?Chapter 652:


    “No, no!”


    Joy defensively raised her hands to her hair. “He gave them to me! I like them!”


    “You…”


    “It’s alright.” Eric quickly reassured her with aforting smile, aiming to defuse the tension. “I gifted them to Joy. They’re simple tokens, just yful adornments for a child.”


    “But, this…”


    “Joy!” Eric didn’t allow Melba to continue, instead turning his attention to Joy. “I must be off now. Say goodbye to me.”


    “Okay, goodbye.”


    “Goodbye.”


    A short distance away, Hadley observed the scene, her expression one of shock.


    So, those hairpins were for Joy… for her Joy!


    They knew each other? More than that, Joy clearly had a fondness for Eric!


    How did ite to this?


    Did she overlook something?


    Before Melba and Joy could return, Hadley had already arrived back home.


    Melba muttered to herself, “Huh? Your mom’s shoes are here. She’s back! Oh no, she’s going to be furious when she knows!”


    Hadley stepped out of her room with a mock puzzled look. “What’s the issue? Why would I be mad?”


    “Mommy!” Joy’s eyes lit up as she joyously sprinted into her mother’s arms.


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    “Mommy’s back!”


    “Good girl,” Hadley responded warmly, lifting Joy into her arms and helping her out of her bulky coat.


    “Look.” Melba gestured toward Joy’s head,pelled by her role as a nanny not to keep secrets from Hadley, her employer.


    “This little girl has got herself a pair of hairpins from some man she met,” she said.


    She continued, “It’s the same man we saw in the park. I told you about himst time.”


    “Mommy!” Joy pulled at her mother’s sleeve urgently before Hadley could react. “He’s really nice!”


    “Nice, just because he gave you hairpins?” Melba gave Joy a gentle tap on the head. “They’re just hairpins! What can you possibly understand about them? They’re nothing significant!”


    With a shake of her head, Melba made her way to the kitchen. “I’ll leave her to you. I need to start cooking.”


    Hadley remained silent, her gaze fixed on the sparkling hairpins adorning Joy’s hair, her expression concerned.


    The hairpins were far from ordinary. Melba assumed they were mere trinkets, not recognizing the real diamonds embedded in each.


    Firmly, Hadley addressed Joy. “Melba has a point, dear. We shouldn’t just ept gifts. Please remove the hairpins, and return them to him when you see him next.” Her thoughts were racing.


    It baffled her how her daughter had quickly grown so fond of Eric.


    Frightened by the implications…


    “Come here.” Hadley extended her hand towards Joy. “Let me help you remove them.”


    “No, no!” Joy quickly covered her hair, herrge eyes filled with dismay. “He gave them to me! I love them! I don’t want to give them…”


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