Tessa didn’t want to stay there a second longer, listening to the insults hurled at her. She refused to be humiliated.

“If you get up, I’ll tie you to the bed.” Nathan’s threatening voice froze her in place.

How could he know exactly what she was thinking? Was she really that easy to read?

“You don’t have the right to control me!” she snapped, her voice sharp with anger. “You’re just—”

A sudden cough cut her words short.

In an instant, Nathan was at her side, pressing a glass of water to her lips. She reached to take it, but he didn’t let go. He held it steady until she drank it all. The cold water cooled her burning throat and eased the dryness.

“Look at you. Your body isn’t built to survive like this,” he murmured, brushing his damp thumb across her lips.

Tessa swatted his hand away. His touch was too warm, too close, too intimate. It pulled memories she thought she had buried deep—when Nathan had once sworn to love her. She believed she had erased those days, yet his touch tore the grave wide open.

Even that brief contact was enough to throw her off balance.

Nathan pulled back, set the empty glass on the nightstand, and placed an envelope on her lap.

With hesitation, Tessa opened it. Inside was a thick stack of cash and a business card.

“What’s this supposed to mean?” she asked with a frown.

“Think of it as charity for the needy,” Nathan said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

His words burned more than they soothed. Tessa bit her lower lip hard.

“Enough for a nice hotel room and the best gastroenterologist in the city,” Nathan added without a flicker of expression. “Rest. Eat. Drink water. The doctor says you can leave once the IV is done. Don’t collapse in the street again.”

“I don’t need your pity,” Tessa said through clenched teeth.

“You can’t take care of yourself, Tessa. Ordinary people might survive this way.” His gaze cut deep, a mix of regret and criticism. “But not you. You’re like a bird thrown into the wild after living too long in a cage.”

Without another word, Nathan turned and walked out, leaving her alone.

Tessa stared down at the cash in her hand. Her grip tightened as her eyes filled.

He was right. She had convinced herself she could survive, but the truth was she’d been living off scraps tossed her way. Nathan had just shoved the truth in her face.

Without her father’s inheritance, she was nothing.

She flipped over the card and saw Nathan’s scrawled note on the back: Your furball is a hostage. If you want him back, come to my place.

“Bastard,” she muttered.

Of course he had planned it all. Deep down she knew the truth: Nathan would never really let her go, not when she was already trapped in his grip.

When the nurse came to remove her IV, she left Tessa alone with two choices of clothing: the wrinkled clothes from yesterday or a sleek black dress she’d never seen before. Nathan’s gift, obviously.

He wanted to see how quickly she’d give in to luxury.

Tessa refused. She knew Nathan thought of her as a shallow woman who lived off her family’s wealth, and she wouldn’t play that part. She pulled on yesterday’s clothes and headed for the front desk.

Her stomach pain had eased, but the thought of hospital bills made the acid burn back up her throat.

“Excuse me, I’m Tessa Caldwell,” she said to the receptionist.

“Ah, Mrs. Caldwell. All your medical expenses have been taken care of.” The woman slid some papers across the counter. “Please sign here to complete discharge.”

Tessa did as she was told. But before she could leave, the woman stopped her.

“Almost forgot. Mr. Hale asked me to give you this.” She handed Tessa a small envelope.

Outside, Tessa tore it open. Inside were only two things: Nathan’s home address and the key to her old apartment.

She immediately hailed a cab. She might have been kicked out, but she wasn’t about to abandon all her things.

She stuffed as much as she could into one large bag, the rest into plastic sacks. Her father’s letters she tucked carefully away. She had never read them, but something in her heart wouldn’t let her throw them out.

She kept her wedding ring too. She should have sold it, it was worth a fortune. But she couldn’t. That ring was proof of both love and hate.

She left everything in a rented storage locker.

Now she was ready to face Nathan.

Tessa had never stepped foot in his mansion. She always believed Nathan came from an ordinary family. When they married, they had lived in her father’s mansion, and Nathan hadn’t seemed to mind at all.

Only now did she realize how naive she had been. No man would be truly content living in his father-in-law’s house. Nathan had always had an agenda, and from the start he had been gathering evidence.

