Tessa didn’t know how she got back to her apartment. The moment she opened the door, a gust of cold air hit her and she shivered.

The place she called home now felt like a strange place. It was no longer warm. Perhaps it had never been warm. It was just an illusion.

She had gone deeper into things when Aaron was just having fun with her. The moment the woman he loved showed up, he threw her away like trash.

He didn’t even have the decency to be honest with her. To him, everything can be brushed away with a few dollars. He trampled on her heart and gave her money as if the money would heal her shattered heart.

Looking around the apartment, she was filled with resentment. This place was special to her. Aaron had taken her for the first time in this place. He had asked her to move in so they could spend more time together.

How could she not see it? The signs were there. Usually, if it wasn’t about sex, Aaron wouldn’t even bother with her.

Quite alright, they would order in food but they never went on dates. Thinking about it now, she realised he didn’t want to be seen with her in public for Serena’s sake.

Tessa was foolish enough to believe it was to avoid bad rumours about her that would destroy her reputation. The red flags were there. But she was blinded by love and ignored them.

Perhaps she had hope that things would change once they got married. But boy, was she wrong. Aaron had been playing with her all this while and she was none the wiser.

Anger flared up within her and she rushed to the bedroom and began to pack her clothes. Tears streamed down her face and there was a part of her that still wanted to beg him and ask him to choose her but she pushed it away.

She had already made a fool out of herself. She wouldn’t let him humiliate her twice. When she was done packing, she dropped him another text.

[I’ve left the apartment. It belongs to you and I don’t want anything that belongs to you. I’ve returned the cheques and left them with Nora. I have no use for your money, Mr Wentworth. I’ll leave the keys with the security. I never want to see you again and I wish you happiness in your marriage.]

This time, she didn’t wait for his response and immediately deleted his number.

‘I’m starting over. I may be hurt but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’ll overcome this. I know I can,’ she said silently and left the house.

She had just gotten into a cab when her phone chimed. With a racing heart and bated breath, she took out her phone but her stomach twisted when she read the text.

[Good riddance.]

That’s all Aaron sent back. He didn’t even ask where she would go or show any care. Tessa could only blame herself for the little hope that had ignited in her heart when she heard the phone chime. Now she had to have her heart shattered all over again by his cold hurtful words.

She let out a sigh and couldn’t stop her tears from flowing down her cheeks. The driver noticed the lady he was driving wasn’t in a good mood so he put some music so that she wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

Tessa cried all the way until she reached her home town in the Countryside.

…

Aaron had been anticipating Serena’s arrival for a while now. After all, he had loved her all his life but she always gave him excuses as to why they couldn’t be together.

He even had his old man make a contract with the Winston group for him to marry her when the time was right.

They were supposed to get engaged two years ago but she suddenly left for further studies and became a famous pianist outside the Country. Aaron was devasted when she left to pursue her studies instead of trying to fulfil their marriage agreement but since he loved her, he supported her and told her he would wait for her.

However, she stayed out of contact while abroad. Aaron was frustrated and he even wanted to follow her but suddenly, a young beautiful woman with similar features to Serena appeared for interviews at his Company.

At first, he was shocked that two people could look so similar. And then, a thought flashed through his mind. Since he missed Serena so much, why not keep her look-alike close until she comes back?

So he employed Tessa as his senior assistant despite her low qualifications but she surprised him by working extra hard until she became a worthy assistant.

He couldn’t stop wanting to be close to her and in no time, he found himself being intimate with her when they both got drunk. Her drunk look that time looked so seductive that he failed to resist the temptation. Coupled with the fact that she looked like Serena, he chose to use her to vent his longing for the woman he loves. He had tried to stop because he felt like he was being unfaithful to Serena but Tessa was just so addictive.

On the night that he learned of Serena’s return, he only planned to give Tessa money and ask her to leave but she came to meet him in only a tiny towel.

He thought with his manhood and ended up having sex with her, claiming it was the last time.

