Semua Bab The Wife He Never Knew: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Out at sea, the luxury liner Cupid's Arrow cut through calm water.Cross Group's annual team-building retreat five days, four nights.Julian never came to these normally.This year was the exception.Everyone at the company understood exactly why. Cassandra."Eleanor, aren't you changing into a swimsuit?"In the cabin, Cassandra pulled on a pink polka-dot bikini, glancing over.They'd been assigned the same room this trip.Cassandra hadn't suggested a swap. Eleanor hadn't bothered to ask for one either.Nothing about sharing a room with her scared Eleanor."Not right now.""Shame! The water park up top's so much fun."Cassandra left with a satisfied smile.Eleanor knew exactly what waited up there the ship's centerpiece attraction. She also knew exactly what she'd see if she went up.Julian and Cassandra, on full display.She had no interest in watching that.Julian had never been the type to enjoy water parks. Not in Eleanor's memory, anyway.Back in college, when he'd been chasing h

Eleanor found a small urgent care clinic and got something for the swelling. Julian, unexpectedly, gave her five days of paid sick leave no docked pay, which wasn't like him.She didn't let herself read it as concern.The swelling would've faded well before five days. Buying her more time off just made it easier for the rumor mill to lose interest.By the time she came back, the whispering had genuinely quieted down.Confusing, until she learned why: Alex had been fired.Given her own record and standing at the company, if anyone should have been out, it should have been her.Instead, Julian had signed off on Alex's termination personally, and nobody dared to say a word about it.Curiosity about her and Julian's actual connection still ran hot underneath the surface. But nobody wanted to be the one to poke it, so the office kept its head down.That same day, Cassandra didn't leave her office, once unusual for her, since she typically spent most of her eight hours parked in Julian's.S

Eternal Grind Boxing Gym.Eleanor spent the entire afternoon inside, hitting the bag until her knuckles bled.Some old kickboxing training had left her with basic boxing form, though most of it had gone rusty with disuse.The heavy bag swung back and caught her square across the face, hard enough to leave it burning red.She sank to the floor, tears streaming.Drugged. Assaulted.By a bloated, disgusting man like Dale Quinn.Rage and revulsion twisted together in her chest, sick and consuming.She hadn't gone back to the office after leaving the hotel. Hadn't called in either just come straight here and stayed until her body gave out.The physical exhaustion did nothing to touch the deeper ache that wouldn't shake loose.That evening, walking out of the gym, a friend request came through.She never accepted requests from strangers. This one carried a name that stopped her cold: "Want to see what I filmed last night?"Last night.Dread settled hard in her stomach.She accepted anyway.

"Eleanor, why weren't you here the day before yesterday? If something comes up, you're supposed to give notice ahead of time, or at least same-day. I was in the hospital, sure, but you could've texted me."Cassandra tossed the question out casually, mid-pour on her coffee."Noted. I'll be more careful going forward." Eleanor took her cup and left without lingering.Cassandra clocked the deflection immediately Eleanor was working hard to bury whatever had happened with Dale, act like nothing occurred.She pulled out her phone and texted Joker.The Cross Group–Jinjiang Realty partnership was moving forward on schedule. The China Food Market officially opened today, the ribbon-cutting broadcast live on the office's main screen.In the cafeteria, half the room watched between bites, since Julian on-screen tended to draw eyes.Eleanor ate in silence.Julian had known exactly what Dale intended that night. Known how close it had come to succeeding. And there he was on screen, standing besid

Eleanor's days had been consumed entirely hospital runs, back-and-forth trips between the precinct and the courthouse.Whatever her reasons, she had genuinely put Rachel Sparks in the hospital. Legally, that carried weight regardless of context.Rachel had lawyered up, demanding a public apology and financial compensation.Eleanor would offer the apology. The money, she wouldn't touch.None of this had started without cause. Dale Quinn had come after her first.Dale and Rachel had connections, sure, but not enough to bend the law entirely. Evidence still mattered in court.Online was a different story.Eleanor had gone offline entirely this week.She knew exactly how ugly it had gotten plenty of it manufactured by paid trolls on Rachel's payroll, plenty more just ordinary strangers who couldn't be bothered to sort fact from fiction and enjoyed the pile-on either way.She hadn't filed for leave.Cross Group's policy allowed termination after three unexcused absences.She was waiting Ju