Whether he was asleep or simply too broken to move, she couldn’t tell.

For a moment, she hovered uncertainly, unsure if she should wake him. Before she could decide, the door creaked open from within. The sudden shift caused Eric to collapse backward with a dull thud, hitting the floor hard.

“Mr. Scott!” the housemaid yelped in shock.

Hadley opened the door and flinched at the sight of Eric falling, her heart skipping a beat in surprise.

Fortunately, Eric’s eyes snapped open just as he began to collapse.

Hadley came to a halt, the tension in her shoulders loosening as she finally released the breath she’d been holding. She turned her face to the side, intentionally avoiding his gaze.

Without a word, she brushed past him and left.

“Hadley!” Eric scrambled upright and rushed after her.

Downstairs in the dining room, Hadley sat at the table, quietly eating with her eyes fixed on her plate.

Eric approached and took the seat beside her, careful not to disrupt the silence between them. He studied her face, lips parted slightly as if about to speak—but no words came.

His phone buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID and picked up. “It’s me. Go ahead.” The voice on the line spoke at length while Eric listened intently.

In the end, he murmured short replies, “Okay. Got it.”

As soon as the call ended, Eric looked over at Hadley. He hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing what to say next.

“That was the bridal shop.”

At those words, Hadley stilled, her hand frozen midair. She kept her head down, continuing to eat without looking up.

?tst chptrs in glnoνels.

Eric watched her closely, unable to read her expression. After a moment, he added, “I mentioned it before. Do you remember?”

Just a few days earlier, he had proposed, and she had said yes.

Because his mother, Milly, was still recovering and couldn’t help much with the wedding preparations, they were left to handle everything themselves.

Eric had reached out to a high-end bridal boutique.

The boutique’s lead designer was a foreigner who split his time between Srixby and France, so they had to plan around his frequent travels. But luckily, they’d confirmed his availability in Srixby this month.

Eric needed to discuss it with Hadley.

“When are you available? We should book an appointment…”

A faint laugh escaped Hadley—short and nearly soundless—as she lowered her fork, then slowly looked up at him. “You still want to order a dress?”

Caught off guard, Eric tensed, uncertainty creeping into his voice. “Of course—”

Hadley met his eyes without flinching. “You think we can just pretend nothing’s wrong? That we can move forward like nothing happened?”

“Hadley…” Eric’s chest tightened. “I know you’re still hurt about Linda, but don’t dismiss our wedding like it means nothing. This matters. It’s real.”

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