?Chapter 180:


    Her gaze was intense and unwavering, her voice trembling with fury. “It’s been four years since we separated! Our marriage has been over for ages! We are no longer husband and wife!”


    “You—”


    Eric was momentarily stunned, his anger boiling over.


    Was she really this upset about a ring?


    His expression hardened. “What’s your n, then? Looking for a new husband? Duran Murray? That’sughable.”


    His voice was frigid. “He didn’t even dare to acknowledge your rtionship when I asked him. Do you honestly believe he’s going to marry you? You’re living in a fantasy!”


    “I’m aware he’s not going to marry me,” Hadley said, her chin held high, her demeanor fearless.


    Eric halted, visibly taken aback. “You know this and you’re still with him?” he asked, his tone lowering in disbelief. “Hadley, have you lost your mind? You’re young, yet you’re content to be just another man’s mistress?”


    “What’s wrong with that?” replied Hadley, her look one of cool detachment.


    Eric scoffed. “What’s wrong? He’ll never marry you. You have no security. At any moment, he could cast you aside. You’re deluding yourself.”


    “And if he does marry me, what security would that give me?” Hadley asked, a hint of sarcasm in herughter.


    Her scornful eyes swept over him. “Eric, don’t be absurd. I was once married, remember? And tell me, what ‘security’ did that marriage provide?”


    Eric caught his breath, struck silent.


    Hadley continued, her tone incisive. “I was a bride for just two months, and how often was my husband even present? Then he banished me abroad. For four years. Four, Eric!”


    Her voice escted, her words piercing him sharply. “So where was this fabled ‘security’ then? Exin it to me!”


    .cóm is the source


    Eric opened his mouth to respond, yet no sound emerged.


    Bathed in the dim streetlight, his face appeared almost ghostly.


    Indeed, he was the one responsible.


    With his teeth gritted, Eric retorted harshly, “And who caused all that? You brought it upon yourself. It wasn’t my doing!”


    Hadley responded with a cold, mockingugh.


    “You’re correct,” she said, her tone airy and detached. “If you despise me so much, why concern yourself with my actions?”


    What?


    Eric’s anger burned hotter, his eyes shing as he tried to process Hadley’s defiance.


    She actually thought he was overstepping? It was absurd. People always came to him for help. No one had ever dared speak to him this way before.


    “Hadley, you—”


    “Go!” Hadley snapped, cutting him off, her voiceced with frustration. She had no time for this. The ring. The one Eric had carelessly tossed away, a symbol of Duran’s promise. She had to find it, and fast.


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