Chapter 442

Samuel had tried his hardest to steel his heart against Eleanor. He told himself, again and again, that she was nothing more than an obstacle—an unfortunate entanglement in his grander schemes. Yet, no matter how much he resisted, no matter how ruthlessly he tried to erase his wavering thoughts, he failed in the end. Time after time, he found himself acting against his own nature, reacting to Eleanor in ways that defied logic. He had spent years mastering control, yet with her, his restraint crumbled like sand slipping through his fingers. At first, it was just fleeting moments—small, inexplicable lapses. A lingering glance. A hesitation before giving an order. An unspoken wish that her defiance wouldn’t fade. But then, something darker took root. He had told himself that poisoning Robert had been an act of vengeance, pure and simple. A calculated move to strike back at a man who had wronged him. But deep down, in the shadowed recesses of his mind, Samuel knew the truth. If Robert died