Shrouded Affections Winning Back My CEO Wife

Chapter 61

Chapter 61:

Eileen pondered why Benjamin, always chasing personal benefit, would risk upsetting Jonathan for her sake. Something didn’t add up. Restless, she spent the night wrestling with her sheets, sleep elusive. Then her phone rang, startling her into action, careful not to disturb Bailee, who was asleep beside her.

“Hello?” she said.

A pause stretched on the line before a voice, tentative yet familiar, broke the silence. “Is this Miss Curtis? It’s Aaron.”

Recognition dawned slowly for Eileen. It was Aaron Clarkson, Harlan’s son.

“Yes,” Eileen replied.

“It’s really you!” Aaron’s tone, laced with astonishment, carried across the line. “I never thought we’d speak again.”

Eileen remembered their brief time together. Aaron had leaned heavily on her guidance. The years had created distance, yet here he was, reaching out as if no time had passed at all.

Eileen found a quiet corner on the couch downstairs, her voice a whisper. “How have you been, Aaron?”

Aaron’s words flowed, not typical of teens his age. Eileen noticed he hadn’t changed much from the child she remembered. They lost themselves in conversation for well over an hour. During this, Eileen’s phone buzzed with an incoming call, but she chose to let it go unanswered.

After a while, she decided to broach the topic of grades. “Aaron, what’s been going on with your grades lately?”

Aaron gave a dismissive snort. “Figured you’d get to that. My dad’s pretty mad, too, but I keep it to myself. If I tell you, you’d just report back to him, wouldn’t you?”

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Eileen held her silence, her answer clear in the quiet between them.

Aaron’s voice took on an edge. “I trusted you because I thought you were on my team. If you’re just gonna spill to him, I won’t tell you.”

“Best to leave it unsaid, then,” Eileen replied, keeping the peace. Wanting to steer away from the tension, she changed the topic. “Do you want me to tutor you? Regardless of the whys and wherefores, focusing on your education is key.”

From the other end of the line, Aaron’s voice came with a teasing edge. “Don’t you want to convince me a little?”

At Aaron’s teasing remark, Eileen couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Just tell me, are you in for tutoring?”

Aaron didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I don’t want to fall behind in my studies either. But it’s too hard for me to catch up now. When will you come to tutor me?”

Eileen considered for a moment. “I can only provide you with some study materials for you to work through. You need to complete a practice test for each subject so I can assess your understanding.”

on the table. “Okay, I’ll get it done

it’s late,” Eileen reminded him before ending the

noticed a missed call from Bryan, followed by a text, a question mark. Unsure if Bryan was already asleep, Eileen opted not to

“Mr. Dawson, any instructions?”

booted up her computer to pore over the eighth-grade curriculum. Her impromptu study session stretched into the wee hours, ending only at three in the morning. Knowing she needed some sleep to function at work,

circles still underscored her when she arrived at work, having taken the bus because

clocked in at the company gate and was reminded with the words “You are late,” many employees looked at her with surprise. Judie, among the onlookers, exchanged glances with others before joining Eileen with a stack of files

made you take the bus today?” Judie

wall and spoke without lifting

dull, and Judie felt her words getting stuck in her throat. The elevator halted, yet Judie

open the doors again, fixing Judie with a look. “Aren’t you going

glance that conveyed

there’s trouble with your sister. It looks like she’s had a falling-out with Mr.

pausing on his scooter, demanded,

the bus to work before,” Judie relayed urgently. “She’s worn out, sporting dark circles, and she was fuming. Looks like she’s had a rough time with Mr. Dawson and is

part of my house-buying plan. Now what? Do you think Mr.

never missed an opportunity to belittle Eileen when out of earshot, and Roderick was aware of this habit. He said, “Enough with the nonsense. I’ll call her later and ask her

said, her voice laden with disdain as she

had just delivered a file to Bryan when

late,” Eileen admitted with a

to

the previous night’s conversation. “A friend.

documents, he replied, “Just wanted to ask you where

he

reclined in his chair, eyebrows arched as he regarded Eileen.

her head lightly. “Just concerned that

his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on

It puzzled her that Bryan wasn’t sure of Huey’s address, but she didn’t suspect

she quickly texted Bailee, telling her

Eileen was exhausted. Kian had already left with Vivian. When she and

the quiet. A WhatsApp notification glowed. Bryan

a red light, Bryan reached out to

said, her voice betraying her fatigue and a

tutoring sessions with Aaron and the impact on her rest and job performance loomed

momentarily with