Eric remained at the door, rain dripping from his umbrella. Hadley stood frozen, wrestling with indecision. She wasn’t sure why Eric was with Brady, but seeing him half-soaked, she felt compelled at least to offer him shelter to dry off.

Yet, would that cross a line? Her uncertainty was plain, and Eric saw it instantly. She didn’t want him inside.

The realization hit him like a sharp sting, wounding him deeply. Still, he masked his pain with a forced, easygoing smile.

“Why are you standing there? Get inside. I’m leaving.”

Hadley blinked, surprised. He wasn’t planning to stay.

“Okay,” she replied softly.

Eric’s grip tightened on the umbrella as he turned sharply and walked away. Hadley parted her lips, wanting to ask how he had ended up with Brady, but he was already climbing into his car.

“Never mind,” she thought. She would get answers from Brady later.

With him injured and waiting inside, Hadley hurried back into the house.

Inside the car, Eric stared blankly out the window, rain streaking the glass.

“Mr. Scott,” Phillips said, passing a dry towel from the front seat and nodding toward Eric’s wet shoulder. “You should dry off.”

“Thanks,” Eric said flatly, taking the towel but letting it sit in his hands.

“You know…” He glanced at Phillips, a faint, unsettling smile crossing his face. “What do you think Zane’s up to in there?”

The calm but desperate smile unnerved Phillips, who turned away and avoided meeting Eric’s eyes.

Inside, Hadley grabbed a first aid kit and called to the maid. “Bring some towels and make some hot ginger tea. They need warming up.”

“Right away,” the maid replied, heading to the kitchen.

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Hadley carried the first aid kit to the living room, where Brady and Zane sat on the couch. Zane rose as she approached.

“Sit down,” she said, waving him back. “No need for formalities.”

“Alright.” Zane nodded and settled again.

The maid had already provided dry towels. Both men had peeled off their soaked jackets and dried their hair as best they could. Without spare clothes, the towels offered some relief.

In the bright light of the living room, Hadley saw the full extent of Brady’s swollen, bruised face and winced. Worry and frustration churned inside her as she opened the first aid kit.

“What happened? Who did this to you?”

She dabbed an iodine-soaked cotton ball on his split lip.

“Ouch!” Brady flinched, sucking in a breath.

“It was Colleen’s brother, Nelson,” Zane said, answering for him. “Her family knows about her relationship with Brady now. They’re against it.”

Hadley paused, grasping the situation. She couldn’t say much about it, as it involved Colleen’s family.

Turning to Brady, she sighed. “Couldn’t you have dodged the fight?”

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