?Chapter 561:


    “Excuse me?” Hadley lifted her eyes slowly, her lips curving in a…


    A subtle smile. “I know. But Eric insists I eat, so… what can I do?”


    “You!” Linda spat, livid at Hadley’s self-assured smirk.


    In that instant, all the frustration and jealousy she’d been storing—over Eric and Ernest—came roaring to the surface.


    She couldn’t stand seeing Hadley’s perfect yet infuriating face for even another second.


    “Get out! Go! Right now!” Linda snapped.


    Hadley’s easy smile vanished in an instant, reced by an icy stare.


    “What did you just say to me?”


    Linda’s sneer deepened, her voice low and sharp. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. I said get out of here.”


    Hadley shot a sidelong nce toward the kitchen, where Eric was busy ting the food.


    “What do you think he’d do if I told him exactly what you just said?” With an unimpressed arch of her brow, Linda answered coolly, “Do it. Think a few days of ying house with him outweighs the ten, twenty years we’ve known each other? Please, I insist!”


    Just then, Eric emerged, carefully carrying a te in each hand.


    “Breakfast’s ready!”


    Linda sniffed. “If you insist on staying, then eat. I’ll pretend I’m feeding a stray.”


    “Hadley, Linda…” Eric ced the tes on the table, shooting them both a wary look.


    Even his less-than-perfect intuition picked up on the tension. Unsure how to handle it, he quietly sat down beside Hadley. “Sorry for the dy. Shall we eat?”


    “Yes, of course,” Linda replied, breaking the ufortable silence. She reached for a piece of crispy bacon—not for herself, but to extend it toward Hadley.


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    “Go on, Hadley. Try it. I was up before sunrise making these.” The morsel hovered inches away; all Hadley had to do was open her mouth. But Linda’s jab about feeding a “stray” echoed in her head.


    There was no way she’d take even a bite.


    “Come on!” Linda prodded, pushing the food closer. “My arm’s getting tired…”


    Suddenly—smack!


    Without fully realizing it, Hadley pped Linda’s hand away. The fork—along with the bacon—slipped from Linda’s grip and thudded to the floor.


    “Hey!” Linda sprang up in exaggerated rm. “Hadley, what the hell is wrong with you?”


    Hadley felt her stomach twist with revulsion at Linda’s theatrics. She didn’t need Linda to drive her out; she’d leave on her own.


    She sprang to her feet and was ready to storm out.


    “Stop!”


    Eric’s voice was ice-cold as he mped a hand around Hadley’s arm and stood.


    He glowered down at her, jaw taut with suppressed anger.


    “You’ve been throwing a fit all night, and I’ve let you. Hasn’t that been enough?”


    He nced at the bacon lying on the floor, teeth clenched in frustration. “I’ve done my best to humor you, and you just don’t care? You let something so trivial blow up like this?”


    After a tense pause, he inhaled slowly, and then spoke again in a frosty tone. “Linda got up early to make breakfast for us. You need to apologize to her!”


    Linda tugged on his sleeve, pretending to be forgiving. “It’s okay, Eric… it’s no big deal.”


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