Nancy playfully tossed her hair. She then wrapped her arm around Stephen's, clearly staking her claim. "You must be Ms. Yates. Nice to meet you—I'm Nancy Lloyd, Steve's girlfriend."
Steve.
Girlfriend.
Tessa's gaze dropped to Nancy's hand resting on Stephen's arm. A sharp, painful twist ran through her chest.
Stephen stood motionless, his eyes flicking briefly to Nancy's hand. His throat tightened, the urge to explain building inside him, but the words stayed stuck.
Naomi had seen enough. She marched forward and tore Nancy's hand off Stephen's arm. "Take your hands off him!
"If you want to flaunt your relationship, do it somewhere else! This isn't the place for your public display of affection!" Her face flushed with fury, her eyes burning with rage. "What's the matter? Mr. Jacobson, can't you afford to book a hotel room?"
Her words were like a knife, cutting deep.
Quentin was taken aback and quickly stepped in, attempting to diffuse the escalating tension.
He pulled Naomi back, urging, "Alright, alright, calm down. We're all friends here. Let's not make a scene."
Naomi struggled against him, pushing him away. "Let go! Don't stop me!"
However, he held firm, his gaze pleading with her to calm down.
Unfazed, Nancy flashed a graceful smile. In a soft, coaxing voice, she turned to Stephen. "Steve, it looks like your friends aren't too happy with us. Why don't we get a room and have some time to ourselves?"
Nancy, ever the actress, spoke with perfect poise. Every movement was intentional, embodying the sweet, innocent persona with an undercurrent of calculated charm.
Tessa's heart clenched at those words. Her doe-like eyes filled with unshed tears, her nose tingling with the weight of emotion. She struggled to keep her composure, determined not to cry in front of Stephen and Nancy.
With a quiver in her voice, she forced herself to meet Stephen's gaze. "Stephen, you have your reasons, don't you? Just tell me. I'll understand. Please, don't do this… It's really hurting me. Can we talk about this?"
Her eyes shimmered with tears, and her voice faltered as she spoke, a choked sob escaping. "Didn't you promise that as long as I didn't ask for a breakup, you'd never leave me?"
Stephen's gaze was as cold and unfeeling as an abyss, his lips curling into a bitter, mocking smile. "Ms. Yates, we're adults here. Do you really still believe in such naive promises?"
The color drained from Tessa's face.
Quentin tried to hold her back, clearly overwhelmed by the situation.
Without warning, she spun around and shot him a fiery glare.
His heart sank, sensing the storm was about to hit.
Sure enough, Naomi lashed out, throwing a punch in his direction. "You can leave too!"
"Naomi, it's not my fault!" Quentin exclaimed, feeling more misunderstood than ever.
Naomi's anger flared even more. "If you hadn't brought Stephen here, none of this would've happened! I came to comfort Tessa, but before I could even do that, she ended up hurt again! Just leave! Get out!"
With that, she forcefully shoved him toward the door.
Sienna turned to Henry. "You and Quentin should go. I'll stay with Naomi and Tessa. We women can take care of this."
Henry didn't argue, simply nodding in agreement. He pulled Quentin along, ushering him out of the room.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Unveiled Passion
I know this isn’t Stephen’s fault but I still hated how he was so careless around this bitch even after Tessa already told him it’s obvious that this bitch likes him and she looked at Tessa with hostility. If Tessa breaks up with him again, I’ll even support her. Ugh. Good luck on winning Tessa back again, Stephen. Tss. I so hate these updates....
Nooooo! Not again! We don't need a twist like this. Is it too hard for the writer to conclude with..."and they live happily ever after"?...
Finally getting Stephen and Tess back together then to tear them apart with foolishness. This is craziness...
Yuhohoooo!!! Finally!!!...
Aaand~ Tessa and Stephen are finally back together! Yaaaaay!...
Why make an uninteresting, irrelevant twist when readers are waiting for Tess and Stephen to be together?...
Gosh just let Tessa and Stephen get back together already! Ugh...
Oh my god, when is this book finishing... they're not even back together yet and more nonsense side plots.....
Whoa! Hahahahahaha! Go, Sophia! Burn, stupid Rowena! Lol...
Sooo~ Chapters 310-318 were just a repeat of Jacqueline’s punishment, official expulsion from the Jacobson family, and arrest. With few changes since Tessa and Stephen are not together this time. So Tessa didn’t witness how Jacqueline was tortured at Stephen’s base, though at least Tessa was still called over and witnessed how Stephen officially expelled Jacqueline from the Jacobson family and how Stephen’s subordinate made Jacqueline grovel in front of Tessa. Lol. I hope Jacqueline’s really out of the story now....