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.”

reply; the face-to-face session wasn’t on the table. “Okay, I’ll

it’s late,” Eileen reminded him before

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?”

eighth-grade curriculum. Her impromptu study session stretched into the

taken the bus because Bryan had taken away the car. It was her first time

words “You are late,” many employees looked at her with surprise.

Eileen. What made you take the

a moment’s solace, rested against the elevator’s wall and spoke

in her throat. The elevator halted, yet Judie made no move to

Judie

backward glance that conveyed her concern

her phone and moved down the corridor. “Roderick, there’s trouble with your

pausing on his scooter, demanded,

Judie relayed urgently. “She’s worn out, sporting dark circles, and she was fuming. Looks like she’s

supposed to be part of my house-buying plan. Now what? Do you think Mr. Dawson will offer

belittle Eileen when out of earshot, and Roderick was aware of this habit. He said, “Enough with the

said, her voice laden with disdain as she

had just delivered a file to Bryan when he

up too late,” Eileen

were you talking to on the phone last

suddenly recalled the previous night’s conversation. “A friend. Did you

finished with the documents, he replied, “Just wanted to

know where he lives? Where did you take

arched as he regarded Eileen. “What?

“Just concerned that he would be a

“Don’t

the files and turned to leave. It puzzled her that Bryan wasn’t sure of Huey’s address, but she didn’t suspect

in her own space, she quickly texted Bailee, telling

a marathon, and by its end, Eileen was exhausted. Kian had already left with Vivian. When she and Bryan departed, it was Bryan at the wheel. Exhaustion overcame her, and she dozed off

broke the quiet. A WhatsApp notification glowed. Bryan took a brief look; the message was

light, Bryan reached out to grab

said, her voice betraying her fatigue and a

thought of Bryan discovering her private tutoring sessions with Aaron and the impact on her rest and job performance loomed in her mind. It would

paused, hand on the wheel, and studied her momentarily with a thoughtful look before returning his attention to the