FAZER LOGIN"Julian, I don’t care about your excuses," I snapped, my voice cold enough to freeze the air inside the armored SUV. "Do not call this phone again."I ended the call and shoved the device into my purse before he could utter another pathetic word. My hand trembled not from fear, but from the adrenaline of finally cutting the last frayed thread of my old life.Felix sat beside me, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He hadn’t said a word while I spoke to Julian. He didn’t reach out to soothe me, either. He simply allowed me the space to be lethal."He’s terrified," Felix said, his voice flat, devoid of sympathy. "He knows the moment he loses control of the narrative, he loses his leverage.""He doesn't have any," I replied, looking out the window at the blurred city lights. "He’s a ghost haunting a house I’ve already burned down."The car didn’t slow down for the city’s residential districts. It surged forward, taking us to the outskirts where the concrete skyline finally gave way to dens
Chapter 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 EIGHTMy eyes opened to white ceiling and pain. For a second, I could not move. Then the headache hit harder.I swallowed and groaned. My hand lifted to my head, and my fingers met bandage.“Don’t move too fast.”I turned my head slowly.A doctor stood beside my bed with a clipboard. “You h
CHAPTER SEVENRecord: Oh fuck, you are so tight, baby!Then, right after Julian’s voice, were slaps as if he were pounding into something. I looked at my cracked screen, unable to fathom what I was listening to.Later that night, the banana bread forgotten, I lay on the bed, awaiting his arrival.H
CHAPTER SIXI decided to stay at home for the day as I searched online for meals I could prepare for Julian before he got home without so much stress. I needed to tell him about my condition. It'd be so cruel of me to leave this world without letting him know about this. He would blame himself for
CHAPTER FIVEJulian came in with Lila as usual. They were bickering like a young couple in love when they walked in.“Why are you staring at me like that?” Julian asked.She replied, “I’m trying to figure out why you stole my fries.”He frowned. “Your fries? You ordered extra. That’s relationship f







