Chapter 2001


    ?


    Hertha briskly pushed ric''s arm away, her nostrils ring with heated anger. Her chest heaved, her eyes wide with fury as she confronted ric, "I''ve made myself crystal clear before, ric. I have no intention of marrying you, nor do I desire any romantic entanglement with you! You''re merely the father of the children, nothing more. Let''s keep it friendly, okay? ric, please, don''t blur these lines."


    With that, Hertha turned and walked away quickly, her pace elerating as if trying to escape an impending storm or a beast on her heels, eager to shake off something unwanted.


    ric, filled with deep emotions, felt a sudden chill rece the warmth in his heart as Hertha''s angry words hit him. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, cooling his ardor from head to toe.


    He stood still, watching Hertha''s retreating figure. The joy of a once-hoped-for proposal sess was now reced by profound sadness.


    As Hertha''s silhouette became smaller in the distance, it felt like unraveling a tightly wound cocoon, forcefully stripping away something from the very depths of his being.


    The stripping was painful, tied to his flesh, making it hard for him to breathe.


    Just as Hertha was about to turn the corner and vanish from his sight, ric couldn''t hold back any longer. He started running after her, catching up at the corner to see Hertha again. His heart''s gates burst open with impulse.


    He shouted towards her back, "Hertha, I''ve looked into it, and I''m not r''s father by blood. It was Georgia who bribed the hospital staff to fabricate those test results to deceive me! r is not my child!"


    If he didn''t take this step, what was being forcefully removed from his heart was his future with Hertha, hence the unbearable pain, as if a heavy stone pressed against his chest, suffocating him.


    Yet, he couldn''t bear the thought of having no future with Hertha or seeing her with another man.


    The mere thought of her being with someone else twisted his heart in agony.


    Previously disdainful of exnations and cajoling women, he now set aside his pride to catch up and exin to Hertha.


    Love is the strongest weapon when a manys down his ego.


    If a man isn''t willing to put aside his ego, how can he talk about love?


    Hearing ric''s voice, Hertha stiffened, a pang of pain striking her heart.


    Was ric only now finding out that Georgia''s child wasn''t his?


    Did that mean he hadn''t conspired with Georgia to deceive her, and he too was a victim of Georgia''s deceit?


    For a moment, Hertha''s heart


    softened, but then she remembered


    all the suffering she had endured over the past three years,


    remembering ric''s past romantic escapades. He was a notorious


    yboy, utterly unreliable. Content


    belongs to NovelDrama.Org


    Taking a deep breath, Hertha tried to dispel that fleeting softness, continuing forward without looking back.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Falling into the same trap once


    could be chalked up to you


    na and inexperience, but t d be sheer folly. Contero


    belongs to NovelDrama.Org


    twice


    "True feelings? That would be the day when the sun rises from the west," Hertha scoffed through her nose.


    A man known for changing women like clothes, what true feelings could he possibly have?