Samuel and Marianne arrived at the base soon after. Marianne sobbed her heart out as she clutched Seline in her arms.
"Oh, my baby! I thought I would never see you again!" Marianne wailed. "I thought about you every day and dreamed about you every night. I was worried to death!"
Tessa stood to the side as she watched with tears streaming down her cheeks. For the last few days, whenever she closed her eyes, images of James torturing Seline would flash across her mind.
She always had nightmares when night fell. She would dream of James pouring oil on Seline with the intent to burn her to death. In the nightmares, James would always tell her that she could save Seline, but only by giving up her own life.
Samuel's eyes had also reddened at the touching reunion. There were a million things that he wanted to say, but he was only able to choke out a single sentence. "Seline, I missed you a lot too."
The four of them shed tears together. Marianne, who had a keen eye, noticed that Seline wasn't in a good mental state.
With bloodshot eyes, she said, "Seline was already traumatized by her last kidnapping. This time she was taken all the way to Arcton and nearly lost her life in the process. I'm worried that she—"
She couldn't complete the rest of her sentence. Seline wasn't even nine years old yet, but she had already been kidnapped twice. How was such a young girl going to endure such terrible stress on her psyche? She would undoubtedly develop mental issues in the future.
Samuel's gaze was steely. He hadn't gotten a single day's rest since Seline was kidnapped. Fatigue and anxiety were etched on his face as he gazed at Seline with guilt and worry in his heart. "I'll contact the best psychiatrist I know immediately."
Tessa added, "I'll also ask my friends to contact the best child psychiatrist in the industry. Seline will definitely get better, Ms. Connors."
"I can only hope so," Marianne said before sighing deeply.
Stephen and Julian were engaged in discussion as they stood outside. When the Yates family exited the room, the two parties greeted each other. Stephen's gaze fell on Tessa, and the two of them locked eyes. Tessa's eyes were bloodshot, making it obvious that she had been crying earlier.
Tessa could see the flicker of heartbreak in Stephen's eyes. She pressed her lips together before quietly averting her gaze.
Marianne initially wanted to thank Stephen, but she suddenly recalled that Seline had only been kidnapped in the first place because of him. She couldn't force the words past her lips no matter how hard she tried.
Samuel scoffed again before he left in a rush, cradling Seline in his arms. Marianne also stayed quiet before she trailed after him. Tessa moved to follow them, but Stephen caught her wrist when she passed him, murmuring, "Tess…"
Tessa stopped in her tracks. She lifted her head to look at him. "Is there something else?"
Stephen's eyes were like an abyss. She could see the pain that swirled deep within his gaze. He seemed almost pitiful when he asked, "Can we get back together?"
Tessa was stunned by his question, her eyes filled with disbelief. A long moment passed before she regained her senses. Her brows knitted together when she asked, "What are you saying?"
He wanted to get back together with her? Now that the situation had turned out this way, how could they possibly get back together?
First of all, Rowena didn't like her and strongly opposed their being a couple. But even if Rowena conceded and approved of them being together, there was no way that Tessa could get back with him.
Seline's kidnapping hung like a dark cloud between them. Both Tessa and Seline had nearly lost their lives, and Samuel had developed an intense loathing toward the Jacobsons. It didn't matter if Tessa still harbored lingering feelings for Stephen; there was no way they could ever rekindle their relationship.
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....