Now You Want Me? Too Late

Tessa’s eyes went wide. Her grip over the phone almost slipped. But she clasped it tightly in the end. She composed herself quickly.

"It’s nothing." She stood up and walked over to him, forcing a smile. "Our deal with Novacrest has almost been finalized. All that is left is signing the contract. It was supposed to remain confidential until then, but somehow everyone seems to know about it."

She pouted slightly. "I am a little annoyed."

The next moment, she held his hand and smiled coquettishly. "Are you here to check on our baby and me? We missed you."

Noah repulsed her touch. He jerked his hand free from her grip.

Her smile disappeared.

Noah turned aside. "Mom invited us to dinner."

"Really?" Excitement flashed across her eyes, but it disappeared almost instantly.

"Go by yourself," Noah continued. "I have other matters to attend to."

He turned to leave.

"Wait..." She tugged at his wrist, anxious. "Are you not coming?"

"No..." He pried her hand from his wrist.

"But she invited both of us," she countered. "If you don’t go, your parents will be upset."

"You don’t need to worry about my parents," Noah shot back. "I’m tolerating you only because of the child you are carrying and because my parents want this baby. Stop forcing yourself on me."

"What are you talking about?" Tessa grew anxious. "You love me. We vowed to stay together forever."

"That’s not the only promise we made." Noah almost wanted to laugh. "You promised you would never get in touch with Elena, never let her suspect anything about us. You agreed to stay in the shadows. But you broke each promise."

He fixed her with a distinctly unimpressed look. "You not only exposed our marriage to Elena but also hurt her deliberately."

At that, Tessa’s temper also flared. "I am not the only one who hurt her," she fired back. "It’s you who broke her heart, caused her miscarriage, and nearly got her killed. Don’t act like you are innocent."

"You..." Noah raised his hand to slap her.

Tessa recoiled in terror, throwing her hands up to shield herself.

For a moment, his hand remained suspended in the air. He curled his fingers into a fist and lowered his hand, his teeth clenching.

When Tessa realized he wasn’t going to hit her, her courage returned.

"You once promised to protect me," she said bitterly. "You said you’d give me everything I wanted. But now, you can’t even stand me!"

She took a step toward him. "Yes, I hated the fact that you were still involved with your ex-wife after legally marrying me. I couldn’t stand her. But in the end, you are the one who hurt her the most."

Noah’s eyes blazed with fury.

"She left you because she was disappointed with you," Tessa added with venom in her voice. "She started a new life already. She is not coming back."

"Shut up," Noah roared.

His loud voice made her shudder. Tessa flinched and instinctively took several steps backward. But she refused to back down.

"Even if you silence me, she is not coming back to you."

"She will," he said with confidence. "She loves me. She can’t forget me that easily. Right now, she is only angry with me. Once her anger fades, she will come back. And you..."

He thrust a finger at her. "You broke your promise. I warned you before. As long as you stayed obedient and didn’t cause trouble, I’d protect you. But I also told you never to cross Elena. The moment you did, I’d leave you."

His voice was merciless. "You ignored that warning. Now, I am breaking up with you."

Tessa felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. "What? Are you leaving me for her?"

"Yes..." he replied without hesitation. "As soon as you give birth to the baby, we’ll divorce. I’ll arrange your surgery and repay whatever debt I owe you. After that, you will leave for good."

Tessa’s stomach twisted in nervousness. If Noah abandoned her, her dream of becoming the mistress of the Sinclair family would crumble completely. She wouldn’t leave, no matter what.

"No... You can’t do this to me. We love each other."

Noah looked at her with complete indifference.

"I once loved you, but not anymore."

His words cut through her like a knife.

"The moment you crossed the line, your fate was sealed. We’re done, Tessa."

With that, he walked out.

The door shut behind him with a loud thud.

Tessa stood there numbly for several seconds. Rage exploded inside her.

"You want to leave me?" Her fists trembled. "That’s never going to happen?"

She snorted, a malicious glint in her eyes. "Once this baby is born, it will inherit the Sinclair family’s fortune. And you... You’ll spend the rest of your life raising Dante’s child."

She quirked her lips slyly. "You are already trapped, Noah. You can’t get rid of me."

Her phone buzzed. It was a message from that unknown number again.

The smugness disappeared. Her body seemed to lose its strength all of a sudden. She stumbled and had to grip the edge of the table to steady herself.

"It’s him again."

Fear crept back into her heart.

She didn’t want to open the message. Yet her trembling finger tapped the screen anyway.

A photograph appeared. It showed her and Dante embracing and kissing inside a bar.

Tessa’s eyes widened. "What?"

Her breath caught in her throat. "How did he get this?"

Another message appeared. ’Do you like the photo?’

Fear soon transformed into rage. ’What do you want? Why are you playing with me?’

She hit the send button as soon as she finished typing.

A smiling emoji was the only reply she received.

"Damn it." She slammed her hand. "He is playing with me. Fine. I’ll track you down and kill you with my own hands."

She called someone. "I am sending you a number. Track it down. Find out who it is."

Meanwhile, Noah entered his office and found his assistant waiting for him.

"Boss, I just received a call from Novacrest Global. They are ready to sign the contract." His face lit up with excitement. "Finally, we are going to work with the most prestigious company in the country."

For the first time all day, Noah felt some of the tension leave his body.

At least, his business was progressing smoothly.

"Alright, we’ll finalize it tomorrow."

Knock-Knock...

"Come in." Noah walked behind his desk and settled into his chair.

A woman entered. It was his secretary.

Noah stiffened in his seat when he saw the gift box he had sent to Elena in her hand.

It turned out that she had sent his gift back again.

His fingers clasped the armrests unconsciously.

"Sir. The gift was returned," she said, placing the box on the table.

Noah stared at it silently. His heart ached at the thought that Elena didn’t want anything from him.

"This came with it." The secretary pushed an envelope toward him.

Hoping Elena might have sent him a message, he quickly took up the envelope and tore it open. Inside, he found a folded piece of paper.

He unfolded it excitedly. But that eagerness waned the moment he read the message.

’Stop sending gifts to my wife. I can give her whatever she wants. She doesn’t need anything from you.’

Noah’s features twisted. He crushed the paper into a ball.

"Sir, is everything okay?" his assistant asked worriedly.

"Out," Noah muttered coldly.

The assistant and secretary hurried out of the office without another word.

"Elias." His voice dripped with hostility. "You dared to challenge me. Fine. Let’s see what you can do?"