?Chapter 2958:


    “Oh, sorry!”


    Eric’s hand hung in the air for a beat before he reluctantly let it fall to his side.


    Hadley strode toward him, brows lifting. “Weren’t you keeping Joypany?”


    “She’s asleep,” Eric replied, his tone clipped as a faint frown creased his forehead.


    His eyes drifted to the coffee table, where two boxes sat side by side.


    “What are those?” he asked, curiosity flickering in his gaze. “Can I see them?”


    Hadley froze, caught off guard. She’d just told him to leave them alone, and now he still wanted to take a look?


    “There’s nothing special in there,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “You really don’t need to see.”


    Her words had the opposite effect.


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    Eric’s interest sharpened—something wasn’t right.


    Most of her jewelry came from him, from N, or from sponsors eager to stay on her good side. So what was she hiding now?


    His frown deepened, suspicion slipping into his tone. “When you say I don’t need to see… do you mean I can’t?”


    He studied her face, voice low. “Is it from a man?” A faint, sardonic smile tugged at his lips. “Do I already havepetition?”


    This was utterly uneptable! He hadn’t even won her over yet.


    Hadley could only stare at him, utterly at a loss for words.


    It was clear that unless she exined, Eric wouldn’t drop it.


    With a resigned sigh, Hadley gave in. “They’re from Ellis.”


    “What?” Eric’s eyes darkened, a spark of anger shing through them. “He still hasn’t given up?”


    “No, that’s not it!” Hadley almostughed at how ridiculous it sounded. “Not from him exactly—his mother, July. She gave one set to me and one to Joy.”


    As she spoke, she lifted the lids of the boxes. “See for yourself.”


    Eric leaned in, his gaze skimming over the contents.


    Wow. That was very generous of July.


    He let out a short, derisiveugh. “Her son’s been obsessed with his dead lover, and after nine years, he finally found someone to fill the gap. She wanted to appear generous, didn’t she?”


    Hadley paused, then couldn’t help butugh softly. He wasn’t entirely wrong—but those days were long gone, blown away like dust in the wind.


    She nced at him, amusement tugging at her lips. “Satisfied? I’ll close them now.”


    “Yeah…” Eric muttered, still frowning.


    Hadley shut the boxes carefully. “I only brought them out because I n to return them to Ellis,” she exined.


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