?Chapter 282:


    “Huh?”


    Hadley was baffled by his reaction.


    Why did he look so rmed, as if she had some ulterior motive?


    “You’re not actually worried I’ll try something, are you?” Hadley asked, half-amused, half-annoyed.


    “No, of course not…”


    She sighed in frustration and turned away from him.


    “Just take off that wet shirt and hand it to me,” she instructed, hoping to rify the situation.


    Eric, finally catching on, realized she was only concerned about his wet clothing. Yet he hesitated.


    His back bore a secret—a maze of scars that narrated a tale of past anguish.


    Only a select few knew of the mark: Eric himself, his brother Ernest, and Linda.


    Whenever intimate moments urred in the past, Eric made sure the lights were off, safeguarding his scars from Hadley’s eyes.


    He couldn’t bear the thought of exposing them, not to anyone, even his wife.


    Memories linked to those scars still haunted him, causing him pain even at the mere thought.


    At that moment, Eric clenched his eyes shut, hisplexion turning ashen. He shivered, the trauma momentarily overwhelming him as his body trembled.


    “Are you done?”


    Hadley’s voice pulled Eric from his thoughts. She hadn’t turned around yet, clearly waiting for him. “Have you taken your shirt off?”


    A shadow crossed Eric’s face, his emotions briefly showing before he regained hisposure. She was just being considerate. Moreover, she couldn’t see him from her angle.


    After a deep breath, he raised his hands and removed his wet shirt. “Done.”


    Fresh chapters just uploaded g?lnσν????s?c?m


    Without looking at him, Hadley threw a dry shirt his way. “Wear this for now.”


    “What’s this?”


    Catching the shirt, Eric immediately recognized it—it was clearly a man’s dress shirt. His keen sense for men’s clothing quickly gave him the answer. Where did she find a man’s dress shirt?


    Oblivious to his growing unease, Hadley replied nonchntly, “It’s just a men’s shirt. It should fit you.”


    She had intentionally chosen one that was toorge.


    Picking up his soaked shirt, she said, “I don’t have a dryer, so I’ll wash this and hang it to dry. I can return it to youter, is that okay?”


    “Sure,” Eric muttered, his attention elsewhere.


    He couldn’t stop wondering—why did she have men’s clothing in the first ce?


    Hadley moved towards the balcony.


    “Hold on.”


    .


    .


    .