?Chapter 231:


    She wasn’t going to be part of whatever he was plotting.


    With a slight, cold smile, Hadley said, “I decline. I won’t return to you.” That wasn’t entirely true, though. More urately, she had never really been with him at all.


    “What did you just say?” Eric’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I couldn’t catch that. Say it again.”


    She was certain he heard her loud and clear.


    “Enough with the games.” Hadley tightened her fist, bracing herself. “Look closely, Eric. I am Hadley. The same Hadley you despised. The same Hadley you sent overseas and left behind for years!”


    “I’ve changed my mind.” His eyes fixed on her intensely, burning with a heat so intense it felt as though they could scorch her very flesh. “Come back to me. I want you now.”


    Disbelief washed over Hadley as she stared at him.


    His overwhelming presence pressed down on her, so heavy and intense that she almost felt the need to back away. Could he actually hear himself? Did he realize how disgusting his demands were?


    She was not an object to be tossed aside and then reimed at his whim.


    Yet, debating this seemed futile.


    There were unspoken matters from four years ago. Now, after such a long time, there was no point in bringing them up.


    “No,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “I do not wish to.”


    Was she still refusing him?


    Eric’s patience had been enduring, but her persistent rejections were starting to erode it.


    His face grew stern, and his tone became low and forceful. “I’m asking nicely, Hadley. Don’t test my patience.”


    A silent chuckle escaped Hadley. Even now, while begging her toe back, he still acted like he was in control.


    His audacity. His sense of entitlement. What made him think he had any right to demand anything from her?


    “I’m not testing anything.”


    Chills spread through her body, her blood seeming to turn to ice. “Plus, this confuses me. Weren’t you in love with Linda? Shouldn’t these words be for her instead of me?”


    As soon as she spoke, his expression changed—his features sharpened, his jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened.


    In Srixby, it was well known that Linda was the one conquest Eric had failed to secure. His greatest regret. It wasmon knowledge that mentioning her around him was a risk, now more than ever since Linda had be his sister-inw.


    Hadley’s words had definitely hit a sore spot.


    Noticing his irritation, Hadley didn’t back down. “You love her so much—why not pursue her? It’s not unusual. Many men have married their brother’s widows. If there’s real love—”


    “Hadley!” His tone was a chilling whisper, tinged with a threat. “Don’t assume you can say anything just because I’ve tolerated it.”


    Tolerated? Was he for real? The thought was almostughable.


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