No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 1010

She had definitely inherited her father's obsessive work ethic. That time she had worked for three days straight and collapsed… standing outside the emergency room that day, he had made up his mind about what he would tell her.

It was for the best. Let her hate him.

She had already solved the problem. The heavy weight no longer needed to press down on her.

By taking one burden off her shoulders, maybe she could live a little more freely.

Ian closed his eyes again, burying all his emotions deep inside.

At eleven, Ian's hoarse voice broke the silence. "You should go back and get some rest. I'll be fine."

Eleanor glanced at the time, stood up, and actually began to leave.

Ian watched her turn and walk toward the door without a moment's hesitation. A suffocating tightness gripped his chest, and almost instinctively, he tried to get up and stop her.

"Eleanor—" he called out hoarsely, pushing himself abruptly off the sofa.

However, the weakness and dizziness from the fever were far worse than he had imagined. He had stood too quickly, and his vision instantly went black. His body stumbled forward uncontrollably—

Hearing his footsteps, Eleanor turned just in time to see Ian collapsing toward her. Acting on pure instinct, she rushed forward and caught his falling upper body.

The heavy weight of the man pressed down on her, nearly knocking the wind out of her.

"Don't go—" he gasped against her shoulder, his breathing ragged. Then, his long arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. His voice was muffled and raw with an almost desperate plea. "Stay with me a little longer… just a little longer, please?"

Eleanor's body went rigid. It wasn't that she didn't want to push him away; it was that she couldn't.

Even sick, the man's strength was terrifying.

On the sofa, Ian remained in that position, motionless for a long, long time.

The next morning, when Joslyn came down with soup, she saw Gavin packing a suitcase. "Where is Mr. Goodwin?" she asked.

"The boss won't be staying here for a while. Could you please let Miss Sutton know?" Gavin said, lifting the suitcase.

Joslyn was surprised but didn't ask any more questions.

On her way to the lab, Eleanor received a call from Joslyn, who she had indeed asked to make soup and bring it down that morning.

"Since he's not there, you don't need to go to the trouble of making him soup anymore," Eleanor said.

For the next three days, Ian was nowhere to be seen. Then, on the afternoon of the third day, as Eleanor was leaving the lab, she passed by the blood collection room. Her steps faltered.