All Chapters of The Man Who Loved Me All Along: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Five years later.Rain poured down the day Tessa Wrenford was released from prison.Wearing a tattered yellow shirt, she limped through the prison gates, her expression numb. Her face was gaunt and sallow, marred by two intersecting scars across her forehead and brow.She stood outside the gates, unsure where to go.Five years. It felt like a lifetime. Everything beyond those walls seemed foreign to her, as though the whole world had abandoned her.Born into wealth and privilege, she had once been Ravenport's most celebrated socialite.Now she was a convicted killer fresh out of prison. She walked with a limp, had lost the use of one hand, and even her once-stunning face had been disfigured.Without an umbrella, Tessa wandered through the rain.As she passed a puddle, she lost her balance and fell hard, landing face-first in the muddy water.She barely reacted. Just as she struggled to get up, a pair of polished leather shoes appeared in front of her.A sudden sense of dread washed ove

Again and again.The onlookers amused themselves by counting her jumps."Fifteen!""Twenty!""Thirty-three!"Dangling from the rope, Tessa was barely conscious. She had to bite her lip hard enough to draw blood just to stay awake.A streak of red stood out against her paper-white face.Through the haze, her mind drifted back to the last time she'd been here.That was five years ago, before anything had happened to Josephine, when Tessa was still the proud, privileged daughter of the Wrenford family.Back then, she'd followed Beckett everywhere, finding every excuse to spend time with him.Once, just to see him, she'd bought up all the club's most expensive red wine and spent a fortune throwing a lavish party.After a few too many drinks, she'd accidentally wandered into the room where Beckett was taking a break.He'd promptly hauled her back out and handed her over to a staff member, his expression icy.At the time, she had no idea Beckett had feelings for Josephine.Then Josephine die

Every inch of Tessa's body was in agony.At first, she cried. Then, somehow, her sobs turned into laughter.She'd been wrong.Her entire life had been one terrible mistake.Seeing the vacant look in her eyes and realizing she was no longer trying to kill herself, Beckett shoved her aside like a piece of trash.He turned to the club manager standing nearby."Starting today, Tessa works here as a servant. Every single day!"With that, he strode away.Tessa was left at the club. She knew Beckett was keeping her close for one reason: to make it easier to torment her.The club manager clearly understood that, too. He assigned her the most grueling jobs, making her work until the early hours of the morning. The only place she had to sleep was a filthy, cluttered storage room.Within days, Tessa had grown even thinner.One day, dressed in her cleaning uniform and carrying a mop and bucket, she stepped out of the restroom into the hallway.She'd worked so late the night before that she could b

Theodore's chest tightened even more at the sound of Tessa's hoarse voice. He was about to speak when the club manager came rushing around the corner.Seeing Tessa standing around instead of serving guests in the private rooms, the manager immediately began shouting."Tessa! What the hell are you doing wasting time here? Get your ass back to the private rooms and drink with the guests!"He grabbed her and tried to drag her away.Theodore reacted instantly. His expression darkened as he shoved the manager aside and stepped in front of Tessa, shielding her."She's with me today.""You want her?""That's right." Theodore motioned to his assistant, who promptly came over and wrote the manager a check.The manager's eyes widened at the amount.Someone was actually willing to spend a fortune on an ugly ex-con?Still, money was money. He wasn't about to complain. He happily took the check and walked off, eager to report the deal to Beckett and take credit for it.But when Theodore turned arou

In the days that followed, Tessa was reassigned once again.She no longer had to drink with guests in the private rooms. Instead, she spent her days cleaning hallways and scrubbing toilets. Nearly every filthy, exhausting task fell to her, but no man dared come near her anymore.Remembering Beckett's warning, Tessa was too afraid to even look at another man. Whenever she passed one in the hallway, she made sure to stay at least ten feet away.She'd thought that as long as she obeyed Beckett, Ollie would be safe.But one evening, her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the only unfamiliar number saved in her contacts.It was Marla Rhodes, the only person who'd ever shown her kindness in prison.Marla had been released from prison before Tessa. Afraid Beckett would want her son gone, Tessa had secretly entrusted Ollie to her that very day, asking her to take him away and raise him.Now that Marla was calling, something must have happened to Ollie.Tessa answered immediately, only to