Chapter 67

"Madam, please calm down. Let's find a quiet place to discuss this..." The hotel staff desperately tried to restrain Olivia when the door in front of them suddenly swung open.

Eleanor stood there, her hair slightly tousled, cheeks flushed with an unnatural hue, yet her gaze was as cold as ice.

"Well, well! So you're here! Where's your lover? Is Julian hiding inside? Let me..." Olivia's voice was shrill, her eyes darting past Eleanor into the room.

Eleanor ignored Olivia entirely and strode over to Isabella in just a few quick steps. Her movement was so swift that Isabella barely had time to react before Eleanor snatched the phone from her hand.

"Eleanor..." Isabella began, but her words were cut short as Eleanor deleted the video she had recorded and smashed the phone against the wall without hesitation.

"What are you doing?" Olivia, who had intended to barge in to find Julian, was startled by the commotion. She immediately rushed forward to shield Isabella.

However, Eleanor didn't give them a chance to recover. She raised her hand and delivered a crisp slap across Isabella's face.

"Isabella!" Olivia shouted, her voice trembling with rage. "Eleanor, you wretched lunatic! How dare you hit her? You're the one who—"

"Are you an idiot?" Eleanor turned to look at Olivia, her voice icy. "Are you completely unaware that you're being used as a pawn?"

"What are you talking about?" Olivia froze, her mind struggling to process Eleanor's words.

But Eleanor didn't spare her another glance. She turned on her heel and walked away, her steps steady despite the turmoil raging within her.

"Stop right there! Eleanor, I demand you explain yourself!" Olivia tried to chase after her, but someone behind her blocked her path. "Madam, please stay calm..."

Eleanor had no intention of engaging with her further. Her mind was already slipping into a haze. She wouldn't have had the strength to confront Isabella and Olivia if she hadn't steeled herself earlier, making a deep cut on her forearm to keep her focus.

But the clarity brought by the pain was fleeting.

Her body was burning with heat, as if something was gnawing at her bones. Her legs started to tremble, forcing her to clench her fists tightly as her body slowly bent under the strain.

"Madam, do you need help?" Someone in the lobby approached her with concern.

Eleanor didn't respond. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to take each step forward, her vision blurring at the edges.

She didn't hesitate when she spotted a familiar car parked at the entrance. She charged toward it like a drowning person grasping for a life raft.

She grabbed Nathaniel's hand without hesitation when the car window rolled down. "Nathaniel, help me."

Ethan quickly opened the car door, and Eleanor slid inside, her grip on Nathaniel's hand unyielding.

Her logic told her she should let go, but her body betrayed her. She found herself leaning closer to him, her fingers tightening around his.

Nathaniel caught her wrist and held it firmly, his gaze dropping to the wound on her hand as he lifted it.

Only then did Eleanor slightly regain her senses. She shook her head forcefully and tried to free her hand, but Nathaniel's grip tightened as he glanced at her.

The car was shrouded in dim light, while the outside world glittered with decadence and revelry.

Eleanor was suddenly reminded of the past two years when his gaze landed on her—those tangled and hazy nights they had shared.

Then, Eleanor seemed to hear a sharp echo in her mind.

It was the sound of her last shred of reason shattering.