Chapter 1608

At noon the next day, Eleanor woke up naturally.

She opened her eyes to find the curtains slightly parted, allowing a brilliant beam of golden sunlight to spill into the room. It was obviously midday.

She rolled over. The space beside her was empty, though the sheets still held his lingering warmth.

The deep ache in her lower back was a stark reminder of exactly how absurd the last two nights had been.

Two nights. An entire box.

He was completely out of his mind-

She buried her face in the pillows, her ears burning furiously.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching from the bathroom. She immediately squeezed her eyes shut, feigning sleep.

The mattress dipped as a large frame settled onto the bed. The crisp, clean scent of body wash washed over her.

"Awake?" his deep voice murmured right next to her ear, thick with amusement. "Want to sleep a little longer?"

"I'm up," she mumbled into the pillow. "I need to get ready. It's time to head back."

He pressed his lips to her earlobe, dropping his voice to a dangerous, raspy whisper. "We can keep going until it's time to leave—"

Her face flared with heat. She whipped around, fully prepared to scold him, but he instantly captured her lips.

It was a slow, intoxicating good morning kiss.

By the time he finally pulled back, they were both breathing heavily. He hovered over her, his eyes brimming with undisguised adoration. A few strands of his graying hair fell casually across his forehead, making his sharp features look incredibly soft and tender.

"Our flight isn't until this afternoon. There's no rush. Lie here for a bit, I'll pack for us."

With that, he leaned down and pressed one last, lingering kiss to the side of her neck. The slight stubble of his hair brushed against her skin, sending a ticklish shiver down her spine. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, noticing that the dark roots were even more pronounced in the daylight. Her gaze softened completely.

"Am I really that handsome?" he teased, catching her intense stare with a wicked grin.

"I'm looking at your hair."

"That still counts as looking at me," he replied smoothly, radiating pure, unadulterated smugness.

Lunch was delivered directly to the

villa's living room. As they ate, Eleanor stared out at the breathtaking autumn landscape Maple Crest mouthfully, they had come all this way for the scene but she had barely spent any time actually looking at it.

Because almost every second of her time had been entirely consumed by this man,

or by sleeping off the exhaustion he caused.

But sitting here now, with only minutes left before they had to head to the airport,

she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Her heart was full, warm, and anchored.

She felt a profound lightness, as if whatever tomorrow brought could easily be handled tomorrow.

It was the pure, unadulterated feeling of being happy in the present.

During the flight, Eleanor caught up on some much-needed sleep. By the time she opened her eyes, the jet was already circling above Ashford City.

Once they landed, the bodyguards quickly handled their luggage. Ian kept her hand securely locked in his as they strode confidently through the terminal. Gavin Young was waiting with the car. The second te saw the two of them walking in sync, a sudden realization hit him.

His boss had successfully secured his wife back.

They arrived back at the villa just as Evelyn was getting out of school. Both lan and Eleanor felt a sudden, urgent need to go pick up their daughter.

At 5:10 PM, class was dismissed. When the little girl saw both her parents waiting together, she gasped, waving her hands frantically from the line. "Mommy! Daddy!"

lan took her little backpack, and Evelyn launched herself straight into Eleanor's arms, hugging her tightly. "Mommy, I missed you so much! I missed you sooo much!"

Standing beside them, lan chuckled and rubbed her head. "What about Daddy?" Evelyn finally let go of Eleanor and grinned up at him. "I missed you too!"

Evelyn was still too young to fully comprehend the massive shift in their intimacy, but having both bet, mom and dad together felt like the absolute best thing in the world.