?Chapter 2864:


    “Hadley…”


    “Yes?” She snapped her head toward him.


    “What is it?”


    Hisshes were damp, his brows drawn tight, his lips pale and trembling. With great effort, he whispered, “It… hurts…”


    Of course it did.


    How could he not be in pain? That fall—the trap must have bitten deeper, maybe even scraped bone.


    Hadley bit her lip hard, forcing back a sob.


    Eric’s lips moved again, his voice no more than a thread.


    “Eric, what are you trying to say?” She leaned in, her ear near his mouth, straining to catch every word.


    “I’m… sorry…” His voice rasped like dry leaves.


    “I’m sorry, Hadley… sorry… Joy…”


    Hadley went still.


    He kept speaking, words broken and fragile.


    “For… everything… before. For making you… suffer… I’m sorry…”


    The past…


    She bit her lip until she tasted blood.


    “It’s over now… all of it is in the past…”


    Not that she had forgiven him. Not that she had forgotten. The scars were still there, carved deep and unhealed. An apology couldn’t erase them.


    “Ugh!” Eric groaned suddenly, his brows pinching tighter.


    “Eric?” Hadley jolted back from her thoughts, clutching his hand.


    But the icy chill in his skin had turned into burning heat.


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    Startled, she pressed her palm to his forehead—it was scorching.


    He had a fever.


    The wound. The blood loss. The rain. It was all catching up to him.


    “What do I do? What do I do?” Tears streaked down her face, hot against the cold rain.


    “It hurts…” His voice trembled, his consciousness slipping.


    “It hurts so much.”


    “I know!” Hadley cradled his head to her chest, her voice breaking.


    “I know!”


    She thought he meant the trap in his back.


    “Hold on, Eric.” Hadley shifted her arms, adjusting his position with painstaking care so she wouldn’t press against the wound. She eased him fully into her embrace.


    “Better?” she whispered, breathless—soaked by rain, yet drenched in sweat.


    Eric sagged against her, still murmuring weakly.


    “It hurts… so much…”


    “Eric…” Her voice wavered.


    “Just a little longer. Someone wille. They’ll find us.”


    “It hurts!” Eric’s eyes flew open, and his grip mped down on her hand.


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