From Tessa’s apartment, he went straight to pick Serena up but surprisingly, the zeal he thought he would have when he saw her again was not there.

No excitement or anything.

He just felt normal. Like he was meeting one of his old friends.

This surprised him because Serena was the woman he’s always loved and he had been waiting for her for a long time so his reaction was somewhat strange.

But he didn’t think much about it. What mattered was that she was back and they could finally get married.

“I can see that they’ve been improvements to the company,” Serena commented the moment he came back from the bathroom and sat next to her in the small lounge area in his office.

Aaron nodded. “Yeah. It’s not me. Everything you see has been done by Te-”

The space between his eyebrows met when he realised he was about to mention Tessa’s name. Why the hell was he even thinking about her?

‘It’s because she’s been my assistant for years. Now that Serena is here, I just need to focus on her.’ He said silently but there was a strange emotion stirring in his chest that he couldn’t quite place.

“What?” Serena asked and Aaron turned to look at her.

“My assistant did all the work,” he said nonchalantly.

He kept quiet after that. He realised quite quickly that he and Serena had literally nothing to talk about. It was slightly awkward.

“Would you like to eat something?” He offered and she smiled at him.

“Sure. Let’s go home and have lunch there. I’m sure my brother and father are dying to see you. We can also discuss our engagement.”

Aaron nodded but he didn’t know why Tessa’s face suddenly flashed through his mind. He couldn’t help wondering.

‘How is she doing? Will she look for a job in the City? Maybe I should help her out.’

Serena noticed that he had zoned out again. This was the fifth time since he saw her again that he was zoning out. She clenched her fists as irritation flared through her. Aaron used to worship the ground she walked on but now, he was different.

Picking up the phone he had left on the coffee table, she handed it to him. “You received a text while you were in the bathroom.”

Aaron snapped out of his reverie and inexplicable guilt rushed into him when he looked into Serena's eyes.

‘What am I doing? I should be focusing on her right now.’

He smiled at her and got the phone from her. When he unlocked the phone, his eyebrows met when he read the message that Tessa had sent.

‘Thanks for the cash but I want more. I didn’t date you for nothing you know. What will that small amount do for me? Did I waste my time fucking you just for you to give me such a small amount?’

Anger surged within Aaron. He hated golddiggers the most. He gave her money that she could only dream about but she still wanted more. He stared at the text in disdain and his opinion of Tessa dropped down a notch.

He put his phone into his pocket and looked at Serena. “Let’s go.”

Since he was always in love with her, Aaron didn’t think it was a bad thing for him to see her family so soon.

Whilst they walked down the hallway and passed by the assistants' office, he couldn’t help but stare inside briefly. He felt a strange emotion in his chest when he saw Tessa’s empty desk and it confused the hell out of him.

‘Was I too harsh on her?’

Aaron didn’t see the smile on Serena’s face as he walked out of the company with her.

She had returned this time to get what always belonged to her. When she left two years ago, it was just an excuse to not get married. After all, she was still young and there were many fish in the sea. Why should she settle for Aaron when there could be someone so much better?

Quite alright, Aaron was one of the eligible bachelors in Ashford City. Not only was he stinking rich, but he was devilishly handsome and had achieved great things at a young age.

Who wouldn’t want him?

Serena knew he would always want her but she wanted to explore her options. What if she lost someone better if she settled for Aaron just because he had a silly crush on her?

Besides, at that time, it wasn’t known who would be the heir of the Wentworth group. It was a debate between Aaron’s elder sister and himself. How could Serena possibly know that Celia Wentworth would fall in love with a foreigner and leave the country, thereby leaving Aaron as the only heir?

Now he had accomplished many things and was incomparable to other bachelors in the City. Since there was no one who could match up to Aaron now, she decided to return and take her place by his side.

But she discovered he wasn’t the same. The way he looked at her… his eyes didn’t have the same twinkle they had two years ago when he bid her farewell.

