Trying to be gentle, he asked, “Is there more you need to say? I’ll listen. Just let it out.”

“You lied to me…” Still drifting between sleep and wakefulness, Hadley muttered, “You said you liked me… but you didn’t mean it… I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anything!”

Her lips formed a small pout as her eyes began to shut slowly.

Barely audible, she muttered, “You don’t like me… You just don’t… No…”

That left Eric completely rattled.

Where had that come from? Had he once told her that he liked her? And somehow she was rejecting the idea?

Before this, she had insisted he had feelings for Linda. But now, Hadley was claiming he had said those words to her.

Which part was real? Was it that he didn’t like her at all, or that she couldn’t bring herself to believe it?

Morning came, and Linda underwent her scheduled surgery. The procedure went as planned, but she remained unconscious afterward and had to be transferred straight to the ICU. Fortunately, her condition wasn’t considered critical—at least for the time being.

By the next day, Hadley made her way to the hospital. Savannah had asked her to handle a few important matters there.

The moment she got to the hospital, she was informed that Linda had already regained consciousness and would soon be moved back to her room.

One of the nurses approached her in a calm voice, asking, “Miss Pearson, would you like to see Miss Harris now? She’s awake.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

If Linda was up and alert, then it made sense for them to speak.

Later, Hadley arrived with Eric at Linda’s hospital room.

Just as they were about to walk in, Eric’s phone buzzed. He glanced her way and said, “Go on ahead. I need to take this first.”

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“Alright.” Hadley gave a quiet nod. With that, she watched him step aside to answer the call, then turned toward the door and pushed it open.

As she entered, her eyes landed on Linda. She was resting against the pillows, propped halfway up, a hat covering her head while she looked out the window.

The sound of footsteps drew Linda’s attention. Slowly, she turned her head to see who had come in.

The moment her gaze landed on Hadley, Linda’s eyes grew wide. Her already pale skin turned even whiter.

“Hadley?”

“That’s right.” Hadley stood beside the bed, offering a small smile.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“What are you doing here?” Linda’s stare didn’t waver. She seemed both confused and shaken.

There was an undeniable glow in Hadley’s presence. She looked alive, almost electric, as though every part of her pulsed with energy.

In contrast, Linda felt like something left to fade—drained, fragile, with each breath feeling harder to take.

Faced with that kind of brightness, shame began to settle deep in Linda’s chest. She couldn’t even bring herself to lift her head. Her fists curled around the sheets as her voice came out in a tremble.

“Why would you show up now?”

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