?Chapter 1104:


    He hade just to check on Hadley’s condition. Now that he knew she was alright, and with Astrid still kicking up a fuss at home, he needed to head back.


    As soon as he stepped outside, Brady was surprised to see Eric still there.


    “Oh, still here?” he scoffed, his tone light and mocking. “What’s this, channeling your hopeless romantic side?”


    “Brady!” Eric snapped. He got out of the car and grabbed Brady’s arm, his eyes wide with rage. “Stay away from her! Someone like you doesn’t deserve her!”


    “I don’t deserve her?” Brady sneered, not an ounce of fear in his expression. “Then who does? You?”


    Before Eric could speak, Brady continued, “You think you’re better than me? At least I’m not with someone while having a secret crush on my brother’s fiancée!”


    Eric’s face twisted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”


    “You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Brady shoved his hand free and gripped Eric’s cor, his jaw clenched tight. “Eric, stop acting like a loyal lover. You’ve known her for ten years. If you really cared that much, then answer me this: who’s her father? Does she have any family left in Srixby?”


    What kind of questions were these?


    Eric stood there, confused. “Isn’t she an orphan?”


    “Hah!” Brady let out a coldugh and shoved him back. “You don’t deserve her. Get the fuck out of the way. From now on, I’ll be the one protecting her.”


    With that, he turned and got into his car. Tires screeching, he drove off.


    Eric remained frozen, the weight of Brady’s words hanging in the air.


    Could it be that Hadley wasn’t really an orphan?


    Didn’t his grandmother say Hadley lost her parents at a young age? And when Hadley was fifteen, her grandmother passed away too. That was how the Flynn family ended up taking her in.


    But Brady didn’t seem like he was just saying it.


    No. He spoke like someone who knew the truth.


    Eric rubbed his forehead, pulled out his phone, and dialed Ernest.


    Your escape begins with ga ln ov els .


    “Eric,” Ernest said on the other end of the line.


    “Ernest, can you ask Grandma something for me? I need to know if Hadley really has no living rtives.” Eric went straight to the point.


    “What?” Ernest sounded taken aback. Like Eric, he had always believed Hadley was an orphan.


    “Ernest, I’m starting to think that’s not true. I suspect she might still have family in Srixby.”


    “Alright. I’ll find a way to ask Grandma.”


    Ernest never brushed off his brother’s concerns. If Eric was asking, there had to be a reason.


    Eric nodded. “Thanks, man. I’ll wait for your news.”


    “Okay.”


    After hanging up, Eric looked up at the building in front of him.


    Why? Why did Brady know something he didn’t? Had Hadley told him? Or was there something deeper between them?


    After hanging up, Ernest brought the medicine and a ss of water upstairs. “Grandma, it’s me—Ernest.”


    “Come in,” N called from inside. She was propped up against the headboard, reading sses on and a book in hand.


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