?Chapter 2865:


    “It hurts everywhere… all over…”


    What?


    Hadley went rigid, her heart jolting hard in her chest.


    All over his body? Was it… the fever?


    “It hurts… it hurts so much…” Eric murmured again and again, his voice a frail whisper trembling in Hadley’s arms.


    “I know,” Hadley whispered back, clutching him tighter, nodding over and over as if sheer will could ease his agony.


    “Eric, I know.”


    But she couldn’t stop the pain. She couldn’t take it from him, no matter how fiercely she wished to.


    “It hurts… so much… It’s breaking…” His brows knit tighter, his voice faltering.


    Breaking?


    Hadley’s breath hitched, her heart lurching. What was breaking? She looked anxiously at his back.


    “Is it your shoulder de?” But his eyes, though open, were clouded, his thoughts drifting somewhere far from her words.


    “You don’t want me anymore…” he muttered, his tone fractured, distant.


    “You don’t love me anymore.”


    “What?” Hadley stiffened, her breath snagging in her throat. Her heart pounded violently, each beat echoing in her chest as she stared at him, stunned.


    “Since you came back from the,” Eric continued, his flushed face curling into a bitter, broken smile, “you stopped loving me. I failed you, and there’s no fixing it… Denver is good. Ellis isn’t bad either… They’re both better than me… way better… They treat you well… you like them… but not me… and that’s fine. It’s fine.”


    Hadley shook her head violently, her voice a trembling whisper.


    “No…”


    No, it wasn’t true.


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    Her chest tightened painfully. It had never been like that.


    “Hadley.” His gaze sharpened suddenly, cutting through the fevered haze.


    His trembling hand lifted to brush the wet strands of hair from her face, the touch feather-light. His voice, though weak, was achingly tender.


    “I never lied to you… I love you. I really love you…” he whispered.


    Tears welled hot and fast in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks like rain.


    “Believe me…” Each word dragged out of him like a final confession, growing fainter.


    “I love you… only you…”


    “Eric…” Hadley whispered, her lips trembling as tears traced warm paths down her cheeks. Her chest felt as though a vice had mped around her heart.


    Her voice cracked, faltering under the weight of emotion.


    “I… I—”


    “Hadley, trust me.” Eric’s hand suddenly closed around hers, his grip surprisingly strong despite his condition.


    “I love you—only you! I’ve never loved anyone else! Never… never anyone else…”


    The sudden strain wrenched at the wound on his back, and a violent wave of pain tore through him. His body trembled, his strength draining away.


    “Eric! Don’t move! Stop forcing yourself!” Hadley cried, her tears blurring her sight. She clung to him, her lips close to his ear, her voice shaking.


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