Too Late, Mr. Billionaire: You can’t afford me now

Chapter 864:

Stringing the clues together, it dawned on him. Hadley’s aim had been to conceive another child with him—to save their little Joy! Thus, when she discovered she was expecting, ending the pregnancy was simply out of the question!

That was why he had enlisted Phillips to dig deeper!

It turned out he had misread Hadley entirely!

Eric’s gaze locked onto Hadley’s, a swirl of confusion in his eyes. “Why didn’t you just lay it all bare back then?”

For Joy’s sake, wouldn’t she have wanted to keep him tethered to her?

“Why?” Hadley let out a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the world, her lips curling into a wistful smile. “You dug deep, but missed the forest for the trees. After ectopic surgery, it’s unwise to conceive again within half a year.”

It wasn’t merely about the mother’s weary body.noveldrama

The window was too narrow—without proper healing, the odds of another ectopic pregnancy loomed large.

Worse still, the risks of a malformed child or miscarriage hung like dark clouds overhead.

Now the penny dropped for Eric.

From start to finish, Hadley’s heart beat only for Joy.

She hadn’t wanted to squander those precious six months on him! Nor was she willing to linger by his side just to keep the peace!

Hadley truly harbored no spark of affection for him!

A flicker of self-mockery danced in his eyes—aimed squarely at himself!

Indeed, why had he dared to hope Hadley might still care?

Next part is at g𝔸𝗅𝑁𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.co𝗺

He finally grasped why, back in the day, no matter how he tried to fan the flames, Hadley’s heart remained an icy fortress—despite the way her eyes once lit up for him alone when they were young.

“Anything else on your mind?” Hadley raised her lashes ever so slightly. “If not, I’ll be on my way.”

With that, she turned on her heel and swept indoors.

“Hadley!” Eric surged forward, closing the gap in a heartbeat, his arms encircling her from behind in a fierce embrace.

Hadley let out a soft chuckle. “What is this all about?”

“Hadley.” Eric pressed his face into the crook of Hadley’s neck, his voice a tender whisper laced with anguish. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I know words can’t undo the past. But, Hadley, from the bottom of my heart—I’m sorry.”

Even though he knew she wouldn’t forgive him, he simply had to apologize.

Hadley shut her eyes, sensing the tremor in Eric’s clutching her. His remorse seemed to pulse through his very being.

“Alright.” After a lingering silence, Hadley murmured her reply, leaving it at that.

She then gently disentangled herself from Eric’s grasp, avoiding his gaze, and slipped inside the building.

Eric stood adrift, his towering frame swaying as he watched Hadley’s silhouette fade into the distance, vanishing from view.

A sudden wave of panic crashed over Eric. He bolted back to his car, flung open the glovebox, and rummaged for a pack of cigarettes.

Then, a memory sparked—he abandoned the smokes, grabbing a pack of gum instead. He tore into it, popping one piece into his mouth, then a second, a third…

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