The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29

I accepted the throw with a nod of thanks. Even after three years, hearing myself addressed as ‘Mrs. Wells’ still felt like an ill-fitting costume I was forced to wear.

I was wrapping the throw around my shoulders when I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. A boy, perhaps seven or eight years old, had appeared at the far end of the terrace. He was dressed in an impeccable little suit, his hair slicked back in a style that mimicked the older men inside. He held a champagne flute filled with what I hoped was sparkling cider.

His eyes met mine, and something in his expression made me uneasy-a calculation that seemed out of place on such a young face. Before I could react, he deliberately tilted his glass, splashing liquid onto the hem of my dress.

“Oops,” he said, his voice lacking any genuine remorse.

I took a deep breath. “Accidents happen,” I said evenly, dabbing at the wet spot with a napkin I’d brought from inside. “Perhaps you should be more careful with your drink.

Instead of apologizing, the boy smirked and moved closer, swirling the remaining liquid in his glass with deliberate menace. “My dad says the Wells family only let you in because Derek felt sorry for you.”

The boy raised his glass again, his intent clear in his eyes.

I straightened my spine, something hardening inside me. Even the most accommodating person, when repeatedly provoked, has a breaking point.

I was about to speak when my gaze drifted past the boy to the corridor beyond the terrace doors. Derek stood there, engaged in conversation with an older man I recognized as Mr. Bradley, a business associate of the Wells family. Something in my expression must have changed, because the boy turned to follow my gaze.

Derek’s attention shifted, his eyes meeting mine across the distance. Even from here, I could see them narrow slightly as he took in the scene. The boy still held his glass threateningly near my dress, and Derek’s posture immediately stiffened.

I watched as Derek’s expression hardened while Mr. Bradley continued talking, gesturing animatedly. Derek barely seemed to be listening. His focus remained fixed on me and the boy, his jaw visibly tightening. Whatever Mr. Bradley was saying appeared to be of little importance to my husband in that moment.

Derek said something brief that made Mr. Bradley stop mid-sentence. The older man’s expression shifted from eager to uncomfortable as Derek’s gaze flicked between him and his son on the terrace with me. I couldn’t hear their words, but the message was clear in Derek’s cold stare and Mr. Bradley’s suddenly anxious demeanor.

Mr. Bradley paled slightly, looking toward his son with sudden concern, his previous enthusiasm completely vanished.

On the terrace, the boy had raised his glass again, oblivious to the attention he’d attracted. “Watch me change the color of your dress!” he announced loudly.

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Chapter 29

Derek crossed the terrace and caught the boy’s wrist mid-motion. His grip was firm but controlled-enough to stop the action without causing harm. The champagne in the glass sloshed but didn’t spill.

Conversation around us stopped as guests turned to stare. Derek crouched to the boy’s eye level, his voice low but carrying clearly in the sudden silence.

“In Boston,” he said evenly, we don’t treat ladies this way.”

Then he turned to me, his expression softening into something I rarely saw-a gentleness that made my heart skip.

Derek straightened, one hand still restraining the boy, the other coming to rest naturally at my waist. The gesture was both

protective and intimate.

“Please excuse us,” he addressed the watching guests, his voice regaining the confident ease of a Wells. “I believe my wife needs to

rest for a moment.”

As he guided me away from the terrace, leaving behind shocked guests and an embarrassed Bradley, I couldn’t help but wonder at

his sudden protectiveness. This wasn’t the Derek I knew. This was someone else entirely, and I had no idea what to make of him.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love