She had expected a more lively welcome. By now, he would have taken her to his fellow bachelor friends to show her around but he didn’t. It seemed like there was something on his mind.

Aaron went to arrange for the arrival of his male assistant that had been away for two years so Serena was left alone in the car.

She wanted to go after him but his phone suddenly rang. Her eyes squinted when she saw that the person who was calling was saved as ‘T’ by Aaron.

Her gentle demeanour suddenly vanished and a look of menace flashed through her eyes. It dawned on her that Aaron was acting strange because there was a woman in his life.

Serena couldn’t have that.

At the moment, Aaron was the only man who matched up to her. There was no way she would let him slip out of her fingers when he had always been hers from the beginning. So she watched as the phone rang and rang again with a vicious look on her face.

When the calls stopped coming through, a message was received. She tried to open the phone but there was a password.

She tried to use her birthday but it was denied. Anger surged within her. ‘When did Aaron change his password? Am I still his world?’

Pursing her lips into a thin line, she took out her phone and made a call.

“Big brother, I’m back,” She said the moment the call went through.

“Hey, little sis. What’s up?” The man she had called responded knowing she wanted something.

“Can you help me crack Aaron’s phone password?”

“What do you need it for? Aaron isn’t someone you can do tricks on-”

“I know. But you know how he’s supposed to marry me but there’s another woman texting him.”

The man on the other side kept quiet for a moment. After a minute, he called out a string of numbers that Serena used on Aaron’s phone and it suddenly unlocked.

“Do what you need to do but be careful. Don’t lose this chance. We need the Wentworth group on our side. I’ll look into this female to see if she’s of any threat to you.”

The man was none other than Harry Winston, Serena’s brother. He was a tech expert and their company usually dealt with software development. Cracking a password was as simple as a walk in the park for him.

Serena smiled from ear to ear. “Thanks, bro. I love you.”

She cut the call and read the message but a menacing look flashed through her eyes when she saw what the contact named ‘T’ had sent.

Serena was about to reply to the text but she saw Aaron approaching the car from the corner of her eyes so she quickly deleted the text and locked the screen before placing the phone back where it was.

She was annoyed that Aaron wasn’t fawning over her the way he used to. He was being polite but wasn’t acting like someone smitten with her.

She thought this was because of the female texting him and hatred brewed in her heart. ‘Just wait and see. I’ll get rid of you.’

When they arrived at the company, she was elated that Aaron showed her off to his employees. This gave her hope that he still loved her. It was obvious this T woman was the one who was seducing him.

He had gone to the bathroom when they arrived at the office and that’s when a knock sounded at the door. Serena opened the door and frowned when she saw Nora standing outside with an envelope in her hands.

“And you are?” She snapped arrogantly, wrinkling her nose, thinking she was the T on Aaron’s phone.

Nora was taken aback by the hostility coming from the future lady boss. She silently took back her words. This lady was vicious and didn’t deserve the CEO at all!

Nevertheless, she gave her the envelope and said. “Please pass this to Mr Wentworth. Tessa left it here.”

Serena’s brows furrowed when she opened the envelope and found two cheques. She immediately put two and two together and realised this woman named Tessa is the T who was calling Aaron relentlessly earlier.

She went back to her seat and placed the cheques in her Chanel handbag just as the phone on the table chimed.

Irritation flared through her. She knew it must be the same person texting. Grabbing the phone, she read the text and clenched her fists.

‘You think I will give you the opportunity to look good to Aaron?’ She sneered and deleted the text before replying with good riddance and deleted it as well.

She knew Aaron didn’t like material girls. Once he knew she was hungry for money, he would be disgusted with her.

Smirking, she sent her brother a message with instructions to make him hack into Tessa’s phone and send a message to Aaron’s phone.

A smirk crossed her lips as she put the phone back where it originally was.

‘Tessa or whoever you are. You’re no match for me.’

…

Days passed by fleetingly fast.

“When are you returning to work? It’s been five days,” Elena Hilton inquired as she peeked into her daughter’s room.

