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

Chapter 959:noveldrama

“Cryopreservation,” Eric repeated the word lightly, a faint, cold smirk in his eyes. “You sure seem to know a lot.”

“Not really,” Hadley replied seriously, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice and treating it like a genuine question. “I’ve just been researching it. The technology is really advanced now, and the success rate for modern fertility treatments is high.”

She genuinely wanted Joy to have a little sibling, and it didn’t seem like such a big hurdle anymore.

“Enough!” Eric suddenly snapped, eyes blazing as he glared at her. “Stop talking!”

Hadley flinched, heart pounding. Why was he reacting like this?

She frowned. “You don’t want to?”

That didn’t make sense. His affection for Joy never seemed fake. Could it be…

She hesitated, then asked, “Is it because of Linda? Are you worried she’ll find out about it?”

The suggestion sounded ridiculous to Eric’s ears.

Eric stared at her, stunned. He pointed at her, struggling to find words. “Are you… Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?”

Hadley blinked, completely lost. “So you really don’t want to do this? Not even for Joy?”

“Hell no!” His voice was taut with frustration. “I don’t want to! Happy now?”

She sat there, dumbfounded. Her lips parted, but the words came haltingly. “Why not? Don’t you love Joy?”

“Of course I love Joy. She’s my daughter.”

“Then why—”

ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ ɪɴ ɢᴀʟɴᴏᴠᴇʟꜱ.ᴄᴏᴍ

“Hadley.” Eric took a deep breath, visibly calming himself. His expression shifted, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. “I know you never truly had feelings for me before. And I don’t plan on forcing anything now. And for Joy’s sake—if IVF is what you prefer, I’ll cooperate.”

So what was the issue, then?

Hadley waited silently.

Eric’s gaze hardened. “But I’m not doing any of that ‘freezing my sperm’ crap.”

He looked at her, his voice suddenly quieter, edged with emotion. “Why do you keep pairing me with Linda?” He shook his head, continuing before she could respond. “I was never with her. Not before, not now, not ever. Wait…”

Something seemed to click. His lips twisted into a sarcastic smile. He narrowed his eyes. “Yesterday. You saw her leaning on me, didn’t you? Just say it. You saw it.”

Hadley frowned. “I did, but—”

“Exactly.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Then you should also know she wasn’t leaning on me because of anything between us. She was upset about Ernest and Elissa. And did you see me hugging her?” No… she hadn’t.

Hadley hesitated. “You really should have…”

“Hadley!” Eric exploded.

He sprang up, stepping over the coffee table and kneeling on the couch in front of her. He cupped her face in both hands. “I don’t want to hug her. I want to kiss you. Can I?”

“No!” As he leaned in, Hadley quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. Undeterred, Eric raised an eyebrow mischievously and opened his mouth—closing it over her fingers playfully, as if he might swallow them whole.

Hadley gasped, wide-eyed. “Let go!”

He couldn’t speak, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. He had no intention of letting go.

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