Chapter 50 It Will Hurt
Eleanor had waited almost half an hour before Aaron's reply came through: "Don't meddle in what doesn't concern you."
The message sent a chill through her.
His gaze shifted slightly as he glanced at the caller ID on his phone screen.
"You know about Vincent, she..." Eleanor's words were cut short by Aaron.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
Tears welled up in Eleanor's eyes, whether from anger or some deeper emotion, she wasn't sure. "So, you really want to go through with the engagement to her?"
No matter what Vincent did, she couldn't shake his resolve.
He hadn't said a word about the pictures she'd taken at great personal risk, —deleted as if they were nothing.
"It's none of your business," he said, his tone detached.
Tears spilled over, and Eleanor quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. A silent deep breath was all she could muster to stop her body from shaking. "So, you knew everything. All that she did to me, you knew, right?"
A long silence followed, then the line went dead.
Aaron had hung up.
Eleanor's frown deepened as she tried to suppress the sharp pain in her heart. She looked at the now-blank screen, forced a self-mocking laugh, and walked to the window to pull it open, letting the cold air sober her up.
It turned out her two years by his side couldn’t compare to a short time with Vincent.
She touched her face, wet and icy.
Nora knocked and entered, "Eleanor, is this document okay?"
Eleanor quickly wiped her face and dove back into work.
...
Grayson had an evening flight to Russia for the World Championship.
After work, Eleanor hurried to the airport and barely made it on time.
Grayson noticed her off mood at a glance and pulled her aside to a quieter spot in the terminal. "I'm going to a competition, not a war zone. It's not life-threatening."
She felt a pang in her heart but teased him to mask it, "With your level of skill, you'd have to fight tooth and nail to win a gold medal."
"Are you trying to provoke me?" Grayson clenched his teeth.
"No," Eleanor patted his shoulder, adjusting the strap of his bag for him, "Just take care of yourself. Watch out for the cold and adjust to the local climate. Don't sacrifice your health to look cool. Your looks are killer enough."
Grayson felt uncomfortable with her morose tone as if she were settling her final affairs. "What's really going on?"
Eleanor let out a tsk of impatience, punching him playfully in the chest. "Quit dilly-dallying, I said I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"I'm fine."
Grayson remained skeptical. "Swear on Aaron."
Eleanor rolled her eyes at him.
Instantly, Grayson waved a white flag. "Alright, alright, no more about him. You sure you're okay?"
Eleanor's hand flew up again to hit him, but Grayson quickly dodged. "Okay, fine. Pretend you can't bear the thought of not seeing me, alright? Don't miss me too much and be sure to catch my game live."
Eleanor nodded. "Why didn't Eva Dvis come to see you off? And your folks?"
"I told them not to. Especially my mom; she'couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing me. I didn't want my teammates to laugh at me."
Eleanor snickered. The thought of Grayson begrudgingly dealing with his mother's teary airport farewell was too funny to her.
Seeing Eleanor's laugh lighten the mood, Grayson felt a bit more at ease inside.
He had been preoccupied with training recently, scarcely having time for her. He didn't even know about that Firth guy bullying her. He felt like he'd let her down as her friend.
After seeing Grayson off for his flight, Eleanor turned around and there was Edward.
He had lost weight; his features were more chiseled now.
Edward had noticed her the moment she arrived but, after their last unsettling meetup, he yearned to get close yet knew it was out of reach.
It was Edward who broke the silence first. "Heading home or somewhere else? I could give you a ride."
Eleanor shook her head. "I drove here."
Edward clenched his car keys and nodded.
"Edward," Eleanor stopped him, "I'm sorry."
Grayson had mentioned Edward was down lately. He, a man who never drank, drowned his sorrows in alcohol that night. Grayson had known about it all along but Edward had made him promise not to tell her.
She had shattered his romantic dreams, yet he still protected her.
Edward simply said, "You have nothing to apologize for. You have every right to love who you love. Just know that it would hurt me to see you unhappy."
With those words, Edward walked away from the airport.
Eleanor watched him go, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. It seemed the one who falls in love first is always at a disadvantage.
Just like with Aaron.
But Aaron was more than just a source of unhappiness for her.
Eleanor felt as if Aaron had torn her heart open, laying it bare under the scorching sun, burying it under the frost and snow, callously indifferent to her wellbeing.
Late at night, Blake pulled into a parking space at the Drunken Paradise, and Wesley got out of the passenger seat to open the rear door.
Stretching his long legs, Aaron climbed out and handed a document to Wesley, who neatly organized it and tucked it into his briefcase.
Suddenly, the man walking in front halted, prompting Blake and Wesley to stop immediately, their reflexes sharp and ready.
Blake, with his hawk-like vision, saw clearly even from a distance. Aaron was fixated on a white Volkswagen in the parking lot.
The license plate seemed vaguely familiar.
A figure was slumped over the steering wheel, motionless. Was the person drunk or asleep? Only a tuft of black hair was visible, suggesting it was a woman.
Eleanor had been driving aimlessly after dropping off Grayson and found herself at the Drunken Paradise without realizing it.
She'd heard that people often came here to drown their sorrows, but after looking at the price list of drinks, she knew she couldn't afford to indulge—so she settled for just a few.
Whether it was the tail-end of a cold, her weakened condition, or the exhaustion from the previous night, those few drinks surprisingly made her feel a bit tipsy.
Before Grayson left, he had nagged her not to wander around aimlessly. He warned her about the dangers lurking in society, especially for someone as strikingly beautiful as her.
So, she obediently returned to her car, intending to call a rideshare, only to find her phone was dead.
Aaron couldn't help but feel her sense of self-preservation was inconsistent at best. With the car unlocked and in her drunken state, she dared to fall asleep.
His expression turned stern as he opened the door and scooped her from the seat.
Eleanor's head slipped, resting against his chest.
Under the streetlight's illumination, Aaron's hand paused.
Eleanor, with closed eyes, shed tears that soaked into his overcoat and merged with the fabric.
She was crying.
Eleanor couldn't tell if it was her heart that ached or some other part of her body, but she was in pain, unbearable pain.
Like clutching onto a lifeline, she gripped Aaron's coat tightly, her knuckles turning white. In her drunken stupor, she murmured nonstop, her voice hoarse.
"Aaron, can you... Please, no engagement. Can't you see what this is doing to me…"