“I quit my job, Mom,” Tessa who was lying face down on the bed grumbled, feeling depressed.

“What? How can you quit your job? How will you survive now?” Elena was shocked to hear this piece of news.

When her daughter suddenly showed up, she was ecstatic to see her but then she noticed that something was wrong with Tessa. She looked like she had lost her whole world and no matter how much she asked, Tessa didn’t disclose what was actually the problem.

“I don’t know, Mom. I’ll look for another job, I guess,” Tessa mumbled lazily.

She didn’t feel like doing anything at the moment.

Her eyes were swollen from all the crying she had done for the past five days. She had gone through most of the stages of grief. During the denial stage, she couldn’t help but call Aaron’s phone several times.

Of course, Aaron didn’t pick up any of her calls or respond to her messages. This infuriated her and led her to the anger stage. Everything made her angry even the innocent soap operas on the TV that displayed a kind of love that could only be one’s fantasy. At the third stage, she found herself asking questions like, what if she was more submissive? Perhaps Aaron would have loved her.

She thought she would have managed to win his love if only she had tried harder.

Now she was in the fourth stage. The depression stage. She was not in the mood to do anything else.

“Did something happen at work dear? You haven’t told me anything and just keep moping around,” Elena narrowed her eyes, worry filling her as she wondered what could have happened to her daughter.

She was not a fool. Tessa clearly looked heartbroken so she was convinced this matter involved a man but since she didn’t want to tell her anything, she could only wait for her to want to talk to her about it.

“I want to be left alone, Mom,” Tessa said, turning to the other side, her back facing the door.

Elena sighed and left the bedroom. There was a reason she was anxious about Tessa being around. She had a problem that she didn’t want Tessa to find out about.

‘I just hope they don’t show up while she’s here,’ she thought silently and proceeded to her room.

…

Tessa was woken up by a commotion outside. At first, she was irritated because all she wanted to do was sleep all day and forget about her problems but then she heard her mother’s voice. She seemed to be pleading with someone and that person was being rude.

“Please, Mr Rodgers, give me some time to look for the money. I shall pay you back, please don’t take my house.”

Tessa’s heart sank into her stomach. If she had heard clearly, it seemed her mother had gotten herself into debt.

“Hmph! All you do is tell me lies. Today, I’m getting this house or your daughter. I heard she’s back. If you don’t want to pay you can give her to me as collateral. You will get her back once you pay…”

Tessa hurriedly got up from the bed and rushed outside. Anger surged within her when she saw her mother kneeling on the ground while the man called Mr Rodgers was staring down at her.

He was a balding man with a large beer belly. He had come with five of his lackeys and they had baseball bats in their hands as if they had come for war.

Tessa felt a chill when she saw this but she had to save her mother.

“Who are you people and what do you think you’re doing?!”

Mr Rodgers turned to face her the moment he heard her voice. When he saw that she was a beautiful young lady with skin that looked like she bathed in milk and honey, his eyes lit up with lust.

He licked his lips and raked his eyes lecherously up and down her body. Thinking he had really won the lottery this time, he grinned from ear to ear and said, “Your mother is owing me money. If you come with us, I’ll spare her. If not, I’ll grab your house. She put it as collateral.”

Tessa felt fury brewing within her. She clenched her fists at her sides and glared at Mr Rodgers and his minions.

“So you’re loan sharks? Do you know that what you do is illegal?” She couldn’t help but hiss.

The man’s eyes flashed dangerously before he burst into laughter. “Do you think the police don’t know what kind of business I do? You’re free to report me if you want. I’m just not sure if your house will still be yours by the time you’re coming back.”

Tessa knew the society she grew up in well enough. It was full of biasness and corruption. There’s nothing the local authorities would do if this man was powerful in terms of wealth.

He looked like an underground mob boss. The police were indeed powerless against those kinds of people.

