Chapter 3
Eleanor's mind was buzzing, like it had crashed.
How could it be her?
Why would it be her?
A smile tugged at Sally's lips as she greeted sweetly, "Long time no see, Eleanor."
A flash of coldness crossed Eleanor's eyes.
Sally was her father's illegitimate daughter, brought back into the family when she was eight.
Eleanor's gaze was icy. "What are you doing here?"
"Because I didn't want to stay home alone."
Sally curved her lips meaningfully. "Eleanor, you look awful. You seem really surprised to see me."
More than surprised.
Before Sally was brought back, Eleanor had always thought she was the happiest child in the world.
Well-off family, parents in harmony.
Until Sally was brought back with great fanfare and publicly announced as the younger daughter of the York Family, completely shattering her beautiful dream.
This wasn't just her father's betrayal of her mother!
More importantly, Sally was only a few months younger than her!
When her mother was pregnant with her, her father was already sleeping with another woman.
Eleanor dug her nails hard into her palm, snapping back to reality with a touch of mockery.
"I am surprised. I didn't expect that after all those years abroad, the first thing you'd do when you came back was seduce my husband!"
"Eleanor, don't make it sound so ugly. If you hadn't used those tricks back then, I would be Arthur's wife!"
Sally's words carried a hint of coldness by the end.
Her purpose in returning to the country was simple—to take away everything that belonged to Eleanor.
These words tore away the fig leaf covering her marriage to Arthur, exposing the cruel reality and making Eleanor's face turn pale.
Back then, she had explained so many times that she didn't do it.
"Get down!"
Arthur, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, his cold voice leaving Sally no choice but to obey as she quickly straightened up.
He looked at Eleanor coldly.
"Starting today, Sally will officially join the Boleyn Corporation."
A flash of disbelief crossed Eleanor's eyes.
Join the Boleyn Corporation?
Would her position remain the same as before?
Arthur's next sentence gave her the answer.
"She's my new secretary. From now on, you'll only handle assistant work."
Instantly, her heart felt like it was being squeezed tight, pain spreading through Eleanor's chest.
She stared at Arthur, opening her mouth with some sadness. "That's not what we said yesterday."
Arthur's face was expressionless. "You're still my assistant. I promised you about work, so there won't be any changes."
Arthur had divided the roles of secretary and assistant very clearly.
The secretary handled his schedule and some personal needs.
The assistant dealt entirely with work projects.
By doing this, he was essentially pushing Eleanor out of his personal life.
Sally stepped forward and tugged at Arthur's sleeve, acting cute. "Arthur, why don't Eleanor and I both be assistants? That way she can teach me."
Arthur's cold features softened slightly when facing Sally.
"You just joined the company and don't understand many things yet. Take it slow. Secretary is just a position to train you."
Eleanor's heart hurt even more.
She caught the implication in the second half of his sentence.
The assistant position would eventually be Sally's, too.
Even though she and Arthur had an agreement beforehand, Sally was the woman he loved most.
She hid the trace of sadness in her eyes.
Arthur, who valued his promises so much.
Would also change because of Sally.
Sally naturally understood too, speaking with some smugness. "I'll have to trouble you to show me around the company then, Eleanor."
Eleanor's brow furrowed. "I have a lot of work to do today."
As soon as her refusal left her mouth, she felt Arthur's cold, oppressive gaze.
"As a subordinate, following your boss's orders is the only thing you need to do!"
Eleanor could only grit her teeth and nod. "Fine."
She picked up the documents from the floor, placed them on the desk, turned, and quickly walked out.
Sally followed close behind.
Eleanor pretended not to see her, introducing the company's department layout.
"This is the break room, this is the office area, and over there is the pantry. The specific rules are in the company group chat."
Sally looked carelessly at her freshly done nails, then raised her head mockingly at Eleanor. "Sometimes I really admire you. Even though you know Arthur doesn't love you, you can still shamelessly stay by his side for so long."
One sentence, hitting Eleanor's pain point with precision.
They were now in the pantry, without Arthur as an audience, and Sally revealed her true self.
Sally curved her lips. "Don't you get it yet? Arthur has already saved you some face. Divorce now, and you can still keep some dignity."
Eleanor looked at her calmly. "Why should I divorce? As long as I don't agree, you'll always be the mistress, and your child will be illegitimate, just like you."
At the last half of the sentence, Eleanor returned the mockery with interest.
"I have countless ways to make your life miserable."
Not being loved was Eleanor's pain.
Being illegitimate was Sally's pain.
Sally's expression changed instantly. Without thinking, she grabbed the coffee next to her and threw it at Eleanor.
"Bitch, how dare you insult me!"
Eleanor reacted quickly. The moment Sally's wrist went up, she pushed back, and the coffee instantly spilled all over Sally.
Her delicate makeup and clothes were completely ruined.
"Eleanor, what are you doing?"
A man's angry shout suddenly came from behind. Before Eleanor could turn around, she was pushed hard by a sudden force.
She fell to the ground instantly, her hand landing in the hot coffee on the floor.
The pain made her face change color immediately.
She looked up at Arthur's grim face. His eyes were deep and dark, seemingly hiding thunderous fury.
Before Eleanor could speak, she was interrupted by Sally's crying.
"Arthur, it's all my fault. I was too stupid and couldn't understand what Eleanor meant. Don't be angry with her."
Arthur strode to Sally's side, carefully checked her injuries, then looked coldly at Eleanor.
"If you didn't want to show her around, you could have just said so. There's no need to use such despicable methods."
The pain in her wrist made Eleanor gasp. She explained, "She tried to throw coffee on me first."
"I have eyes."
One simple sentence made Eleanor's face even paler.
Watching Arthur's back as he left with Sally in big strides, the dense, stabbing pain in her chest surged up again.
How could she forget that Arthur never believed her?
Only after Arthur returned to the CEO's office did the colleagues who had been watching the drama rush over to help Eleanor up.
They had all seen Eleanor work desperately and respected her greatly.
"Eleanor, are you okay? Is your wrist sprained?"
"What's wrong with Mr. Boleyn today? That woman's two-faced tactics are so obvious; how could someone as smart as Mr. Boleyn not see through it?"
"Maybe this is what favoritism looks like."
Facing her colleagues' concerned yet gossipy eyes, Eleanor rubbed her wrist and forced a smile.
"I'm fine. It's work hours now, everyone go back to work."
After the crowd dispersed, Eleanor looked down at her wrist.
Scalded by the coffee, the ankle area was red and swollen—she must have twisted it.
She silently clenched her fist.
Her colleagues knew to come and check on her injuries.
But her husband didn't.
Eleanor's wrist was worse than she thought. She took two hours off to go to the hospital for a checkup.
Just as she was about to leave the company, Lucas walked over, surrounded by a group of people, looking casual.
He was wearing a light gray casual outfit today, with handsome features and a tall figure, a shiny earring in his right ear, looking completely relaxed.
Seeing Eleanor walking toward him, his eyes lit up.
"Eleanor, this is about the Collins Corporation and the Boleyn Corporation's next quarter..."
Before he could finish, he saw Eleanor's swollen wrist, and his expression instantly darkened.
