Chapter 354

The man before her... he was magnificent. So great, so achingly familiar, that Eleanor wanted nothing more than to keep him there, beside her, in this moment. "Stay with me..." she murmured, her voice soft and drowsy, the words barely escaping her lips. Her gaze was distant, slightly hazed, but filled with a quiet, yearning intensity. Robert stood beside the bed, momentarily unsure, his usual composure wavering. It had been too long since he’d seen her like this, raw and vulnerable, as if the walls she kept so fiercely guarded were finally letting him in. Over the past several days, Eleanor had been consumed by preparations for a rigorous competition, barely pausing to breathe, let alone meet his eyes. When she left Williams Manor, they had exchanged words that were sharp and bitter, leaving a frosty distance between them. Their last conversation replayed in his mind, a reminder of how wide the gap had grown. But now, seeing Eleanor reach out, her demeanor softened, all of Robert’s res