Now You Want Me? Too Late

Tessa woke up late.

The first thing she did was check her phone, expecting to see everyone cursing and humiliating Elena. But what she saw left her stunned.

People were apologizing to Elena and calling Noah a cheater.

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed deeply in confusion and disbelief. "Why is everyone cursing Noah? Shouldn’t they be blaming Elena?"

She scrolled through the comments in a daze. The more she read, the more bewildered she became.

"What the hell is going on?"

Then her eyes landed on clips from the press conference, where Elena had publicly exposed Noah’s infidelity.

Tessa’s hand flew to her mouth. She had planned to humiliate Elena. But instead, the whole city was condemning Noah.

"How did this happen?"

Her shock deepened when she saw Elena displaying a marriage certificate and openly declaring that she was married to Elias.

A gasp tore from her mouth. "What? That man is her husband!"

Disbelief flooded her.

"How could this be possible? Didn’t she always cling to Noah? How could she marry someone else? No, no..."

She waved her hands dismissively. "This can’t be happening. How could she have a peaceful life?"

She ground her teeth. "I’ll destroy her."

"What did you say? Say that again."

The familiar voice startled her.

Tessa jerked her head toward the doorway.

Noah stood there, tall, still, his expression terrifyingly cold. His eyes were darker than she had ever seen them.

The color drained from her face.

"Noah!" she whispered. She had no idea how long he had been standing there. "W-when... When did you get here?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Noah asked as he strode over. "You don’t want me here?"

Tessa forced an awkward smile and quickly got out of bed.

"I missed you. I waited for you all night, but you never came. Where were you?" She reached out to hold his hand.

"Don’t touch me," he growled and drew his hand back.

The fire in his eyes sent chills through her body. She moved back subconsciously.

"Noah?"

"You..." He held up a finger. "I gave you the legal status, fulfilled all your demands, and allowed you back into my life. But I warned you to stay away from Elena. And what did you do?"

His jaw clenched, and his eyes burned with barely restrained anger.

"You kept targeting her behind my back, falsely accused her, and even hurt her."

Tessa’s knees trembled. She almost collapsed. But Noah held her arm and kept her on her feet.

"No... I-I didn’t do anything. You must have misunderstood something..."

"Misunderstood?" He laughed bitterly, then inclined his head firmly. "Yes, I misunderstood. I misunderstood you for years. I thought you were understanding, kind, and gentle. But you are a devious person."

At the last sentence, his voice rose.

Tessa visibly flinched. Dread settled over her.

"You lied to me and framed Elena again and again." Veins stood out in his neck as rage consumed him. "You blamed her falsely. You turned everyone against her."

His eyes reddened with fury. "But you didn’t stop here. You slandered her online."

Tessa covered her mouth with her trembling hands. She realized he had discovered she was behind the mess, but she refused to admit it.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You didn’t know?" He gripped her jaw and shoved the phone in front of her face. "Look carefully. It’s you who sent those photos to that reporter."

Tessa’s eyes flew wide. A shiver of fear swept through her.

The screenshots of her messages to the reporter filled the screen.

She flicked her eyes at him. At first, no sound came out. Then she hurriedly explained.

"I thought she was having an affair," she explained. "I only tried to expose her. I didn’t... I really didn’t know she was actually married to that man."

She held his hand carefully with a pleading look on her face. "I did that for you. I thought you deserved to see her true colors. I only tried to show you what kind of woman she was."

"And to do that, you didn’t care about my and my family’s reputation," Noah hissed. "Look what you have done. The whole city is laughing at me. Are you satisfied now?"

Tessa pursed her lips. She knew she had made a huge mistake. Her plan had backfired spectacularly. And it was obvious Noah would be furious.

But she wouldn’t let Elena win.

"She is a scheming woman, Noah," she said quickly. "She did that on purpose. How could she suddenly marry another man? It’s all an act. She used that man to get you and make you angry. She didn’t even hesitate to damage your family name."

Noah simply watched her.

For the first time, he noticed how manipulative she was. She could twist the fact so easily and make Elena look bad at the same time. This was what she had done before, but he had never noticed it.

Elena had tried to tell him that Tessa had been lying all along. And he had never listened to her. He had trusted Tessa blindly.

"You did so much for her," Tessa continued venomously. "Your family raised her and paid for her aunt’s treatment. Yet she repaid you by slandering you publicly. She is ungrateful. She doesn’t deserve your protection."

She reached up and put a hand on his face, her gaze softening.

"She is doing all this to get your attention. Don’t let her fool you."

Her voice softened. "Let her stay away for a while. How long can she survive without you? She will eventually come crawling back to you."

Noah felt disgust rise inside him.

The woman standing before him felt like a stranger. The woman standing before him felt like a stranger. Or perhaps that version of her had never existed at all. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

She might have hidden her true self all the time.

He wondered how he had fallen for a woman like her.

"Don’t fall for her tricks, Noah," she continued. "This time, she has gone too far. To get your attention, she even faked a marriage. You shouldn’t forgive her easily."

The more she spoke, the more courageous she grew, as if convinced she had successfully manipulated him again.

"She dragged the Sinclair family through the mud. She deserves to be punished."

Noah nodded slowly. "Yes, you are right. The one who wronged me and my family should be punished."

Tessa smiled, satisfaction filling her heart. ’No matter what happens, Noah will always choose me,’ she mused.

Before she could dwell on that thought, his fingers clamped around his throat.

Tessa gasped. A cold sense of dread washed over her.

"You hurt Elena, the woman I vowed to protect," he snarled viciously. "You ignored my warnings. You went after her."

She clawed at his hand. "You are choking me. I-I can’t breathe."

But he didn’t care. He tightened his grip little by little.

"You hired goons to kidnap her." His voice was low and dangerous. "You wanted her dead."

Tessa stared at him in stunned horror, panic flooding her veins. Her eyes welled up with tears. "No... Someone lied to you," she breathed. "I would never..."

"Still lying?" he thundered. The room seemed to shake. "I have proof."

Tessa went still. She looked as if she had been struck.

His gaze held nothing but fury and disappointment.

The woman he had protected, trusted, and chosen over Elena countless times had been the one destroying Elena from the shadows all along.

And for that, he would never forgive her.

Noah held up his phone again and showed the video of those two goons confessing to her crime.

Her jaw slackened in shock. The last trace of color vanished from her face.

"This..." Her lips trembled. "This is fake."

Horror struck her hard.

"I-I don’t know those people. Elena fabricated everything."

She desperately held his arm, searching his gaze. "She is jealous of me. She hates me..."

"It’s you who has problems with her," Noah shot back.