Chapter 4 She Had No Right To Give Up

“Really?”

Eric’s smile was cold, dripping with scorn.

“So, this is about money, isn’t it? Not even a month has passed. What’s the hurry? Rest assured, you’ll receive your due. Just be patient. Surely, you don’t think we’d let you go hungry?”

He paused briefly, his tone becoming terse. “Avoid calling me unless it’s urgent. I’ll get in touch if there’s any need.”

With those final words, the conversation abruptly ceased.

Clasping the phone tightly, Hadley’s shock was evident.

To such an extent, Eric despised her.

“Absurd.”

With a frail chuckle, Hadley’s face turned ashen. Requesting money from him had left her feeling profoundly demeaned.

In silence, she lifted her hand to her unchanged stomach, closed her eyes, and allowed tears to escape quietly.

Eight months had passed.

Hadley was sleeping peacefully in her modest room, her pregnant belly prominently displayed.

The arrival of her child was approaching. Despite the doctor’s recommendation for an early hospitalization due to the baby’s backside position, Hadley merely smiled and

remained silent.

Her pockets were empty.

19.06

Chapter 4 She Had No Right To Give Up

Eight months earlier, following that call with Eric, he had spewed nothing but cruelty.

Yet, the financial support he promised never materialized.

Hadley had drained her savings. With no way to afford her apartment anymore, she ended up in a run–down neighborhood.

She never reached out to him for financial help again.

The thought of being labeled a parasite was unbearable.

After moving, Hadley managed to secure some part–time work, balancing it with her

studies.

Her earnings were limited, but through careful budgeting, she made enough to sustain herself.

As she drifted in sleep, the night erupted with cries of alarm.

“Fire!”

The shout pierced the air.

“Escape!”

Roused abruptly, Hadley leaped from her bed and threw open her door to a scene of utter chaos. Smoke engulfed the corridor as flames danced violently.

Her complexion drained of color in an instant.

“Hadley!”

Her neighbor, a fellow student, was frantic with worry as he caught sight of her.

“Why haven’t you fled? It’s a fire! Get out now!”

“Right, got it!”

In a rush, Hadley spun around to snatch her backpack.

She moved to venture deeper into her apartment, but her neighbor’s firm grip stopped her. “Are you out of your mind? Why are you heading back in? Leave immediately!”

“I must!”

Hadley’s frustration was clear as she stamped her foot.

Inside, her savings lay–every single penny she had painstakingly gathered for her baby’s

19:06

She Had No fight To Give

needs: hospital bills, diapers, and

to retrieve

a flaming beam from the ceiling crashed down in front

“Ah!”

stepped back,

forward was

“Hadley! Escape now!”

“No!”

she couldn’t consider leaving Breaking away, she made a reckless

“Ah!”

closer to her. Turning swiftly, Hadley felt the flames

“Hadley!”

and yanked her

her head, even as coughs wracked her

“Let’s go, now!”

her neighbor

“But…”

child! The smoke alone could kill you both! If you

Hadley managed to flee from the

had ed to retrieve her savings. Powerless, she watched as her modest

was she

31.0%

19:06

O

<

“Ah!”

her, causing Hadley to grasp

matter?

crowd formed

“She’s having her baby!”

for an ambulance! We need to get her

“Ah!”

“Stay strong!”

haste, Hadley was transported to the hospital and positioned on a delivery table. She withstood a

she delivered

tears welled up in Hadley’s eyes as

Here was her child…

Her own family…

in

outrage of the moment,

consciousness.

afternoon, Hadley held her infant close, her

She had come to discuss the outstanding hospital bills. Hadley had managed to pay a fraction, yet it was far

head, at a

utterly defeated, with

noting Hadley’s youth, assumed she

47.6%

+4

x+

19:06

ок

an uncaring

in your family, or perhaps friends, who could assist you? Call them

to brim

Friends? She

not ignore her obligations, as

bag, she

She called Eric.

phone echoed unanswered

the call

“Eric…”

“Hello?”

was Linda’s voice that responded,

need Eric? He’s unavailable at the moment. But feel free to

Linda truly offer

Linda harbor resentment toward

however, Hadley had no room for

non–existent

hesitated, and then said, “I was wondering

not as charity but as a

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