Chapter 822

“Why did you save me, Noah? You should have just left me to die!”

As she spoke, Hailey struggled to sit up, her arms trembling with effort—only to collapse back against the pillow, her strength failing her.

“What’s the point of staying alive?” she rasped, her voice cracking. “If… if people find out this child isn’t yours…”

Her words caught in her throat, nearly strangling her. Tears spilled freely now.

“The Burgess name… my name… everything would be destroyed. I’d become a walking scandal. Do you know what it’s like to live under that kind of scrutiny? To be whispered about, pitied, judged—every single day? Dying would be easier.”

Noah stood motionless beside the bed, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. His hands curled into fists at his sides, veins straining under taut skin.

She hadn’t mentioned how she had once saved his life. But her words dripped with implication—that everything she suffered, every broken piece of her, was for him.

And still, he swallowed the frustration clawing at his chest.

Responsibility. He could accept that. But not on her terms.

“I’ll make arrangements,” he said. “You’ll be well looked after until the child is born.”

Hailey’s crying ceased mid-sob.

Her tear-streaked face lifted slightly, hope flickering to life in her eyes like the first light of dawn.

She knew it—he still cared.

He was taking responsibility, and he wasn’t walking away.

However, before she could revel in her happiness for long, his next words hit like ice water crashing over her, numbing her to the core.

“Starting tomorrow, I won’t be living in the suburban villa anymore.”

Noah continued, his tone suddenly sharper, icier.

“And you… you will not take a single step outside that house without my permission.”noveldrama

Cont3nt hozt3d at glovels.o

Hailey sat frozen, Noah’s words echoing in her ears like a cruel sentence.

The color drained from her face. Her lips parted, but no sound came—not at first. She stared at him as if trying to wake from a bad dream.

He was leaving. He was walking away. And he was locking her away.

How was that any different from being cast aside?

He had decided to cage her and turned his back without a second thought.

“Noah…” she whispered, her voice barely audible, cracked with desperation.

She reached out instinctively, as if she could somehow pull him back.

But he didn’t turn. Not even a glance.

With mechanical calm, Noah strode toward the hospital room door, his figure unflinching, his shoulders stiff with quiet resolve.

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