?Chapter 1421:


    Her vision blurred as she looked down, blinking fast.


    “Let’s go,” she said to Phillips.


    “Alright!”


    As she left, Eric’s smile fadedpletely—gone in an instant. Meanwhile, Hadley shut her eyes tight. Tears welled up, soaking hershes.


    Eric waited quietly in his hospital room, and soon Ernest appeared in the doorway.


    He stepped inside with measured steps, an unusual crease marking the space between his brows. His typically impassive features betrayed hints of genuine concern.


    His lips parted reluctantly. For a man of such habitual silence, even this small movement seemed to require deliberate effort. “What diagnosis did the doctor provide?”


    “You know what?” Eric’s shoulders lifted in a dismissive shrug, one eyebrow arching upward. “Fate, it seems, has chosen other favorites.”


    A sharp ache bloomed in Ernest’s chest. “Don’t surrender to pessimism. I was in aa for four years and still woke up. Look at yourself—standing here, perfectly fine.”


    “Yeah.” A ghost of a smile touched Eric’s lips as he nodded with feigned conviction. “I understand that…”<fn0bf6> Th?s chapter is updated by FindN0vel</fn0bf6>


    His mouth twisted into a lopsided smile that failed to reach his eyes. “Death isn’t an option I’m prepared to ept… not when Hadley and Joy would remain behind…”


    Hadley returned, clutching prescribed medications and a sheaf of dietary guidelines. By then, Ernest had already extracted himself from the suffocating confines of the hospital room, poised for departure.


    “Ernest,” she called out, her voice reaching him from behind, “did you speak with Eric?”


    “Yes,” Ernest confirmed with a measured inclination of his head.


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    “Perfect. I hope you understand I can’t escort you out…” Her hand swept toward the hospital room in a delicate gesture, her body already pivoting toward the door.


    “Hadley…” Ernest’s voice caught slightly, the rare hesitation stopping her in her tracks.


    “What is it?” Hadley froze mid-step, surprise flickering across her features. “Ernest, you have something more to discuss?”


    “Yes.” Ernest’s deliberate nod preceded words chosen with surgical precision. “Eric reached out to me several days ago.”


    Confusion clouded Hadley’s expression. Had Eric shared something of significance that required this peculiar intervention?


    The corner of Ernest’s mouth lifted in an expression so umon, it transformed his entire face. “Eric told me he had someone he liked. Throughout his entire tenure with the Flynn family, never before has such an admission crossed his lips… His existence has been dedicated solely to repaying what he believed he owed me and the Flynn family, never pursuing personal fulfillment.”


    Hadley stood transfixed as Ernest continued, his voice dropping to little more than a whisper. “For the first time, he voiced what he truly wanted. He revealed that the object of his affection is… you, Hadley.”


    The revtion struck Hadley with physical force, every muscle in her body locking into paralyzed stillness.


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