.

"Don't go." His voice was a raw, desperate plea as his tall frame suddenly surged up behind her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist pulling her flush against his chest.

Eleanor was enveloped in his warm embrace, but she didn't soften or yield. She stood rigidly, letting him hold her.

"Ian, then let's talk right now," Eleanor said abruptly. She turned around to face him.

lan loosened his grip slightly, looking down at the woman in his arms. A terrible sense of dread suddenly gripped his chest.