Adrian’s face shifted slowly from shock to anger as his eyes landed on Tessa’s ex-husband.

“We need to go. Now,” Nathan said flatly. He let go of his embrace and grabbed Tessa’s wrist like he was about to tie her down.

He started dragging her with him, forcing her to move. But before he could take more than a step, Adrian grabbed her other wrist.

Her body was like a toy being fought over by two stubborn kids, pulled from opposite sides until she couldn’t move. Thankfully, Nathan stopped tugging, or her shoulder might have popped out of its socket.

Nathan’s gaze dropped to the source of resistance: Adrian’s hand still wrapped around Tessa’s wrist.

“Don’t touch her, you bastard!” Nathan roared. He let go of Tessa only to yank Adrian’s collar with brutal force.

“You’re the one who shouldn’t touch her! You think I don’t know what you did to her?” Adrian shouted back without backing down. “You don’t deserve to lay a finger on her!”

Nathan’s fist flew before Adrian could blink, crashing against his cheek and sending him stumbling backward, clutching his flushed face.

“Nathan, stop!” Tessa cried, panicked, pulling at his coat.

Jack, Nathan’s head of security, suddenly appeared by the door. He was supposed to wait outside the hospital, but for some reason, he was now standing between them.

Adrian didn’t fight back, not even when Nathan grabbed his collar again.

“I can touch her whenever I want. Because she’s mine,” Nathan snarled and shoved Adrian back. “She’s always been mine.”

“Sir, please let him go,” Jack said calmly, trying to de-escalate the situation. “We can’t make a scene here.”

Whispers started spreading among the people around them. When Tessa looked up, a crowd had already formed, watching the chaos with eager eyes.

“Look, isn’t that the girl with Mr. Hale? Isn’t she Robert Caldwell’s daughter?” someone whispered.

“I can’t believe she’s that bold. What a shameless girl,” another muttered with a sneer. “She’s probably begging Nathan to take her back.”

“Still not over her ex. What a slut,” a patient wearing a ridiculous hat spat.

Suddenly, a blinding flash hit Tessa’s eyes. The sharp click of a camera followed, stabbing straight through her chest. Someone was taking pictures.

Her face turned pale. It felt like every drop of blood drained from her body. Her mind was instantly pulled back to the trial: the harsh flashes, the reporters swarming around her, the photos plastered everywhere, the endless stream of cruel comments.

Her head grew light, her vision spinning until the crowd blurred into a mass of faceless shapes. All she could see was a wall of reporters.

She stumbled back without realizing it until her back hit something. No, someone.

Reflexively, she turned around and saw even more people. They were everywhere.

The man she bumped into looked at her with disgust and shoved her shoulder to push her away.

Her body hit the floor. The shove wasn’t even that hard, but her knees were too weak to hold her up.

“Slut. Daughter of a fraud,” someone spat right in her face.

“No! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Tessa’s voice cracked as she screamed into the empty air.

Her trembling hands scrambled for her glasses and shoved them back on.

“Go away!” she screamed again.

Laughter rang around her, mocking and cruel, like she was nothing more than a cheap spectacle at a circus.

Then a pair of hands grabbed her arms.

“No! Let me go!” Tessa thrashed, trying to elbow her way out, but the grip was too strong.

“Calm down, Tessa,” Nathan’s deep voice came close to her ear. “It’s me. You’re okay.”

Nathan pulled her into his arms, and she immediately buried her face in his chest. She didn’t want anyone to see her face.

“Nathan... they all know,” she whispered, trying to disappear in his embrace. The scent of mint and his cologne filled her lungs, offering a shred of safety in the chaos. “They took my picture. They’re talking about me.”

Nathan grabbed his coat and wrapped it around her quickly.

“Tessa? What’s going on?” Adrian’s voice came from somewhere close.

“Get away from her, asshole. She’s my wife. I’ll take care of her,” Nathan growled, seething with rage.

He lifted Tessa off the floor, and she let him carry her. The only thing she wanted now was to get far away from there.

The whispers around them grew louder. Tessa hid her face deeper into the coat, wishing she could vanish.

She knew what was coming. They’d start talking about her all over again. She had stayed out of the media’s sight for so long. Once her case had died down, they stopped caring and moved on to more interesting celebrities.

But now, it was all back. They’d photographed her with Nathan. They’d seen her fight with Adrian. And tomorrow, the headlines would crown her with a new title: the most shameless woman in the country.

“Please get me out of here, Nathan...” she whispered, barely audible.

“Jack, lock down the entire hospital. Confiscate every phone and talk to the hospital director,” Nathan ordered sharply, still holding Tessa tightly in his arms. “No one leaves this building without signing a non-disclosure agreement.”

“Yes, sir,” Jack replied immediately.

Tessa closed her eyes and rested her face against Nathan’s collarbone. She didn’t want to see anyone. She just wanted it all to disappear.

“You don’t have to worry,” Nathan whispered, his voice low and steady near her ear. “I’ll take care of everything. Trust me.”

Nathan carried her into a small, empty treatment room. It was just the two of them there. He gently laid her down on the examination bed. The second her body touched the mattress, Tessa pulled the coat tighter around herself, curling into it like a turtle retreating into its shell.

“Are you hurt?” Nathan asked quietly.

He tried to pull the coat away from her, but she clung to it as if her life depended on that piece of fabric. She wasn’t ready to face what had just happened, let alone herself in this fragile state.

“They took my picture...” her voice trembled, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. “I’ll never be able to go anywhere again.”

“I’ll make sure those photos are deleted. Right now I just need to check if you’re okay,” Nathan said firmly. He tried again to pull the coat away, but it was pointless.

Tessa didn’t budge, and Nathan was clearly holding himself back. She knew if he used his full strength, the coat would’ve been gone by now.

“Don’t make me tear it off, Tessa.”

“Go away... just leave me alone!” Her voice shook, on the verge of breaking into sobs.

“I’m not leaving until you show me you’re okay!” Nathan shouted, his fist slamming into the bed right beside her.