Tessa groaned. A stabbing pain in her stomach made her whole body tense. She curled up, trying to fight off the relentless waves of agony.

“What’s wrong?” Nathan’s voice was tight with panic. His worried expression startled her, but she was too busy fighting the pain to care.

“I’m fine… just go,” her voice cracked, tears spilling from the sharp burn inside her.

“Did those bastards hurt you?” Nathan hissed. His hands moved frantically over her shoulders, down her arm, and stopped at her stomach where her fingers pressed hard. “Here?”

She shoved his hand away. The touch only made it worse. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body trembling from the pain.

Nathan rubbed her back for a second, then suddenly scooped her up into his arms.

“You… what are you—” Tessa choked.

“We’re going to the hospital,” Nathan said firmly, his jaw clenched.

“No! Not the hospital!” Tessa blurted. She knew she couldn’t afford it. Her family’s insurance had died along with her father’s bankruptcy.

“Tess, you can’t even stand,” Nathan snapped, lines of frustration etched into his face.

“I just need to go home,” she whispered weakly, still trying to resist. “Put me down.”

“You’re in pain like this. How the hell are you supposed to get home?”

“Just take me back, Nathan… please,” she begged, shaking. Her stomach felt like it was on fire. “I just need rest.”

Nathan cursed under his breath, then carried her straight to his car.

On the way, Tessa turned her head weakly toward the window. At the end of the alley, she thought she saw a man sprawled on the ground. His face looked eerily like the guy who’d recognized her at the bar earlier.

What happened to him?

Before she could ask, Nathan started the engine and sped off.

Tessa curled up in the passenger seat, eyes closed against the pain. When she opened them again, the car had stopped in front of a building she knew all too well.

Her brows furrowed. It was her apartment.

“How do you know where I live? I never told you,” she whispered.

Nathan looked surprised. “Yeah, you did.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You did, Tessa. Don’t start this right now.” He got out and slammed the door.

She froze. When had she told him? Maybe when she was half-conscious?

Her door swung open. Nathan leaned in, lifted her without a word, and started up the stairs with urgent steps.

His eyes were sharp, as if every second he was afraid she’d collapse. And she knew she was close.

When they reached her apartment, Tessa stopped cold. Her few belongings were dumped on the floor in front of the door. A big eviction notice was taped to it.

“What… what is this?” Her voice shook. The pain in her stomach vanished under the rush of fear that she might end up sleeping on the street. She fumbled with the lock, but her key no longer worked. “Please… don’t do this.”

“Finally showed up, huh,” her landlord said from the stairwell. His face was stone, brows knotted. “Grab your stuff and get out.”

Tessa staggered toward him, bent from the pain. Nathan set her down but stayed close.

“Sir, please… you can’t just throw me out like this,” she whispered.

“I can, and I already did,” he answered coldly.

“Why are you kicking her out?” Nathan cut in, his tone sharp as a blade.

“Because… she’s behind on rent,” the landlord stammered. He stopped when Nathan’s eyes locked on his. “Two months.”

“What do you mean she’s behind?” Nathan’s voice was laced with threat, disbelief flickering in his expression.

The landlord’s face drained of color, as if realizing who exactly he was dealing with. Tessa bowed her head. Reality hit her, but there was nothing she could do.

“Sir, please let me inside, just to get my cat,” she begged, her voice shaking.

The landlord snorted. “That animal ran out when I tossed your stuff.”

Tessa froze. “What?”

Without thinking, she bolted down the stairs. The pain stabbed harder, but she didn’t care.

“Smokey! Smokey!” she screamed desperately into the night.

“Damn it, Tessa! Don’t run like that!” Nathan chased after her.

Suddenly she doubled over, nausea wrenching through her. She gagged, but her stomach was empty, only the burning pain clawing deeper.

Nathan grabbed her shoulders. “Get in the car,” he ordered. “We’re going to the hospital.”

“No!” She shoved his hand away.

“Stop being stubborn, Tess!” He bent down to carry her again, but she pulled back.

“You didn’t hear me? I’d rather die than take help from you!”

Nathan ignored her. He grabbed her wrist and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” She thrashed weakly. “Smokey… Smokey…” Her fading eyes searched the dark for her cat.

That gray ball of fur wasn’t just a pet. He was all she had left. She might have saved Smokey from the street, but he’d been the one to save her from total collapse.

Tears threatened. Her body was failing, but her will wasn’t.

Nathan’s jaw flexed, his fury clear. “Get in the car,” he muttered as he set her down. “I’ll find your damn cat.”

With the last of her strength, Tessa described Smokey to him. Then she slumped into the passenger seat, her vision blurring, each minute dragging heavier than the last.

Finally, Nathan appeared in the distance, holding Smokey like he was something fragile and dangerous at the same time.

“Here’s your cat,” he said shortly. He climbed into the car and set the tiny animal in her lap.

Tessa reached out, eyes locked on the soft gray fur she’d missed so badly. But before her hand touched him, the world spun.

“Tessa?” Nathan’s voice cracked with panic.

She couldn’t answer. Her consciousness faded, the last thing she felt was his hand on her face and his voice filled with a rare, raw worry.

Everything went black.

---

She had no idea how much time had passed, but when Tessa finally stirred, her body felt heavy, cold air seeping into her skin. Her eyelids fought to open.

Smokey?

Her hand brushed her lap, but there was no soft fur there. Panic jolted her awake.

She forced her eyes open against the harsh white light of the room. Her head turned, searching desperately. Instead, she found Nathan sitting in a chair, sleeves rolled up, bandages wrapped around his knuckles, his sharp gaze fixed entirely on her.

“Smokey?” Her voice was hoarse when it finally came out.

She looked around. She was in a hospital bed. Not the cheap kind either. How had she gotten here? The last thing she remembered was the car, the pain in her stomach, and Nathan handing her the cat.

“Your furball’s fine,” Nathan said, running a hand through his dark hair. “He’s at my place eating caviar while his owner’s in a hospital bed.”

“Why…?” Her throat was raw, every word scraping.

“Because you’re a goddamn idiot.” His voice was cold, his eyes burning with fury. “Chronic gastritis. Malnutrition. I left you alone for a year so you could learn how to survive. And what happened? You almost died.”

Heat flushed her cheeks, shame flooding her chest. She turned her face away. “It’s none of your business.”

Nathan let out a sharp, angry laugh. “This what you meant when you said, ‘I’m stronger than you think’?”

Her breath caught. She had said that once. Back when she believed she could handle anything, even as her life fell apart. But life had hit harder than she could stand.

She didn’t want to lie there and listen to him mock her, humiliate her, throw her weakness in her face.

But his voice came again, heavy as steel. “If you even try to get up, I’ll tie you to that bed.”