There was no mystery left—reality sat plain and undeniable between them.

“What gives you the right?” Hadley’s voice cracked into a shout, her anger spilling out fast and sharp. “What gives you the right to make decisions for me? Who permitted you to wipe my choices clean like they never mattered?” Her chest tightened so fiercely, it felt like her heart was being twisted by unseen hands.

“Do you have even the faintest clue what those four years did to me?” Her eyes locked onto Eric’s, daring him not to flinch. “You wanted answers, right? You kept pushing to hear it? Fine, I’ll give it to you.”

The fury rising in her veins made her pulse thunder in her ears. Her lips quivered, but her voice didn’t falter—each word came out cutting and raw.

“I had no money to survive. I was forced out of my apartment and ended up in some dump that barely passed for housing. But I still had to eat! I had to live! Even if I could have starved, Joy couldn’t!”

Hot tears carved down her cheeks, falling faster than she could wipe them away. Th?s chapter is updated by Find[?]ovel.net

Hadley didn’t look away. Her eyes held his, wet with silent tears, each word falling from her mouth like it had been torn straight from her chest. A slum. That was what she had reduced her life to.

The instant Eric heard it, the color drained from his face. He’d feared it ever since he found out she didn’t receive the money, suspected the worst. With no support, how could she have survived comfortably? Still, hearing it spoken aloud, so bare and real, struck deeper than any guess ever could.

“Want to hear the rest?” Hadley gave a broken laugh, tears still slipping down her cheeks. Her voice didn’t crack, but it had gone cold. “But I’m done talking.” Without waiting for a response, she moved past him and headed toward the door.

Eric clenched his eyes shut, unable to stop the tears from escaping. His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist before she could walk away. “Please, Hadley—just tell me everything. I need to hear it.”

Her expression didn’t soften. Her eyes were steel. “And what would that change? If I lay it all out, will you finally grow a spine? Will you hold Linda accountable for what she did to me?”

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Wasn’t it clear?

“No, you won’t,” she answered before he could speak, her expression tight with frustration. “So what’s the point of saying anything at all?”

Her breath hitched as she tried to steady herself, but the weight in her chest only grew heavier.

“You know why I stopped asking for help all those years ago?” she asked, her voice low but firm. “Because I already knew the truth. No matter what happened, you’d always choose Linda.”

Her jaw locked, her voice sharp. “And here you are, proving me right again.”

“That’s not fair…” Eric murmured, shaking his head, his eyes filled with pain.

“Isn’t it?” Her laugh came out brittle and broken, the sound barely masking the tears streaking her cheeks. “You’ve been kind lately. I saw that. And for a moment, I believed maybe I could finally tell you everything I’ve kept buried.”

She didn’t stop there. “You never wanted the truth back then, because loving me wasn’t something you could admit… But now? Now you finally do. Don’t you?”

“Yes!” His voice cracked as the word left his mouth.

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