Chapter 1142

As Eleanor pushed the cart and lan held their daughter, they turned heads in the store — some looks admiring, some curious.

A few well-dressed shoppers even recognized lan; that white hair of his had become pretty hard to miss.

Who would have thought that a man of his status, wealthy enough to buy a country, would also spend time shopping with his wife and child?

Although Eleanor was his ex-wife, the scene made many assume they were a family of three.

Back at Eleanor’s penthouse duplex, lan carried Evelyn inside as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Eleanor had a pile of data to review to make time for her daughter later. She turned to lan. “Do you have time? You can stay and keep Evelyn company. I still have work to do p>

lan nodded. “I’m free all evening p>

“Okay, I’ll let Joslyn know,” Eleanor said, heading to the kitchen to tell Joslyn to prepare dinner for one more person.

lan changed his shoes and walked into the living room. Princess greeted him enthusiastically. He crouched down to rub her head before leading her to the sofa.

Evelyn brought over a new toy she’d bought, a Ludo board. For the rest of the evening, lan played the game with his daughter.

He took off his suit jacket, casually draping it over the arm of the sofa. Then he undid the top two buttons of his shirt and unfastened his cufflinks, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his strong forearms.

Like this, he lost the sharp edge of the business world and gained a more relaxed, domestic air.

Evelyn lay on the carpet. “Daddy, let’s play on the floor p>

“Alright.” lan sat on the carpet as well, his long legs bent casually, patiently rolling the dice.

In the study, Eleanor was on a video call with Callie, discussing new data online. It wasn’t until around seven-thirty that Joslyn came upstairs to call her down for dinner.

As Eleanor came down from the second floor, she heard her daughter’s happy laughter under the warm lights. “Daddy, I won! You can’t catch me p>

“Amazing! You’re even smarter than Daddy,” lan praised, ruffling Evelyn’s hair. The tiny, doll-like figure he once held in his arms had now grown into a little girl.

At the dinner table, Joslyn had prepared a lavish meal, including Evelyn’s favorite sea fish, steamed to tender perfection. Ian patiently picked out the bones for his daughter.

Eleanor, on the other hand, was quiet, lost in thought about the data she had just been reviewing.

Whatever she was thinking about, her gaze seemed far away. Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and she held her fork between her teeth, as if she even forgotten to chew.

lan watched her, captivated for a few seconds.

He didn’t interrupt, having seen her fully immersed in her work before, as if the outside world ceased to Outsi exist. In that, she reminded him of her father, that stubborn old man who was tireless in his pursuit of scientific research.

Just then, Evelyn looked at her mother and asked, “Mommy, who are you thinking about p>

Eleanor snapped back to reality and smiled. “Mommy was thinking about work p>

Evelyn blinked and placed the fish her father had just deboned into her mother’s bowl. In a sweet, childish voice she said, “Mommy this is the fish Daddy picked out. There are no bones! You should eat some too p>

Seeing her daughter’s proud expression, Eleanor’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Okay, thank you, Evelyn p>

Without any hesitation, she picked up the tender pieces of fish and ate them.

From across the table, a pair of deep eyes glanced over, a barely perceptible smile flashing in their depths.

After dinner, lan continued to play with Evelyn while Eleanor went back to work. By the time she finished, it was already nine-thirty.