Tessa had to get up insanely early today for her treatment, but Nathan was nowhere to be seen.

When the nurse arrived, she immediately hooked Tessa up to an antibiotic IV. Tessa assumed Dr. Bennett would be taking care of her, but instead, it was a woman, and it was just the two of them in the room for a long stretch until the IV ran its course.

Tessa could feel the security cameras tracking every move. One thing she noticed was that the nurse never looked her in the eye.

“What’s your name?” Tessa asked.

No answer.

“You work with Mr. Bennett, right?” Again, silence, bitter in its own way.

Was she told not to talk, or was it just natural disdain?

“How many times do we have to do this?” Tessa wiggled her hands, making the IV line sway.

The nurse glanced at her for a moment, expression flat. “Three times a week,” she said with a sigh, flipping through the magazine she had brought.

At least she answered the treatment question.

“For how many weeks?”

“Two weeks,” she replied lazily. “They’ll analyze it. If your condition stabilizes, they’ll do a biopsy. Once the results come in, they’ll decide whether to continue with the gastritis treatment or focus on something else first.”

“Okay.” Tessa gave up trying to get more conversation out of her.

About half an hour later, the IV was done. The nurse removed it carefully, packed up, and left without a single word.

Tessa sat still for a moment, soaking in the heavy silence.

Not long after, the door opened again. Light footsteps entered.

As promised, the hairstylist arrived on time, but this time he wasn’t alone, Nathan was with him.

Strangely, the stylist’s hands were shaking as he began inspecting Tessa’s damaged hair.

“All right, after looking at your hair, I think after bleaching and two weeks of treatment, it’ll go back to normal, or at least close to your original color. The more you wash it, the faster it comes back,” he said, his hands trembling as he reached for the products. “I’ll start now, okay?”

Tessa could tell the guy sitting a few feet away was the reason the stylist was nervous.

“Don’t you have work or something?” she asked, trying to keep her head still.

“I’ve got plenty of employees for that,” Nathan said, tilting his head without showing any emotion. “Besides, I need to make sure you don’t stab the stylist and run out of this house.”

The stylist froze mid-strand.

“You could avoid all that if you just skipped that stupid clause about my hair,” Tessa said, sarcastic.

“No, I’d rather take the risk,” Nathan replied, crossing his arms. He looked relaxed in the chair, studying her. Somehow the tension in their conversation seemed comfortable to him.

The chemicals on her hair burned, her eyes stung, but Tessa knew it was part of the process. She blinked rapidly, fighting back tears.

She wanted to run and wash it out, not just because her scalp was on fire, but because she didn’t want to go blonde again. She couldn’t believe the guy actually wanted her to relive her past, making her feel exposed and judged.

“You’re hurting her, you idiot,” Nathan snapped at the stylist, eyes deadly.

The stylist stepped back, raising his hands. “It’s part of the process, sir, I swear.”

“Then why does she look like she’s in pain?” Nathan’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t sitting back with his arms crossed anymore. His hands were on the armrests, ready to act.

“It’s true what he said,” Tessa said, taking a deep breath, holding back her tears. “Bleaching does hurt, but don’t worry. You’ll get what you want.”

“I need this chemical on her hair for at least thirty minutes,” the stylist said, alternating glances between Tessa and Nathan.

“Leave and come back when the time is up,” Nathan ordered.

The stylist didn’t hesitate. He left the room with quick steps.

Nathan moved closer, deliberate and controlled, circling around Tessa’s chair.

Tessa jumped to her feet. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she said.

Nathan grabbed her wrist before she could move. He spun her around so her chest pressed against his, one hand braced on her lower back. “Poor girl, you have to suffer to get back to your old self. Sooner or later, you’ll be back to where you were.”

“What do you mean?” Tessa frowned.

“You can’t move past your past if you don’t face it,” Nathan said softly, like his words were forbidden. “The problem is, all this time you’ve been taking the coward’s way out and hiding.”

“You can’t just say that!” Tessa hit his chest with her hand, but he didn’t flinch. “You left me alone, no money, no experience, no home. You made my life miserable, Nathan. You caused all of it.”

Her throat hurt from yelling, and Tessa realized she was screaming, and Nathan just watched her, intense, silent.

“Is it that easy for you to judge me and blame me? You think the past year was just me dealing with online comments?” she added, blood boiling. Her mind was packed with memories, humiliation, danger, everything she had endured over the last year. “Your friend at that bar, you think he was the first one to try to take advantage of me? The first one who tried to use me just because I’m my father’s daughter? You have no idea the suffering I went through.”

Tears burned her cheeks, evidence of weakness and pain.

She took a deep breath. “There are a lot of bad people out there, Nath.” She didn’t realize her hand was clenching tightly on her ex-husband’s shirt. “And you left me with them to punish me, and now you’re bored being the spectator and decided to punish me with your own hands, right? I hate you, Nathan. I hate you for what you did to me and for what you keep doing. You have no idea how much I regret ever loving you.”

The Nathan she loved was just a fantasy, a character she created herself. The man in front of her now was the real Nathan Hale, and she hated him.

Through it all, Nathan barely reacted. His face stayed calm, but his eyes held a trace of restrained pain.

Right then, Tessa’s phone buzzed on the table. Adrian’s name lit up the screen.

Her face went pale instantly.