She sat in the wheelchair, dazed. Her eyes were locked on him, as if she was unable to look away.

“Miss Harris, let’s go,” Phillips said, lifting a hand. The bodyguards nodded, turning the wheelchair so Linda faced away from them as they pushed her away.

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Just before disappearing around the corner, Linda glanced back and caught a glimpse of Eric leaning in close to Hadley and speaking in a hushed tone.

His body language made it obvious that he was trying to comfort her.

At that, Linda smirked.

Eric leaned closer to Hadley, his voice soft and soothing. “She’s gone now. As for everything else, let Ernest deal with it, okay?”

Hadley didn’t respond immediately. She just stared at him for a while. For the first time, she saw with her own eyes just how distant and cold he had become towards Linda.

Even though his words weren’t harsh and his voice remained calm, his attitude made one thing clear—he was keeping her at arm’s length.

“Hadley?” Eric grew more unsettled with each passing second of her silence. He had a habit of overthinking everything when anxious.

He began to explain, his words stumbling over each other. “I didn’t know she was coming here to see Elissa. I haven’t been involved in anything related to her in a long time. Ernest has been handling everything. Besides, she’s about to marry him.”

The more he tried to explain, the more flustered he became. Beads of sweat soon formed on his forehead.

“Alright.” Hadley finally spoke, frowning slightly and nodding. “I get it.”

But her response only made Eric’s chest feel tighter, like she still didn’t believe him.

“I just…” He tried to continue, but Hadley cut him off with a question. “Why are you…”

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He paused, swallowing his words to explain, then answered her question.

“I asked Tamara and found out you were here. I came to pick you up.”

After a few seconds, he added, “It’s getting late. Aren’t you heading back soon?”

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“In a bit,” Hadley replied, glancing down at her watch. “I want to wait for Ernest.”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence because right then, Ernest showed up. Eric and Hadley exchanged a brief glance before turning toward Ernest, who was striding over quickly.

He gave them a quick nod, clearly already informed about Linda’s unexpected visit.

Then he looked at Hadley and said, “Thank you for taking care of Elissa. It’s getting late. You should leave with Eric.”

“I didn’t really do much.” Hadley shook her head. “Ernest…”

She started to say more, but Eric interrupted before she could finish. “Ernest, we’ll be heading out now.”

“Alright.”

“Hadley, let’s go.” Eric noticed her puffed cheeks and firm stance, but he didn’t back down. “Come on.”

He reached for her hand and tugged her along, just enough to prevent her from breaking free without causing pain.

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