In the meantime, Elena lowered her head in shame when her daughter came out. She had planned to keep her debt a secret until Tessa left but alas, Mr Rodgers decided to show up today.

Not wanting to involve her daughter in such matters, she grabbed onto Mr Rodger’s leg and begged. “Please, my daughter doesn’t know anything about the debt. Let her go. I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

Mr Rodgers felt a flash of irritation and suddenly kicked Elena in the stomach, “bitch! How dare you grab me?! I’m here to collect my money!”

Tessa’s heart squeezed seeing her mother being kicked viciously so she quickly took out her phone from her pocket and checked her account statement. Her eyes lit up when she saw the amount she had saved up for the past two years.

“How much is she owing you? I can pay back the debt!” She confidently said and Mr Rodgers squinted his eyes at her, stroking his grey goatee.

“It’s ten thousand dollars,” he said grumpily.

Tessa frowned. “That’s why you kicked my mother and threatened to grab the house?”

The amount was too little for the shameless loan shark to demand to grab the house as payment. It may have been a small house but the minimum price it could cost was fifty thousand dollars.

Thankfully her savings for the past two years were amounting to ten thousand dollars. She quickly asked for Mr Rodger’s details and sent him the money, much to his annoyance. He had hoped he would walk away with a beauty instead.

When they left, Tessa was about to grill her mother about the loan she took when she realised she was motionless on the ground. Her brows furrowed and a sense of unease settled in her stomach.

“Mom?” She called out and rushed towards her, only to gasp when she saw the blood trickling from Elena’s mouth. She was unconscious but she was still alive.

Quickly, Tessa booked a cab and took her to the hospital.

She was waiting outside the emergency room when the doctor on duty stepped out.

“How is my mother, Doctor?” Tessa hurriedly asked. Her stomach was in a knot.

The doctor sighed. “Your mother requires emergency surgery. She’s in her second stage of stomach cancer. Why did you take long to take her to the hospital?”

Tessa heard a ringing sound in her ears at the doctor’s words.

“C-cancer?” Her eyes had grown wide like saucers and her mouth couldn’t close as she stared at the doctor. “W-what do you mean? My mother doesn’t have cancer.”

“Well, our results show that she has. She got chemotherapy for the first stage but it recurred and she took long to come for treatment.”

Tessa swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, her stomach twisting. “Do the surgery then.”

The doctor scratched the side of his neck. “We can’t do the surgery over here but we can refer her to a hospital in the City.”

Tessa was in a daze the whole time she was in the ambulance accompanying her mother to the City. Apart from being sad, she felt guilty. She was busy having fun with Aaron while her mother had to get a loan to treat her cancer.

Heck, she didn’t even know her mother had cancer.

When they arrived at the hospital, a female doctor with glasses in a white coat walked out and handed her a paper.

“Make payment at the reception and bring this back. The price for the surgery is five thousand dollars.”

Tessa’s heart dropped to her feet. She had just spent her last money, where was she supposed to get that amount of money?

“C-can you operate on her while I look for the money? I don’t have right-”

Tessa began to negotiate, however, she was quickly cut off before she could finish her sentence.

“It doesn’t work like that, Miss,” the doctor shook her head. Almost every day, she had to deal with such cases. But it was just impossible to do surgery minus the payment. “The surgery will be done as soon as you pay.”

Tessa’s stomach twisted when the doctor left. She had nowhere to get money.

She suddenly thought of someone who could help her. He was not just anyone. But a billionaire who could get access to anything in Ashford city including the best health services available.

With bated breath, she took out her phone and typed him a message since she knew calling him was futile.

[Aaron, my mother has cancer and she needs to undergo surgery right now. I really need your help this time.]

She thought about something for a few seconds and edited Aaron to Mr Wentworth. She didn’t want him to think she was trying to cling to him.

Her heart sank deeper and deeper when five minutes passed but there was no response from Aaron.

'Are you that cruel to not help me out when I’m in such a dire situation?'

