Chapter 643

Chapter 643:

Hadley chuckled. “Thank you, ah—!”

Before she could finish, Eric suddenly lifted her off the floor, her toes barely grazing his feet.

Her eyes widened, but his expression remained serious. “Be serious. I’m talking business.”

“Oh. Of course. Business.” Hadley bit back a laugh, clinging to his shoulders before mimicking his stern expression.

Eric arched a brow, clearly enjoying this. “Like I said, I gave you the choice to leave, but you chose to stay.” His voice was steady, sure.

“This time, it wasn’t me forcing you—it was your decision. Right?”

Hadley exhaled softly, seeing no point in denying it. “Yes.” She nodded.

Eric’s mood shifted, the weight of his frustration lifting just a little. “If you really didn’t want to be here, Hadley, you wouldn’t be.” His voice was lighter now, teasing but certain.

“Admit it—being with me wasn’t entirely against your will.”

After all, she had the perfect opportunity to walk away tonight… and she hadn’t.

Yet, she stayed.

But still, he knew—her feelings for him weren’t deep enough. Not yet. Not enough to make her choose him without hesitation. The fact that someone else—just a housemate—could pull her away so easily. That was the part that stung.

But whatever. A real man didn’t get petty over such things.

“Hadley.”

Instead, he smirked and pulled her close, lifting her effortlessly into his arms. “I’ll make you fall for me, Hadley—more than you already have. More than you’re willing to admit.”

His gaze locked onto hers, the usual turbulence in his dark eyes replaced by something rare—conviction. A quiet certainty that cut through all the unspoken doubts between them.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: gⳑ𝗮𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧽ⅽ𝗼𝗺

“Do you trust me?”

For just a fleeting moment, her heart stammered. A warmth she wasn’t prepared for.

But Hadley masked it effortlessly, the corners of her lips curving into a smile. “I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see.”

Neither a yes nor a no—a challenge in disguise. That night, as distance melted and the walls between them crumbled, the lines of their relationship fell back on track.

The next day…

Hadley stirred awake, blinking against the soft daylight streaming through the curtains. The clock read almost eleven.

Carefully, she moved Eric’s arm off her waist and slipped out of bed. After a quick shower, she emerged wrapped in a towel, running a brush through her damp hair in front of the mirror.

Behind her, she heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. Eric had woken up too. Still toweling off his hair, he walked past her, but then suddenly turned.

“Oh, right. I have something for you.”

Before she could respond, he left the room.

Hadley frowned slightly. Where was he going?

Yesterday, in a surge of frustration, Eric had tossed something into the backseat and left it there—forgotten in the heat of the moment. A few minutes later, he returned, holding a small box.

Placing it on the dressing table, he nodded toward her. “Go on—open it.”

“What’s this?” Hadley hesitated but set her brush down and lifted the lid.

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