"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely, taking a step back before turning and walking quickly to the elevator.
Eleanor's lips parted. She had wanted to genuinely thank him for showing up last night, for saving both Mansfield and her.
That evening, Eleanor messaged Mansfield to ask how he was doing after the dressing change. He told her not to worry, that everything was fine.
Later that night, as Eleanor stroked her daughter's head and gave her a kiss, she tentatively asked, "Evelyn, do you like Mr. Ellington?"
Evelyn, nestled in her arms, looked up and answered naturally, "Yes, I do!"
After her daughter fell asleep, Eleanor's mind raced with thoughts until she finally drifted into a deep slumber.
The next morning, Eleanor saw Ian at the door, his eyes still bloodshot. He looked like he hadn't slept at all. "I'll take Evelyn," she said. "You should go home and get some sleep."
"It's fine, Lanny's driving," Ian said, taking their daughter's hand. "Say goodbye to Mommy."
"Bye, Mommy."
"Gavin Young is downstairs. He'll take you wherever you need to go," Ian told her.
Mansfield had been transferred to the nearest hospital to the Ellington family estate, and he had insisted she rest at home. But Eleanor still had work to finish, and she needed to go to the lab.
"I'm going to the lab," Eleanor said.
Ian looked a little surprised but advised, "You need to rest. Your work can wait."
"No, it can't," Eleanor said firmly.
Eleanor was taken aback but agreed. "Okay."
Serena smiled and left. Eleanor then had a meeting with Dr. Smith that lasted until eleven.
Just past eleven, Ian appeared near the lab's elevators. Though his hair was gray-white, it did nothing to diminish his powerful aura.
With his flawless bone structure and distinguished looks, he still exuded an air of elegant composure in every move.
Even though everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to his hair, he showed not a hint of awkwardness or unease.
The nurses had been gossiping about it all day yesterday, and the final consensus was that he somehow looked even more handsome.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: No More Mrs. Nice Wife (Eleanor)
Hello! This series has been requested a lot on Reddit, but we’re unable to post the link there ourselves. If you have a Reddit account, we would truly appreciate it if you could help us share the link to this novel to increase its readership. As a thank-you, we will increase the number of free chapters available each day. Thank you so much for your support!...