Tessa could only feel sorry for herself, coupled with the pain in her chest. Turns out the man she had thought was kind-hearted was the exact opposite instead.

He was ruthless and heartless.

She clenched her fists at her sides and took in a sharp breath.

Since Aaron didn’t want to pick up the call, she decided to go to the Wentworth group and ask for his help directly.

It did not take long for Tessa to arrive at the Wentworth group but she was denied entry.

“I’m sorry, Miss Hilton but Mr Wentworth has given out the order not to allow you into the company premises,” Lydia, the receptionist at the entrance said, her eyes flitting with guilt.

A pang of pain shot threw Tessa but she wasn’t surprised anymore. Aaron had made sure she got the memo. The love of his life had returned so she needed to back off.

“I want to talk to him about a serious matter. At least call him and let him know I’m here.”

The receptionist felt awkward. Actually, the CEO had instructed her to stop Tessa from going up to his office because he didn’t want Serena and Tessa to meet.

Serena had been frequenting the company lately and right at that moment, she was with Aaron in his office. So there was no way Tessa would be allowed to go up.

It would be disastrous if Serena found out about his mistress. She might refuse to marry him again and leave.

Lydia forced a smile at Tessa. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t want to hear any news about you.”

Tessa’s stomach churned and she took a step back. ‘Does he hate me that much?’

It felt like someone had brutally cut her heart with a blunt saw.

She left the company and decided to wait outside. It was almost lunch time and he would be going out soon.

A few minutes later, Nora walked out of the company, going for her lunch break and she spotted Tessa outside.

“Tessa? What are you doing sitting outside?” She asked, approaching her.

Hearing the familiar voice, Tessa’s heart leaped to her throat. She quickly turned around and rushed towards her.

“Nora, is Mr Wentworth going out for lunch?”

Nora nodded. “Yes, he will be out soon I guess.”

Tessa looked at Nora and asked her anxiously, “Did you give him the envelope?”

She was referring to the envelope that contained the cheques she had returned. At that moment, Tessa regretted giving back those cheques. She wouldn’t be so desperate right now if she had kept them.

Nora paused for a moment and then nodded, “Yes, I did.”

She didn’t think much about it, since Serena was the CEO’s girlfriend, giving her the envelope was akin to giving it to him.

“Is something the matter?” She asked, her eyebrows creasing. Tessa looked pale and her hair was disheveled. She wondered what had happened to her.

She had heard the rumours about how she was fired because she was the CEO’s mistress but Nora didn’t believe them. There were always two sides to every story after all. It was not her place to judge and none of her business anyway.

Tessa shook her head, her mood deflating. “I’ll wait for the CEO here. You can go and have your lunch.”

Nora hesitated but she left in the end after telling Tessa to keep in touch.

Tessa didn’t know how long she had been waiting for Aaron. When he finally showed up, her legs were numb from squatting for too long.

She was about to rush towards him when she paused in her tracks.

That woman called Serena Winston was with him. Her slender arm was hooked around his arm while she blushed occasionally and tucked her hair behind her ear shyly.

They looked like a match made in heaven. The man oozed a dominant aura while the woman gave off an elegant gentle feeling with an air of nobility.

Tessa swallowed painfully, knowing if she called for him, he might ignore her but she did it anyway.

“Mr Wentworth.”

Hearing his name being called, Aaron glanced in her direction but his face did not betray any of his emotions.

Seeing that he had looked at her, Tessa decided to ask now, “I’m kindly asking-”

The man withdrew his gaze from her before she could finish her sentence and proceeded to his car.

His icy attitude towards Tessa made her heart sink to the depths of hell.

Tessa’s words were stuck in her throat. She didn’t know how to ask him for help. He had openly ignored her so how could she openly ask him for help?

Her stomach turned as she watched the couple approach the silver Bently parked by the roadside.

“Aaron, who’s that? She was looking at you just now,” Tessa could hear a soft voice asking Aaron and her breathing got caught in her throat as she waited for his answer.