His mansion dwarfed her father’s estate.

Before she could press the intercom, the iron gates swung open by themselves. She glanced around, but there was no guard in sight. Carefully, she crossed the vast courtyard until she reached the massive front doors, already open. No key needed. Nathan knew she would come.

A man with jet-black eyes blocked her path.

“Mrs. Caldwell, I’m Mr. Hale’s head of security,” he said formally. “Please follow me.”

Tessa hesitated, but the man was already walking away. She had no choice but to follow him until they reached a pair of double doors.

“Mrs. Caldwell is here, sir,” the guard announced after knocking.

There was no reply, but she was ushered inside.

Marble floors gleamed beneath her feet. The office was immaculate, elegant, and Nathan sat behind a mahogany desk in a tailored suit, a glass of whiskey in hand.

“Welcome, princess,” he said with a thin smile, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement.

“I’m here for Smokey,” Tessa shot back, her eyes hard.

As if on cue, Smokey meowed.

She turned toward the sound and found the gray cat lounging on a plush red cushion, next to a bowl with scraps of caviar. He looked perfectly at home.

“Smokey, come here, sweetheart,” she whispered, crouching down.

The cat looked at her, then ignored her completely.

Her face twisted with frustration and disbelief. Her little companion had betrayed her.

Straightening her back, she pretended nothing had happened.

Nathan’s gaze danced with quiet laughter. “Here, sign this.” He slid a document and a pen across the desk.

“What’s this? Trying to bill me for the hospital?” she asked, picking it up. But the words stuck in her throat when she read the first page.

“Confidentiality and Personal Services Agreement: Party A (Tessa Caldwell) agrees to provide exclusive intimate services to Party B (Nathan Hale) for a minimum term of one year. In return, Party B agrees to provide housing, living expenses, and medical care for Party A for the same period.”

Her heart shattered as she read it.

“You want me to be your private whore?” she whispered bitterly.

Nathan rose, circled the desk, and stood right in front of her. “I considered giving you another job, but nothing fit. Even your boss at that bar said you were the worst employee he ever had. And being the daughter of the man who ruined my family doesn’t exactly open doors for you.”

“You bastard!” She flung the papers at his chest, anger and sorrow crashing through her.

It was true she had been a terrible employee. She broke a few glasses, locked her boss inside by accident once or twice. But at least she had tried to work honestly, not like this.

Nathan grabbed her by the neck. She didn’t flinch. She refused to back down, refused to look like a coward.

“This isn’t an insult, Tessa. It’s business,” he whispered near her lips.

“No. I’ll never agree to this.”

His eyes blazed with threat and determination. She met his stare with trembling defiance.

“You’ve just lost your home. From the sound of it, your boss is ready to fire you any day now. Your savings are gone, and your cat clearly prefers caviar.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “And you’ll never be able to pay for what’s coming.”

Her heart pounded as she stumbled back.

“Hate me all you want. In fact, I’m counting on it,” Nathan said, his eyes flashing. “But sooner or later, you’ll realize my offer is the only one that makes sense. I’m the only one who can give you the protection and care you need.”

She frowned, not sure what he meant.

“I don’t need your help, you bastard!”

“I’m a rational man, sweetheart. Think it over before I decide for you,” he said, deadly serious.

“Keep it all. I don’t care.” Tessa took several steps back.

Suddenly her phone rang, and she froze.

With deliberate calm, Nathan circled back to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out her phone.

“Almost forgot,” he said, holding it out. “Your boss gave it to me after ranting about how useless you are.”

Tessa snatched it, reluctantly answering the call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Tessa Caldwell?” A man’s voice spoke on the other end. “This is Dr. Bennett. We just got your test results and you need to come to the hospital immediately.”

Her body went rigid. The anger and hatred she felt toward Nathan vanished in an instant.

“What is it?” she asked softly, her breath catching.

“It’s better if we discuss it in person. Please come as soon as possible,” the doctor replied.

Her hand trembled as she ended the call. Slowly, she lifted her eyes to Nathan. All the anger, fear, and hatred twisted together with a new weight pressing on her chest.