My Ex-Husband’s Vengeful Obsession

The moment Tessa stepped out of the courthouse, she was blinded by the flash of cameras exploding around her. Reporters shoved forward, voices colliding, each question sharper than the last. “Tessa Caldwell, is it true your own husband testified against your father?” Millions of viewers watching the trial on TV had been stunned. The mysterious CEO, who’d managed to stay anonymous for years, had finally shown his face, while testifying against his father-in-law. “How does it feel to be betrayed by the man you married?” She tried to push her way through the swarm, but the crowd pressed tighter. Someone yanked her hair, another grabbed her arm, and not a single cop moved to help her. Breathless and shaking, Tessa finally shoved herself into her car and slammed the door shut. “Move!” she screamed, pounding the horn, but it was useless. The questions didn’t stop. She pressed her hands over her ears. She wanted silence. She wanted every voice in the world to disappear. Her husband,

A year later.Tessa shoved a few spoonfuls of yogurt into her mouth and almost choked. She was running late again, and her sleazy boss would have plenty to yell about.Her stomach still ached with hunger, but she had no choice. She left the bowl on the table.Smokey, the gray cat she had been taking care of for the past few months, watched her from the corner of the apartment.“I’ll be back later, Smokey. Don’t cause trouble, okay?” she said, rubbing his ear.The moment she stepped outside, she ran down the stairs and slammed right into the one person she least wanted to see.Mr. Hayes. The landlord.“Great…” Tessa quickly stepped back, glancing left and right for an escape. Too late. He had already spotted her.“Finally caught you!” the old man barked, snapping his folded newspaper against his palm before jabbing it at her chest. “You’re two months behind on rent!”“I’m sorry, Mr. Hayes… I’ll pay as soon as I get my paycheck.” She gave him her best pleading look, trying to slip past

Tessa groaned. A stabbing pain in her stomach made her whole body tense. She curled up, trying to fight off the relentless waves of agony.“What’s wrong?” Nathan’s voice was tight with panic. His worried expression startled her, but she was too busy fighting the pain to care.“I’m fine… just go,” her voice cracked, tears spilling from the sharp burn inside her.“Did those bastards hurt you?” Nathan hissed. His hands moved frantically over her shoulders, down her arm, and stopped at her stomach where her fingers pressed hard. “Here?”She shoved his hand away. The touch only made it worse. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body trembling from the pain.Nathan rubbed her back for a second, then suddenly scooped her up into his arms.“You… what are you... ” Tessa choked.“We’re going to the hospital,” Nathan said firmly, his jaw clenched.“No! Not the hospital!” Tessa blurted. She knew she couldn’t afford it. Her family’s insurance had died along with her father’s bankruptcy.“Tess, yo

Tessa had no idea what tests the doctor was talking about. She was sure she hadn’t given permission, didn’t even remember anyone taking her blood. But when she lifted her arm, the faint sting of a needle mark was still there.Of course. They’d already done the tests. On Nathan’s orders.“I have to go,” she said to Nathan without looking at him.She walked straight toward Smokey. But as she bent to scoop the cat up, Nathan’s cold voice cut her off.“They won’t let a cat in the hospital.”Tessa looked up at her ex-husband. “How do you know that’s where I’m going?”“I know everything about you.” His stare was sharp, flat, without a flicker of emotion. “Leave the cat here. Go to the hospital. He’ll wait for you.”Her eyes moved from Smokey to Nathan. There was nowhere else to leave the cat, and Nathan didn’t look like he intended to harm him.“If you so much as touch a hair on him, I’ll burn all your crap,” she snapped before storming out.At the hospital, she was led to a quiet consultat

Nathan had prepared a private section of Hawthorne Estate just for Tessa. She had her own bedroom with a king-sized bed, a luxurious bathroom with both a shower and a bathtub, and a modern kitchen stocked with everything she could possibly need.It felt like living in a high-end hotel suite. The only difference was that every corner of the space was under surveillance.“You’ll have limited staff coming in at set hours,” Nathan explained as he walked through the kitchen, with Tessa trailing behind. “They’ll handle cleaning and maintenance. They’re all people I trust. Everyone else has been told this area is off-limits, but they don’t know why. So I suggest you don’t wander around the house. This is the space you can use freely.”“There’s a dedicated cook for your meals too, so you don’t have to worry about cooking. But if you ever feel like making yourself a snack, the pantry’s stocked.”Tessa opened a drawer and found fresh, organic ingredients inside. Everything was chosen to suit he