The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 89

Chapter 89

That evening, I walked several blocks from the flower shop before spotting Derek’s car. My stomach tightened at the sight.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I approached.

Derek held up his phone, showing Margaret’s smiling face on FaceTime. ‘Grandmother insisted I pick you up,’ he explained.

“Eleanor, dear!” Margaret called from the screen. “I thought you two could have dinner together. It would make me so happy.”

I couldn’t refuse her anything. “Of course,” I said, forcing a smile as I got into the car.

Once inside, I turned to Derek. “Have your lawyers finished the divorce agreement yet?”

“Not yet,’ he replied, starting the engine. “My lawyer is ill.”

“I could draft it myself, I offered. “I do have a business degree.”

Derek’s mouth twisted into something between a smile and a grimace. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Apparently convince you to be forthright about our divorce,” I countered.

“We’ll handle it after grandma’s issue,” he said, his eyes fixed on the road. ‘Is that acceptable?”

I nodded, noticing how his fingers drummed against the steering wheel, betraying his unease.

During Derek’s business trip to London the following week, Margaret insisted we video call him every evening. I sat beside her on the sofa, smiling politely as she chatted with her grandson.

“My colleagues are laughing at me for checking in with my wife, Derek said one evening, the background showing a fancy dinner

event in London’s financial district.

‘She has beautiful hands, I heard someone comment as I massaged Margaret’s shoulders.

Derek’s expression darkened immediately. “That’s my wife you’re talking about,” he said sharply. “Show some respect.”

The next day, he called to say he was cutting his trip short and would be back in Boston the following morning.

That weekend, I called Olivia while arranging flowers in Margaret’s sitting room.

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Chapter 89

“I think she’s faking it,” Olivia said bluntly when I mentioned Margaret’s health. “She’s manipulating you to stay with Derek.”

“She’s not faking,” I said, lowering my voice though I was alone.

“I’m sorry, Elle, Olivia softened. “But don’t let them manipulate you. You need to think about yourself for once.”

“I know, I sighed. “But I can’t just abandon her now.”

Sunday morning, I was preparing a fruit salad in the kitchen when Derek returned from London. He entered the kitchen silently startling me as I turned with a knife in hand. The blade nicked my finger, drawing a thin line of blood.

“You scared me, I gasped, instinctively pulling my hand back.

Derek was at my side in an instant, capturing my wrist in a gentle but firm grip. “Let me see,” he said, examining the cut with a

frown of concentration.

Without a word, he reached for the first aid kit kept in one of the kitchen drawers, his movements efficient and sure. He cleaned the

small wound with antiseptic, his touch impossibly gentle.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, his voice low as his thumb traced circles on my wrist, just below the cut.

I watched him, mesmerized by the intensity of his focus, the careful way he handled my hand. I’d never seen this side of Derek

before-tender, attentive, almost caring.

He looked up, catching me staring. “What is it?” he asked, his eyes searching mine. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing, I whispered. “Thank you.”

He didn’t release my hand, and I didn’t pull away. Our eyes locked, and for a moment, everything else faded-our impending divorce, the pretense of our marriage, the years of hurt and misunderstanding.

The spell was broken by Martha entering the kitchen. I withdrew my hand quickly, grabbing the fruit salad and hurrying past her, my heart racing in a way that had nothing to do with the small cut on my finger.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love