Chapter 677

Eleanor had no choice but to turn around— and in that instant, her gaze collided with Robert’s. His eyes were smouldering, bottomless, a swirling abyss that seemed capable of dragging her under with no escape. She felt the air around her grow heavier, charged with an intensity that prickled across her skin. “Why the hurry?” His voice was deceptively casual, low and smooth, yet threaded with something unspoken—something that made her pulse falter. Under the soft glow of the chandelier, his striking features looked almost unreal, too handsome, too dangerously sharp, as though sculpted to tempt and unsettle. “I…” Eleanor faltered, a word barely slipping past her lips— But Robert cut in, his tone cool and measured, yet carrying an authority that left no room for refusal. “I’ll have Jacob take you.” The finality in his voice struck like a gavel. Eleanor studied him, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if searching for a crack in that unyielding composure. At last, she inclined her head