LOGINChapter 30: The Ambush I walked out of Julian’s clinic. I did not look back.My phone buzzed immediately. I answered it."Are you looking at your screen?" Francesca asked. Her voice clipped fast and urgent."I am walking to my car. What is it?""Check your email. Now. I am sending extra security to the lobby."I opened my inbox. I clicked the top link. It redirected me to the city’s largest gossip publication.The headline screamed in bold text."The Widow of Crown Group: How Tessa Watson Bought Her Empire."Below the headline was a photograph. It was an intimate photo of me from my first year of marriage. Julian had taken it while I was changing in our bedroom.The leak was credited to an unknown entity—an anonymous source—but my instincts immediately pointed to one person. I suspected Julian. It felt exactly like his desperation weaponized into a smear campaign. The article claimed I manipulated wealthy men, used my marriage for funding, and blackmailed my way to the top."Tessa?"
Chapter 29: Therapy SessionJulian ran a high-end private therapy practice. It was how he originally manipulated everyone in his life—he weaponized his profession. He played the empathetic listener, the calm professional, gathering secrets and using them to control his victims.So, I decided to play his game.I opened my laptop and booked his premium two-hour slot under a fake name.The next afternoon, I walked into his clinic.Julian was sitting at his mahogany desk, reviewing files. When he looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, his face lit up with a sickeningly hopeful smile."Tessa." He stood up so fast his chair rolled backward. He adjusted his tie, his chest puffing out. "You came. You actually came.""I booked a session, Julian. Sit down.""You want to work on us. I knew it. I knew you'd come to your senses." He rushed around the desk, reaching for my hands. "We can fix this."I stepped back and sat down on the leather patient couch. "I came to talk about my psychologic
I didn't wait for the valet to open my door. I yanked it open myself, sliding into the leather seat of my town car."Tessa!"Julian’s voice ripped through the crisp night air. He slammed his body against the frame of my car door before I could pull it shut. His chest heaved. He was panting, completely unhinged."Get your hand off my car, Julian," I said."You are out of your mind!" he shouted, his fingers digging into the window seal. "Do you have any idea what you just did in there? The city's top board members were watching us!""I know exactly what I did.""I am not signing anything!" He leaned in closer, his breath reeking of expensive champagne and raw panic. "Do you hear me? I am your husband. We built this empire together. You are having a mental breakdown.""I’m having a breakthrough." I shoved my hand hard against his chest. "Move."He caught my wrists. His grip was bruising, a flash of the true violence he usually kept hidden behind closed doors. "You are coming back inside
Chapter 26: The Divorce Tonight was the coronation of my second life.The grand ballroom of the Tessa Crown Hotel gleamed in gold and marble. Guests from the city's highest elite mingled in twos and threes, crystalline laughter bouncing off the chandeliers.In the private dressing suite off the hall, I stood before the mirror, smoothing down the emerald silk of my evening gown. Three years ago, I was a dying woman on a bathroom floor, stripped of my wealth, my body, and my life by a man I trusted. Tonight, I was the sole owner of the most lucrative real estate development in the city.The door opened, clicking softly shut.Through the mirror, I watched Julian step into the room. He wore a designer tuxedo paid for with the final remnants of his dwindling capital, his smile radiating the manufactured warmth he had used to weaponize against me for years. He walked over, his eyes glazed with a heavy obsession.He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "You look breathtaking, Tessa,"
Chapter 26I waited until the house went quiet. Midnight. Lila’s car was still in the driveway—I’d checked twice. She was home, probably curled up in her room pretending to be the innocent cousin again. Perfect.I slipped out of my bedroom in a silk slip that barely reached mid-thigh, hair loose, barefoot. No hesitation. I moved down the hall like I owned every shadow in this house. Because I did.The bedroom door was ajar. I pushed it open without knocking.He sat on the edge of the bed in sweatpants, scrolling his phone. His head snapped up. “Tessa?”I closed the door behind me, leaned against it, and let the slip ride up as I crossed my arms. “You said you’re fighting for this marriage. Prove it.”His eyes darkened instantly. He stood, phone forgotten. “What are you doing?”I walked straight to him, grabbed the waistband of his pants, and pulled him against me. “I want you to fuck me. Right now. Hard. And I want you to be loud as hell.”Julian’s breath caught. “Tessa—”“Say yes.” I
Chapter 25That morning, I sat at my desk and forwarded the encrypted files to Tony. The footage from last night played in the background, Julian and Lila tangled together as i sent it to Tony.“More cameras if needed,” I typed. “Deep dives on their financial trails. Every account, every transfer. No questions.”Tony replied instantly. “On it. Pay bump appreciated. I’ll have preliminary reports by noon.”Good. He never asked why. That’s why I kept him close.I headed downstairs. Julian sat at the breakfast table, playing the concerned husband perfectly. Lila hovered, pouring coffee with that fake domestic smile plastered on her face.“Tessa, you look exhausted,” Julian said, reaching for my hand across the table. I let him hold it for two seconds, then pulled away. “I know its the hotel, Lila says she can help you with the hotel if you need it.”Lila set the mug down in front of me, all innocent eyes. “I’d love to, Tessa. I’m great with schedules and vendor calls. Whatever you need.”
CHAPTER TWELVEI left the house with nowhere else to go. I couldn't return to the hospital and face Julian and Lila again.My phone buzzed, vibrating with an incoming call. It was Julian. I picked it up.“Hey, love. Where are you? I'm at the hospital and you're not here. The nurse says she saw you
CHAPTER ELEVENA few days later, my condition had worsened drastically. My vision faded more each day. Sometimes I could barely see shapes or make out words. My head hurt more. My nose bled more. My mouth bled more.Yet I forced myself to continue. With a weak hand, I picked up my phone to dial Jul
CHAPTER TENBy the time Julian returned, he was heaving and breathing so hard as if he had run.His eyes widened in surprise when he saw me lying still on the hospital bed in my ward. He looked frantic. The concern on his face would have fooled anyone.He rushed to me, palmed my cheeks. “Tes? How d
CHAPTER NINEThe next morning, I decided I needed actual proof, not speculations. Proof.Julian sat by my bedside, peeling an apple neatly for me, just the way I liked it. He cut a piece and put it into my mouth.“You should go to work,” I tell him as I chewed on the apple, although I didn't swallo







