Of course, she didn’t believe that was an apology. Clearly, he was mocking her age.
“And you…” Eric turned to Hadley, took her hand with a chuckle, and playfully said, “Bianca’s old enough to be your mother… So try to be a bit more patient, alright?”
As he spoke, Eric winked at Hadley.
She caught on right away. With a playful pout, she huffed, “So just because she’s old, I’m supposed to put up with her nasty attitude? No thanks!”
Amused, Eric turned to Bianca and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry, Bianca. Like I say, she’s young and a little hard to manage. Don’t be upset. I’ll talk to her later.”
Bianca’s expression darkened. Her face turned a shade paler, and she was visibly furious. “Stop messing around with me. Cut the nonsense, Eric. Tell me what’s really going on. What’s wrong with you?”
“Actually…” Eric tapped the side of his head lightly. “I didn’t mean to make you worry. It’s just a mild cold. But still, thank you for coming by, Bianca.”
“A mild cold?” Bianca narrowed her eyes. “Don’t give me that crap. You don’t end up in the hospital over a sniffle. Who do you think you’re fooling?”
“I didn’t want to be.” Eric shrugged and held Hadley’s hand. “Hadley was worried and insisted on bringing me here to see a doctor.”
He glanced at Hadley and put on a mock frown. “I told you it was just a cold. There was no need to drag me to the hospital… Now look, you’ve scared Bianca.”
“She insisted?” Bianca narrowed her eyes, full of doubt. “Didn’t you two break up? Why is she still calling the shots?”
Eric shook his head. “No, we didn’t break up. It was just a fight.”
He looked at Bianca, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “Wait, are you really getting that old? Is that why you can’t keep up with the ups and downs between men and women?”
Then, as if thinking it over, Eric laughed. “You keep tabs on me pretty well, don’t you? Saying things like Hadley and I broke up… So I’m sure you’ve noticed that Megan’s been unusually clingy these days.”
Your next tale lives on g ? lnσ ν ?s, com
As he spoke, Eric gave Hadley’s hand a gentle squeeze, signaling her not to take it to heart.
“Women, you know. She got jealous and made a fuss.” He turned to Hadley with a teasing look. “Isn’t that right?”
Hadley’s brows drew together. She pulled her hand away, clearly unamused. “Who’s jealous? Do I look like the type to get jealous over everything?”
With that, she reached for the bowl of soup on the table and held it up. “I told you to have this earlier, but you kept putting it off. You’re always too busy for something as simple as soup. Now it’s cold! If you don’t want it, fine. Don’t have it at all.”
After saying that, she turned and walked away.
With a sigh, Eric pressed a hand to his forehead and chuckled. Then, he glanced at Bianca and calmly said, “Looks like you’ve misunderstood a lot more than you think.”
Bianca was speechless. She had sensed something was off.
From the moment Hadley stepped in to defend Eric, the pieces didn’t add up. She knew she wouldn’t get the truth today.
Frustrated, she huffed and said, “Fine! Keep hiding it, then. Hide it well. Let’s see how long you can keep your little secrets buried!”
.
.
.