Chapter 635

This left the male celebrity guests simmering with quiet displeasure. They glanced away from Robert, pretending disinterest, but the tension in their jawlines and the faint tightening around their eyes betrayed their resentment. Their smiles—polished and camera-ready only moments ago—now seemed brittle, on the verge of cracking. Only Eleanor remained unmoved. Or at least, she appeared that way. Her heartbeat had finally steadied, though a subtle ripple still stirred beneath the surface. Robert… he came… She wasn’t foolish enough to believe he was here for her. And yet, when his figure first emerged on stage, she had faltered—just for an instant. That brief lapse let in a fragile, almost ridiculous spark of hope. But reality reasserted itself quickly. Whatever reason had brought him here, it almost certainly had nothing to do with her. By the time she exhaled, her face had cooled back into its familiar, unreadable composure. Meanwhile, the audience saw something else entirely. "Susan is