LOGINTessa wasn't nervous, at least not until she arrived at the estate. Some parts of the area still felt familiar, but some looked new like some areas had been reconstructed. She got out of the car, stared around with her chest racing. ‘ What if this is a waste of time. What if I don't remember anything, or what if…’ Her breath stuttered, as if she were afraid, afraid of what she'd find. Afraid the truth might hurt more than she thinks. Just then, she heard loud giggles, the laughter of kids coming from the playing ground. “ Kids still come here?” She murmured, a tiny smile nudging at her lips. She walked towards the area and it was just like she remembered. She saw multiple children running here and there, laughing and playing and giving no care about the world. It looks beautiful. But then..her face dropped slowly. She only remembered a little part of her moments here; the majority of her moments in this playing ground were gone. “ Excuse me, who are you?” An
| POLICE STATION | A tall muscular officer rushed towards his department, panting slightly with his face twisted in impatience. “ Sir,” he called for his boss the moment he entered. “ What's it?” “ You're right.” He confirmed, standing by his desk, nodding. “ The Beaumont family is indeed hiding something.” “ Did you find something?” The officer straightened in his chair. “ No, but Nick has been arrested this morning, trying to flee the country.” “ Nick?” “ Yes, Mr. Blake's driver.” “ What?!” “ He was caught along with the criminals we were chasing trying to illegally flee the country.” The officer scoffed, “Interesting. Does anyone know about this?” “ No yet, sir.” “ Okay, make sure the Beaumont does not find out, until we have more concrete evidence that they have something to do with Mr. Hudson's death. For now, Grayson is strongly protecting the family, we can't make any rash moves.” “ Understood sir!” “ Take Nick to the interrogation room, he's our first suspec
Tessa’s heart slammed to her stomach, her head snapped back to Ciara. ‘ She brought divorce papers? Since when? Since when has she been planning to kick me out? Her face furrowed in confusion. Grayson stared at the document for a long moment. Then… a quiet snicker escaped him. The corner of his lips curved, not out of anger or disbelief, but in amusement. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to Ciara. "It's quite fascinating..." he murmured, almost thoughtfully. "...that you actually think you get to decide this." Ciara's expression darkened. "I am your mother.” "And?" The single word hit harder than a slap. Tessa looked from Grayson to his mother, the tension felt too thick it was almost suffocating. "You'll sign those papers today." Ciara pointed at the document. "That woman has done enough damage to this family." Grayson lowered his gaze to the divorce papers once more. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Then he looked back at Ciara, and without breaking eye cont
Tessa and Grayson stepped outside the police station after Tyler got arrested. The moment they were out, the evening air hit Tessa’s face. It should have felt freeing, but instead, it felt heavy. Every step towards the parking lot felt unreal, as though she'd left a piece of herself inside that police station. The same Tyler she'd trusted for years… The same Tyler she'd defended countless times… The same Tyler she'd loved for twelve years… Was infact this horrible. Spying on her. Lying against his brother. Manipulating everyone and telling lies over and over again with the most innocent face ever. Chills washed over her skin at the thought, her stomach churned that she stopped walking. Grayson noticed immediately and stopped mid-step, he turned to her. "Tess?" She stared blankly at the ground. "I keep replaying everything." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I called you a monster because of him." She laughed bitterly, though tears were alrea
Tyler stared back at Tessa, his chest thudding faster against his rib. The way she was looking at him speechlessly gave him this soothing feeling he felt like he needed. ‘ You're finally coming to your senses. I've thought of it, and I realized there's no way you would willingly love Grayson.’ Tyler said in his mind. ‘ He must have manipulated you, forced you, and now you're pretending to love him because you're scared.’ “ So you make an arrest now based on people's accusations, without evidence.” Grayson turned to the officers, his eyes—cold and sharp immediately unsettled them. “ We'd request that from the victim.” “ I'm not a victim.” She cut the officer short, her breath shaking with her fist clenching so hard. “ It's alright, Tessa, you really do not have to be scared anymore, or pretend." Tyler assured. But Tessa couldn't take any more of it. Her stomach twisted violently in disgust and anger. She gritted her teeth so hard, walked briskly towards him, and befo
For a moment, nobody spoke. The soft humming of the repair equipment suddenly sounded deafening to Tessa. She looked at the name again. Tyler Beaumont. ‘ Wh.. what is this?’ Her mind went numb for a second. Not knowing what to say, what to feel, what to take this as.“ But..” words died in her throat. ‘ He was spying on me?’ Her heart sank and her knees buckled.But thanks to Grayson who was by her side and quick to catch her.“ Hey, Tess, are you okay?”She shook her head. “ How long? How long has he been spying on me?” The question rolled out of her.“ Umm..” the technician tried to check.“No, never mind, it doesn't even matter.” She mumbled, her heart sinking to her stomach.“ How long doesn't justify..” she looked at Grayson. “ Why would my best friend spy on me? Like I don't get, this is someone I trusted, someone I've been with for more than twelve years and he did this, for how long has he even been doing this?”“ You still don't want me to check?” The technician asked aga
Grayson Beaumont. The name that imprinted itself in her head for the rest of the day. ‘ He's the CEO? A Beaumont? Does Tyler have a brother? But why have I never heard of him?’ Her brow furrowed deeply. ‘ No, there's no way Tyler has a brother and I'm not aware of it. I know everything about Tyl
“ Holy shit! You look like a mess, Tess.” Another intern, Miles said the moment he saw her. “ What on earth happened to you?” He asked worriedly, quickly taking the coffee from her. Everyone’s eyes were now fixed on her, some with concern while some with mockery as they giggled over her ruined sh
“ You're going to be late, Tessa!” Her mother yelled from downstairs while she hurriedly put on her corporate heels, panting as she tried smoothing her hair at the same time. “ I don't even know what she's doing, isn't she supposed to have taken a leave already?” She could hear her mummy grumblin
In a room of its own world, filled with clinking of glasses and clicking against the marble floor, Tyler’s laughter was swallowed by the pulsing music and noise. “ Man, she's still going to be hanging around, isn't she?” Conrad asked, smiling as he shook his head. “ Of course,” Tyler said, leani







