No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor) novel Chapter 1020

"I'll treat you to dinner when you get back," Eleanor replied.

"Okay, I'll be waiting," Mansfield texted back instantly.

Eleanor returned to her study, placed her phone aside, and opened her laptop to check her emails. Gina was scheduled to start her infusions next Monday. Her condition was severe and would require assessment based on various data points.

Around seven o'clock, Joslyn came upstairs. "Ma'am, dinner is ready."

"Joslyn, could you please go downstairs and get Evelyn?" Eleanor asked, not wanting to go down herself.

Joslyn smiled. "Of course—" She hesitated at the door, as if she had something more to say.

Eleanor looked up at her, guessing what she wanted to ask, and frowned. "Don't invite him up."

Joslyn's smile faltered, but she nodded. "Understood."

Five minutes later, Evelyn's voice echoed from the living room downstairs. Eleanor got up and went down to have dinner with her daughter.

"Mommy, Princess is still at Daddy's house!" Evelyn said.

Eleanor's brow furrowed. "We'll get Princess later tonight."

"But Daddy is all alone. I want Princess to keep him company. Mommy, please let Princess stay at Daddy's house!" Evelyn pleaded, tugging at her hand on her father's behalf.

Eleanor sighed in resignation. "Alright. Let's eat first."

After dinner, Eleanor went back upstairs to work. Evelyn, however, pestered Joslyn to take her downstairs again and stayed there playing until nine. Just as Eleanor went to the entryway to get her, she heard her daughter's voice outside.

She opened the door to see Ian leading her daughter upstairs. Princess was not with them.

"Please bring Princess up," Eleanor said, annoyed. Princess was her pet, and she didn't want to lend her out.

"Mommy, you promised you'd let Princess keep Daddy company," Evelyn said, looking up with her big, innocent eyes.

Eleanor was at a loss for words. She had vaguely agreed before dinner. She quickly tried to find an excuse. "Your daddy's house doesn't have a dog bed—"

"Yes, it does! Daddy already had Uncle Gavin deliver a beautiful dog bed. Princess loves it!" Evelyn said happily.

Eleanor felt a knot of frustration in her chest, but she couldn't lose her temper in front of her daughter. "Fine," she finally said.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Evelyn said sweetly, waving at Ian.

"Goodnight." Ian's gaze was soft. He then looked up at Eleanor, a gentle light in his deep eyes. "You two get some rest."

"Say goodbye to Mommy," Ian told his daughter.

"Bye-bye, Mommy!" Evelyn waved happily.

Princess trotted into the apartment, wagging her tail cheerfully at Eleanor. Eleanor glared at the dog. It felt like Ian was slowly chipping away at the boundaries she had set.

Especially with her daughter growing more and more attached to him, Eleanor ran a hand through her hair, grabbed her bag, and left for the lab.

At ten in the morning, Eleanor was still in the lab when she saw Serena standing outside the door, waving at her. Eleanor opened the heavy lab door and asked with a frown, "What is it?"

"Ellie, she's here," Serena said, a hateful look in her eyes. "She's here to see Dr. Smith."

Eleanor immediately understood who Serena was talking about. Vanessa was probably here to see Smith about terminating her donation contract.

"Ellie, you don't think she's here to cause trouble at the lab, do you?" Serena said angrily, clenching her fists.

"Let's go see," Eleanor said calmly.

As Eleanor approached Smith's office, she heard Vanessa's raised voice from inside, filled with intense emotion. "What do you mean you can't make that decision? That's not what you said when we signed the contract! My health is failing. I can't continue to donate. Are you trying to kill me?"