From His Wife to His Uncle's Wife novel Chapter 213

Eleanor could only stare in silence. She dropped her gaze, cheeks burning, unable to meet Max’s intense eyes. “O-okay, I get it,” she stammered.

She turned and hurried toward the elevator, her face way too hot. She needed a moment to breathe outside. Max before marriage and Max after marriage felt like two completely different people. Before, she saw him as powerful, elegant, always a gentleman. Now, he seemed more like a sly fox, drawing her closer little by little, making her feel like she was falling right into his trap.

Did a contract marriage really have to feel this close? Sometimes she wondered if Max was overcompensating because he felt insecure about something. Was he trying to prove a point?

“The elevator’s here. Let’s go,” Max said, coming up behind her. Eleanor snapped back to the present, quickly shoving those embarrassing thoughts aside.

“…Okay,” she replied softly.

—

“Jared, your grades dropped a lot on this last test. Is something going on? Are you feeling stressed?” Jared’s homeroom teacher looked at him with concern.

At first, the teacher hadn’t been thrilled about having a new transfer student, but after a few tests and Jared’s top scores—including ranking first in the whole grade last month—he’d become genuinely impressed. Jared worked hard and was clearly talented. The teacher had even heard Jared wanted to skip a grade next semester and honestly didn’t want to see him go. But after just one month, Jared’s ranking had slipped by five spots. It was enough to make the teacher call him in for a talk.

“Not really, sir. I’m just not feeling great lately. I think I just need a little time to get back on track,” Jared replied.

The teacher remembered Jared had taken a break from school before because of health issues and suddenly looked worried. “If you’re not feeling well, please take time off to rest, okay? You live in the dorms now, so if you need to, go lie down for a bit. Don’t push yourself too hard. You’re already doing great, and honestly, you don’t have to skip a grade unless you want to.”

Jared nodded, not really meeting his eyes. “I understand, sir.”

He left the office with a heavy heart, his mind full of Eleanor and his mom. He couldn’t bring himself to blame Eleanor, and every time he went home on the weekends and faced his mother, who had made such a huge mistake, his feelings tangled up into a knot. Deep down, he just wanted to avoid it all.

He was almost at the back door of his classroom when he heard voices, loud and mocking.

Grant seemed startled for a second, then smirked. He’d never liked the transfer student, not since Jared stole his top spot in the class. At least this time, he’d managed to beat him.

“What did I say? We’re just concerned about your sister. Relax, man. How about showing us a picture of her? We just want to see if she’s pretty enough to be worth—”

Before he could finish, Jared lashed out. His fist connected with Grant’s face, hard, knocking him to the floor.

“Are you freaking insane?” Grant shouted, scrambling up and clutching his cheek. “What, did I hit a nerve or something? Your sister’s ruined now. No one’s ever going to want her!”

Jared’s eyes were wild, red with fury. He tackled Grant and the two of them started to fight.

Chad panicked and bolted for the teacher’s office. “Sir, something’s wrong! Jared and Grant Goff are fighting!”