?Chapter 488:


    Caught off guard, Eric stumbled over his words.


    There wasn’t much he could say in his defense. He had always wanted to invite Hadley, but her agreement had been necessary. Besides, they had only just started dating again.


    “Rx, Grandma. If she ever craves something in the future, I’ll make sure she gets it,” Eric finally reassured her, sneaking a hopeful look toward Hadley.


    Yet Hadley sat quietly, acting as if his promise had gone unheard, her attention focused elsewhere.


    At that moment, a waiter pushed open the door to their private room, carefully bringing in the freshly prepared dishes. “Please enjoy your dinner.”


    After cing everything on the table, the waiter quickly exited, leaving them alone.


    Without warning, Ernest lifted his hand and began spinning thezy Susan.


    Surprised, Linda quickly reached out to steady him. “Ernest, what is it? Just tell me what you want. I’ll pass it to you.”


    “That’s not it…”


    With a gentle shake of his head, Ernest continued rotating the table until several dishes were positioned in front of Hadley. Smiling warmly, he said, “Eat more, Hadley.”


    ncing down, Hadley realized every dish before her was something she loved.


    Did Ernest still remember what she enjoyed eating?


    A soft warmth filled her chest. “Thank you, Ernest.”


    “Mm-hm,” Ernest responded softly, withdrawing his hand with a contented smile.


    Determined not to be outdone, Eric quietly rolled up his sleeves and carefully picked up some food for her, adding a generous helping of corn.


    ???ЯE ??P?ΛTΞ? IИ GΛ?И?VΞ??.???


    Leaning close, he murmured, “Do you want more? I can have them prepare extra corn if you’d like.”


    Corn had always been her favorite staple.


    “This is plenty, Eric,” Hadley said, stopping him. “There’s already more food than we can finish.”


    “Okay,” Eric replied, but then began shelling shrimp and cing them onto Hadley’s te. “It’s good protein. You can have plenty of these without worrying about your figure.”


    ncing down at her te, already brimming with food N had eagerly added, Hadley felt slightly overwhelmed. “You should stop. There’s no way I’ll finish all this—it’s just wasteful.”


    “Don’t worry about it,” Eric responded with ease. “Start eating. I’ll finish whatever you don’t.” He shot her a yful smile.


    Meanwhile, Linda observed the scene, a sense of unease growing within her.


    Had everyone in this familypletely forgotten about her existence?


    As Hadley leaned forward to eat, strands of her hair slipped down. Eric instinctively reached out and carefully tucked them behind her ear.


    “I’ve got it,” Hadley said, pulling a hair tie from her purse and swiftly tying her hair into a bun.


    A sudden shock flickered through Linda. That hair tie looked suspiciously like the one Eric had dropped earlier.


    Oh, now it made sense.


    Was the hair tie originally Hadley’s? Or had Eric purchased it specifically for her?


    This was intriguing.


    Nearly done with their meal, Hadley excused herself to the restroom.


    .


    .


    .