“Of course.” Hamza pulled out his pad, scribbled down the prescription, and gave her a firm but gentle reminder. “Same as before—don’t overdo it with the dosage.”

He handed her the slip, his expression turning more serious. “If things get worse, come back right away. Don’t try to fix everything with pills.”

“Got it. Thank you, Dr. Perkins.”

“Just doing my job,” he said with a nod.

Hadley offered a grateful smile, took the prescription, and stepped out to collect her medicine.

Back at Olisvale Bay, that afternoon, Hadley took Joy upstairs for her nap. Since she hadn’t really slept well the night before, Hadley intended to catch up on some rest herself as well.

Once Joy was sound asleep, Hadley quietly slipped out of bed and retrieved the medication she had just picked up from the pharmacy. She twisted the cap, shook a pill into her palm, and was about to take it when her phone buzzed.

A message from Eric lit up the screen.

“Have you eaten? Don’t forget the appointment with the Petros designer today. I’m on my way back now—we’ll head over together.”

“Oh… right.” She’d nearly forgotten. A quick glance at her calendar confirmed it—today was the day.

The designer was one of the most sought-after names in the industry. Just two days ago, Hadley had felt thrilled at the prospect of meeting them.

Now, she felt nothing.

A wedding dress? A ceremony? A lifetime bound to Eric?

Her stomach churned. The thought left her cold.

She knew better than to confront Eric directly—he never responded well to pushback.

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So what now?

Her gaze drifted to the small white pill resting in her palm.

An idea flickered.

Her fingers curled around the tablet. Slowly, she twisted the cap open again and returned the pill to its bottle.

She stood in silence for a moment, then turned to look at Joy’s sleeping form. She reached out and brushed a gentle fingertip across the girl’s soft cheek. A bitter smile tugged at Hadley’s lips. Find the newest release on f?ndnovel.net

Not long after, Eric arrived.

“Hello, Hadley,” he greeted, his eyes narrowing as he scanned her expression. “How was your morning?”

“Fine,” she said flatly. “Nothing unusual.”

Without waiting for him to say more, she headed for the door. “It’s about time. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Eric hurried to keep up. As they reached the car, he reached out to take her hand—But Hadley stepped sharply out of reach, her voice low and cold.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t even try. If you do, I’m not going.”

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