?Chapter 558:


    Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and strode toward the stairs.


    Linda froze. Was he… mad at her? Or was he just eager to go back upstairs? To Hadley?


    Linda’s grip tightened around the fabric in her hands, knuckles turning white as her gaze followed Eric’s retreating figure.


    “Hadley, this is all your fault!” she murmured.


    Hadley never imagined Eric would return—let alone so soon.


    He didn’t bother switching on the light. Instead, he slipped into bed beside her in the darkness, his long arms curling protectively around her. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, catching a faint blend of perfume and disinfectant on him.


    Atst, she spoke. “Could you sleep in the other room tonight?”


    Rather than letting go, he just tightened his hold. “This is my bed. I belong here.”


    Hadley abruptly sat up. “Please, just for tonight. Just one night… I’m asking you.”


    “Hadley…” Eric switched on the bedsidemp, shadows dancing across his face. “It’ste. How long are we going to keep doing this?”


    “I’m not trying to cause trouble,” she murmured, taking another calming breath. “But there’s a smell on you—it’s bothering me. I can’t sleep.”


    “What smell?” he said, tugging at his pajama cor and inhaling deeply. “I don’t smell anything weird.”


    Of course, he wouldn’t—why would Linda’s perfume smell off to him? Hadley regarded him in silence.


    Eric’s face fell, clearly annoyed, as though she were starting a fight for no reason.


    After a pause, he controlled his irritation and relented. “Fine. I’ll take a shower.”


    Dive into tales at gα? ησ ν?? ??s,


    But as he headed for the bathroom, Hadley seized her pillow and…


    Hadley dashed out of the room.


    If Eric wouldn’t leave, then she would.


    She refused to share a bed with him tonight.


    “Hadley!”


    He spun around, just a second toote to stop her from slipping into the adjacent room and mming the door shut.


    “Hadley!”


    He ran after her and twisted the knob, but she’d already locked it.


    “What’s going on?”


    Linda appeared at the top of the stairs, concern in her voice.


    Amid the mor, Linda had heard it all.


    Catching sight of Eric stranded in the hallway, she quickly grasped the situation, letting out a causticugh. “Does she always treat you like this?”


    Eric’s face was set in a grim expression, neither confirming nor denying. “It’s just a misunderstanding,” he said.


    “Misunderstanding?” Linda repeated with a bitter smirk. “No, it’s not even that—it’s more like a one-sided argument.”


    “Linda!” Eric’s tone dropped in warning, his brow creasing in displeasure. “Don’t talk about her that way. Hadley isn’t irrational. If she misunderstood something, there’s a reason for it.” He had to admit—Linda held a special ce in his life.


    But for Hadley, that brand of “special” was an entirely differentnguage.


    “You’re taking her side even though she’s acting like this?” Linda asked, taken aback.


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