But his next words made her feel like someone was squeezing her heart painfully.

“She’s nobody.”

At that moment, all the feelings that Tessa had for Aaron shattered to pieces. Why should she hold on to someone who clearly didn’t value her?

Her heart grew cold and hatred brewed within her. She turned and rushed to the hospital. She would have to borrow money but for now, she had to check on how her mother was doing.

It didn’t take long for Tessa to arrive at the hospital. With a knot in her stomach, she rushed to the theatre and asked to see her mother.

“Your mother is being operated on right now. Please be patient.”

A nurse told her when she saw that she wanted to barge into the operating room.

Tessa's heart jumped to her throat as she thought. ‘Did the hospital have a change of heart?’

She looked at the nurse and asked, “Was she allowed to have the surgery without the money?”

The nurse frowned. “No. A gentleman paid her bills. I think you just missed him, if you go down the hallway on your left right now, you might meet him.”

Tessa didn’t know what to think of this turn of events but she was grateful anyway. She turned and rushed in that direction, only to see a silhouette of a man in the hallway.

He was tall. Almost at the height of Aaron who was six foot. She quickly rushed towards him, shouting, “Sir! Sir! Wait!”

The man paused in his tracks and turned to look back when he heard a female voice calling for him. He had curly dark hair that fell to his shoulders, an angular jaw and a light stubble on his chin.

Tessa frowned when she got closer. The man didn’t look like a simple guy at all. In fact, he oozed a similar aura to Aaron. Dominant and cold.

“Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you but did you pay the bills for the patient in room 027?” She asked, breathing heavily from all that running.

The man stared down at her and something flashed through his eyes for a split second. He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded.

“Yep. I did.”

Tessa’s eyes blurred with tears. She was so desperate but a stranger came through for her mother at the last minute.

“Thank you very much, Sir. I’ll pay you back-”

“I didn’t do that for you to pay back.”

The man said and Tessa frowned, a bad feeling creeping into her.

“What do you mean?” She sought.

The man chuckled and shook his head, arching an eyebrow. “Why do you look so shocked? Did you think I would ask you to do something untoward?”

He then took out a card and gave it to Tessa.

“I’m Harry. I own a pharmaceutical company and we do clinical trials as we try to find a cure for cancer. Your mother just signed up for the program so I paid for the surgery so that she can take part in the trials. It’s part of the package. The family gets a certain amount of money for participating.”

Tessa’s brows furrowed deeply as she stared at the card in her hand. 'Why did my mother agree to this? Did she think I couldn't manage to find the money?'

After all, clinical trials weren’t always successful. There was always a risk involved. What if something happened to her mother in the process?

Seeing her doubtful expression, the man decided to clarify.

“Our clinical trials are actually safe. Would you deprive your mother of a chance to be rid of cancer forever?”

Tessa bit her bottom lip and mulled over it. Her mother had already made the decision, perhaps she wanted to do whatever was possible to get cured.

“I guess we can try it out,” she said reluctantly.

The man smiled. “That’s good. The trials will be done in Whitpalm City. We shall leave the moment your mother recovers from the surgery.”

The man was none other than Harry Winston, Serena’s brother. Together they had come up with a scheme to get rid of Tessa forever.

He had dug into her background and found out about her mother’s condition, hence he came up with the idea of taking Tessa and her mother out of the City for treatment.

Luckily they were a group of companies and didn’t always deal with tech stuff so he could use it to his advantage.

Tessa was a little uncomfortable with the idea of leaving but since they were close to the reception, she suddenly saw Aaron and Serena on the TV hanging on the wall.

They looked at each other lovingly as reporters surrounded them for an interview. Her heart squeezed as she realised that Aaron had never looked at her that way. He was holding her in his arms for the whole world to see.

Indeed, she was a fool for him. But that was going to end now. If leaving would help her mother and herself to heal, then she was more than willing.

She looked up at the kind stranger that she had just met and nodded. “We shall leave the City.”