Chapter 865: Soon, he had crammed the entire pack between his cheeks! Eric's face puffed out, his eyes prickling with unshed tears.
Even with all that sweetness, why did bitterness still coat his tongue? "Hadley, I'm sorry... Joy, I'm sorry..." Eric murmured.
The clock struck late into the night.
Fresh from the shower at Silver Villas, Eric emerged, his hair still dripping, and flicked on the television. He scrolled through channels until he landed on a program and pressed play.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"From the moment conception begins, a woman's body embarks on a remarkable transformation..." A documentary about pregnancy and childbirth filled the screen. The room lay cloaked in darkness, the TV's faint glow casting fleeting light across Eric's face.
Eric stared, transfixed, whispering to himself, "So, bringing life into this world is this harrowing." Even with loving husbands and doting families by their sides, the women on screen teetered on the razor's edge between life and death.
What about Hadley in those days? Eric lifted a trembling hand to cover his eyes.
Back then, Hadley was merely 20 years old! Stranded in Blathe, all alone, how had she weathered those endless nine months? And then, how had she shouldered the burden of raising Joy single-handedly for three grueling years? Hadley had been so young when she was forced to face life's harshness head-on.
The thought of a tender young woman tending to a frail, sickly child was beyond comprehension.
It wasn't the stretch of four long years that snuffed out Hadley's love-no, it was Eric's own ruthless, cold- hearted resolve! Abruptly, Eric shot to his feet, seized the glass from the table, and hurled it to the floor with a crash! Shards of glass scattered like broken dreams! Eric squeezed his eyes shut, agony washing over him.
He knew at that moment Hadley would never grant him absolution! Meanwhile, across town at Hadley's apartment, Joy slumbered peacefully, but Hadley lay restless, sleep eluding her grasp.
Her hands pressed tightly against her chest.
Reflecting on the day's events with a silver lining, she realized she no longer had to put on a facade for Eric.
From the way Eric had acted, it seemed he wouldn't stand idly by when it cto Joy's plight.
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Yet with that flicker of hope ca shadow of deeper worries. Joy Was Eric's daughter, and once that tie was En forged, could it ever truly be undone?
Eyes drifting shut, she drifted back to e of the the year she had beencastout of hospital clutching Joy in her arms. Penniless, unable to buy food, with no milk to give, she had been driven to pilfer what she could.
"Eric, you're beyond redemption," she whispered to herself.
The following afternoon, Hadley returned from the park with Joy, At nearly the shoux as the day before, her phone pinged with a message from Eric. "I'm downstairs, waiting for you."