Chapter 1623

A playful gleam danced in lan's eyes. He was acting exactly like a child acting out

just to be coaxed. "I want to go to bed early tonight."

"It's still early," Eleanor replied, not feeling the least bit tired.

"Yeah, it's quite early for sleep," the man agreed, his voice a low, husky rumble laced with amusement. "Which means we have plenty of time."

Realizing exactly what he was implying, Eleanor shot him a warning glare. "Ian, are you ever going to quit?"

He used the distraction to seamlessly pluck the iPad from her hands and toss it onto the adjacent cushion. Pulling her firmly against his chest, he smirked. "Never."

Defeated, Eleanor stood up. "I'm taking a shower."

lan couldn't help but ask, "Need a hand with that?"

Eleanor cast him a withering look. "No."

While Eleanor was in the shower, lan picked up her iPad and began reading her medical journal. Even though the complex medical jargon was far beyond his expertise, he read it with profound interest. It was as if he was trying to use the intricate text to unravel the brilliant mind of the woman he loved.

By the time Eleanor stepped out of the bathroom, it was already half-past ten.

She had blow-dried her long hair, letting it cascade down her back like a sheet of pure silk. Her skin held the radiant, flushed glow of a hot shower.

lan was leaning against the headboard, dressed in a set of dark gray silk pajamas with the collar loosely unbuttoned. The warm, golden lamplight highlighted his sharp features as he stared intently at the iPad screen.

"What are you reading?" Eleanor walked over.

lan looked up, a soft smile on his lips. "Reading the paper you were reading."

"Do you even understand it?" she asked.

"Honestly, a lot of it goes right over my head," Ian admitted without an ounce of shame.

"Then why read it?" She reached out to take the tablet back, but lan caught her wrist. He tugged her down gently until she was sitting on the edge of the mattress.

"I want to see what you spend your days researching," he said, his voice dropping

an octave.

It was the same reason he would crash any conference she attended. Even if he didn't grasp the science, he had to be there, just to hear her speak.

For the past three years, his efforts had been met with nothing but Eleanor's disgust and eye-rolls. Yet, he had never backed down, shamelessly injecting himself into her orbit over and over again.

She had no idea how many high-stakes board meetings he had delayed just to catch her presentations, or how recklessly he had driven to make it before she left the podium.

And whenever he had looked at her with all the devotion in the world, she had either ignored him or despised him for it. All he could do was swallow the pain and pretend it didn't hurt.

lan wrapped his arms around the woman beside him, pulling her close. "Do you have any idea how grateful I am that you didn't actually marry someone else?"

"Your terms during the divorce were infuriating," Eleanor said, looking up at him. lan held her tighter. "Even if it made you hate me, I had to add them. I was completely out of options back then."

He gently cradled the back of her head, a fiercely obsessive light burning in his eyes. "I had to leave a door open for myself. I had to force an opportunity."

"But you shouldn't have used custody to provoke me."

"Ellie, I know was wrong. But you were so determined to leave me, and I had absolutely nothing that could make you stay. I had to use Evelyn, those eight companies, every single piece of leverage I had, just to ensure you'd maintain contact. Just so I could see you."

Eleanor looked at him, a wave of complex emotions washing over her. Given her mental state at the time, she probably would have severed every tie he had with their daughter.

If his mother's illness hadn't been resolved, if the transactional nature of his relationship with Vanessa hadn't been exposed, and if he had remained under Vanessa's thumb... even if he had explained everything, Eleanor would never have forgiven him.

Yet fate was like an invisible hand, tearing away his secrets and laying them bare before her. His unspeakable burden had forced her into the clinical trial, finally allowing her to understand the real reason he had married her all those years ago. She had spent years believing he only married her out of a sense of obligation. After years of misunderstandings, he had steadfastly refused to justify himself.

"You shouldn't have treated me like an outsider back then," Eleanor sighed softly.

"I know," lan rasped. "I only realized later that my so-called protection was actually a lack of trust. I didn't trust that you could handle it. I didn't trust that you'd stand by my side to face it. And most of all didn't trust that you would stay with me if you knew the truth."

"So, you preferred that I hate you?" Eleanor glared at him, a surge of anger rising.

lan pulled her fully into his embrace,

burying his chin in her hair. "You know what kind of person Vanessa is. She held the only lifeline to save my mother and the only thing she wanted in return was to be Mrs. Goodwin. If you had found out, knowing your personality you absolutely would have-"

"Would have stepped aside, right?" Eleanor finished his sentence.

lan cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. "Would you have?"

Eleanor thought about it. A bitter, indescribable ache settled in her chest as she nodded. "I think I would have."

The next second, the man crushed her against him, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.

"That's exactly why I refused to let that happen. I'd rather have you hate me—than lose you."

lan dipped his head and kissed her, a sudden, desperate heat behind the motion, as

if the phantom pain of those agonizing years was still clawing at his insides.

The kiss quickly shifted, shedding all traces of its former gentleness—