?Chapter 1131:


    Alex’s head snapped up, his eyes locking with hers. There was a flicker of something wild behind her gaze. His breath grew shallow. He knew he was being manipted. He knew exactly what this was.


    But that craving—that hidden, suppressed hunger—was rising from where he’d buried it. To finally have Sadie. The idea rooted itself like a thorn in his mind.


    The conflict in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. Hailey saw it—he was almost there. After a long silence, the fire in his gaze faded, reced by something darker, unreadable.


    He finally answered, his voice gravelly, “If you ever bring her harm, I’ll make sure you regret it.”


    Hailey’s smile grew, wicked satisfaction dancing in her eyes. He was within reach.


    “Naturally,” she said brightly. “I just want Noah to myself. As long as Sadie is yours, she’s safe.”


    Then, with a yful smirk, she extended her hand. “So—shall we seal it?”


    Alex stared at her, unmoved, and didn’t take it.


    Hailey didn’t miss a beat. Her grin never wavered as she slowly lowered her arm. She didn’t need his touch. The result was all that mattered.


    Hailey had almost reached the exit when she suddenly halted, a cunning smile slowly spreading across her face as she cast a calcting nce back over her shoulder.


    “By the way, Mr. Howe, don’t you find the timing of your ident rather—suspiciously convenient? And Noah volunteering to donate blood for you? That seems remarkably generous—especiallying from your romantic rival.”


    Alex’s gaze flew upward in sharp rm, his jaw clenching with incredulous shock as the devastating implications of her words began to sink in. What terrible usation was she daring to suggest?


    Hailey lifted her hands in an borate disy of feigned innocence, her expression crafted to suggest that the devastating thought had only just blossomed in her mind.


    “I’m simply expressing natural curiosity, nothing more than that. The prestigious Howe familymands tremendous influence throughout Jazmah, and you’ve consistently maintained an impable reputation for rising above trivial conflicts. Naturally, this unexpected car ident raises some intriguing questions.”


    Having delivered her poisonous suggestion, she shed a triumphant smile and pivoted gracefully toward the exit, her designer heels producing a rhythmic stato against the polished hospital floor.


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    She deliberately allowed her toxic implication to linger in the sterile air like toxic smoke, abandoning Alex to wrestle with whatever conclusions his tormented mind might reach. If fortune favored her malicious scheme, he would hurl those dangerous usations directly at Noah—exactly where she intended them tond.


    The moment the door sealed shut with a definitive click behind her retreating figure, Alex’s troubled gaze fell heavily toward the sterile white sheets.


    The terrible possibility wed at his consciousness—could Noah actually be responsible for this? Would Noah truly orchestrate such an borate and dangerous deception simply to eliminate him from Sadie’s life?


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