All Chapters of When Obsession Wears a Ring: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The first thing Tessa became aware of was the sound. Not just the usual sterile beeps of the machines, not the shuffling footsteps of nurses down the corridor, but breathing. Low. Uneven. Close.Her eyelids fluttered against the weight pressing them down. When she forced them open, the white light overhead cut sharp lines into her vision. Everything blurred at first, the edges of the room, the sterile walls, the faint antiseptic sting in the air.Then the shape beside her came into focus.Raymond.His broad shoulders hunched forward, his elbows resting on his knees, her hand cradled between both of his as though it were something fragile that might vanish if he let go. His thumb traced restless circles over her knuckles, not smooth, not charming but nervous. The sight unsettled her.“Hey,” he whispered when he noticed her stirring. His voice was careful, too careful, the kind people used when they were afraid the wrong sound might break everything apart.Her throat felt like sandpaper

The morning light spilled through the sheer curtains in harsh, jagged stripes, carving sharp lines across the bedroom floor. Tessa’s eyes fluttered open, for a long, hesitant moment, she didn’t move. The space beside her was empty. The sheets had cooled under the morning air, leaving only the faint imprint of the space Raymond had occupied.Rolling onto her side, she propped herself up on one elbow and glanced toward the door. The quiet of the house was almost suffocating. Her reflection in the hallway mirror caught her attention as she padded softly toward the bathroom. Her hair stuck damply to her forehead, and the faint dark circles were still visible, stubbornly refusing to fade with sleep.Tessa turned the tap and let the water run hot, watching the steam curl up and fog the mirror. The water ran down her skin in rivulets, tracing the contours of her arms and shoulders, but nothing washed away the sting of seeing Danielle downstairs or the tension that lingered in the air even wh

Tessa’s heart thudded. She opened the door just enough to take the envelope from the woman’s hand. Thick. Sealed with wax.No name written on the front.She turned it over slowly, her pulse quickening with every second. The weight of it felt ominous, like whatever lay inside would split her world open even further.Derek’s hand brushed hers gently, steadying her as her knees threatened to buckle.“What could it be? Did you order something?” he asked.Tessa’s lips parted, her voice a trembling whisper.“I don’t know.”With trembling hands and a heart beating faster than normal, Tessa turned it over in her trembling hands, running her thumb along the seam as if touch alone could reveal its secrets.Derek’s eyes never left her. He stood close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him, steadying and unnerving all at once. “You don’t have to open it now,” he murmured, his voice careful, low. “Whatever this is… it can wait.”But Tessa shook her head slowly. Waiting felt worse. W

“Hey! There’s a party tonight. A small send-forth for the outgoing CEO of Billy Jones. I got a plus-one slot… do you want to come?”Derek’s voice carried across the room, easy and unhurried, as if he hadn’t just shattered the stillness of the evening.On the sofa, Tessa, still insisting to herself she was just visiting lay stretched out with a glass of wine dangling between two fingers. She had been halfway lost in James Patterson’s Invisible, her thumb marking a page while her eyes lifted slowly to him. The lazy smile that curved her lips softened something in Derek’s chest. He hadn’t grown used to it yet, that simple smile that could feel like a secret meant only for him.He had convinced her to stay a few nights after the incident. Those nights had been a mix of healing and discovery… late dinners, conversations that bled into dawn, and silences that weren’t awkward but rich. For Derek, they were the best he’d had in years.“Why would you want me to come?” she asked, her tone both

“What are you doing here?” Tessa asked with visible fury.“What does it look like I am doing? I’m here to rescue my wife and take her home.” He responded casually, slowly got up and moved towards her in calculated strides. Derek moved quickly and stood in front of her in a bid to shield him from her. Raymond laughed a little.“So, this is the game you’re playing huh? You’re trying to creep in like the good guy and steal my wife? So much for brotherhood my man.” Derek still did not say a word, but the way his muscles flexed told Tessa that a fight was incoming.She moved away from his shade and tried to run out and run into the house, but Raymond was faster. He twirled and got a hold of her hand, turning her abruptly to face him. “Is that how much you hate me now? I step out for a few days and you’re already jumping unto the next available man?”Before he could finish, she slapped him had across the face, earning a shocked wide-eyed expression from both men.“Let this be the very last