That day, Nathan snatched Tessa’s phone and checked it. He knew Adrian was Tessa’s best friend who lived abroad. He had never made a big deal out of it before, always treating her gently like he usually did. But this time, he hurled the phone to the floor, smashing it into pieces. He forbade Tessa from contacting Adrian ever again, then stormed out in anger.

After that brutal fight, Nathan didn’t show up. Not even the next day. He was dead set on enforcing his infamous silent treatment. For Tessa, though, it was a relief. She would rather spend time with Smokey than face that brooding man.

She tried talking to the maids who came in to clean her room, but as usual, they ignored her. Some even gave her suspicious looks. Tessa figured they didn’t like her.

After lunch, the maids left. On her way back to her room, her attention was caught by a painting hanging on the wall.

Her eyes locked on the portrait of a young woman, blonde hair and green eyes painted to perfection. The face looked almost identical to hers.

“Mom,” she whispered, raising her hand to touch the frame.

It was the same portrait that had once hung in her bedroom back when she lived with her father. The same one that had nearly been taken away, until Nathan claimed it for himself. Tessa still remembered how gutted she felt, as if she had lost another piece of her mother when Nathan took it.

And now, here it was again, displayed in this house. It was clear Nathan had planned this from the day of their divorce, that one way or another he would drag Tessa back here. The portrait had never been shoved into storage and forgotten. It looked exactly as it had the day she left.

“You want it here, or should I move it to your room?”

The low voice made her skin prickle. She didn’t turn around, but she could feel Nathan standing behind her. The scent of mint and whiskey filled her senses.

“Leave it there,” she said softly.

Thank God Smokey showed up, brushing against her legs, giving her an excuse to scoop him into her arms.

“Hey, Smokey,” she whispered to her little companion.

She was about to leave when Nathan’s deep voice stopped her.

“You didn’t follow the colorist’s advice, Tessa.”

She knew exactly what he meant, so she slipped into her room instead of answering. The door couldn’t be locked. Nathan had made sure it was built that way, so she could never shut him out.

Nathan followed her in.

Tessa sat in the chair in the corner with Smokey curled in her lap.

For the first time since their fight, she looked him in the eye. Fury, resentment, and something darker burned in his icy blue gaze.

“What do you want?” she asked quietly, though she knew damn well.

“You haven’t washed your hair,” Nathan said firmly. “The colorist told you to wash it often so your natural shade would come back faster.”

He kept going.

Tessa had hoped after yesterday’s fight, his heart would soften a little. She had hoped he would realize how painful it was to claw her way back to the girl she used to be, a version of herself she had buried long ago. But Nathan cared about only one thing: turning her back into the woman he remembered, the Tessa Caldwell she despised most.

Why was he so obsessed with forcing her back into the past?

“And how exactly do you know I didn’t wash it? Did you install a camera in the bathroom? Sick pervert!” She threw the words like knives, determined to sting him.

“This morning you spent an hour in there, then changed clothes, but your hair was still dry.” Nathan reached out, sliding a few strands of her dark hair between his fingers.

Tessa froze. She never imagined Nathan would go this far, watching surveillance feeds just to keep track of her.

The black dye was already fading thanks to the decolorant. She had kept it for a year, but now the waves of her hair were shifting into a blend of black and brown. If she kept washing and caring for it, her natural color would come back. But that was exactly what she wanted to avoid.

“The contract doesn’t say anywhere that I have to wash my hair all the time!” Tessa snapped, stubborn as ever.

“I’m done arguing with you,” Nathan muttered, jaw clenched.

For a split second, Tessa thought he was giving up, that maybe she could keep her hair the way it was. She was wrong. Nathan Hale never lost that easily.

Smokey, who had been lounging calmly in her lap, suddenly leapt away, as if sensing the storm brewing. Before she could react, Nathan lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her toward the bathroom, ignoring her violent struggles.

“Put me down!” Tessa pounded on his back, but it didn’t slow him. “Nathan!”

He carried her until they reached the bathroom, then lowered her inside. In an instant, the shower roared to life, drenching her hair and clothes.

“You’re insane!” she shouted, shoving her wet hair out of her face, glaring at him.

Nathan leaned against the doorframe, smug, unmoved even as water splashed onto him.

Every time she tried to leave, he blocked her way.

“You’re not walking out of here until your hair is washed,” he said flatly.

“Fine! Then I’ll stay right here. No problem.” Tessa dropped to the tiled floor, crossing her legs like a protester staging a sit-in. “Consider this my protest.”

“Good. Let’s see how long you last.”

And so they remained. Nathan stood guard at the door, unflinching, while Tessa sat under the icy stream, her body slowly numbing.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. The cold gnawed at her skin, the relentless spray stabbing her scalp like needles. Her body trembled, her fingers shriveling.

“Your own stubbornness is what’s going to destroy you,” Nathan said evenly. But his jaw was tight, like he was fighting something too.

“I don’t care,” Tessa snapped back, though deep inside she wanted nothing more than to get out.

Tessa remembered the contract she had signed with Nathan. For her father’s sake, and to fight the disease eating away at her body, she had willingly become this man’s captive. But now, every chance at healing she risked only for her pride. She was even daring to push her fragile, sick body against a new virus she couldn’t predict.

Just as her breath started to hitch and her body threatened to give in, strong arms caught her. Nathan pulled her out of the freezing water like she weighed nothing.

“Enough. I’m done putting up with you,” he barked, setting her on the edge of the sink. With one swift motion, he yanked her soaked shirt over her head, stripping it from her body.

“What are you doing?!” she screamed. “Help me… somebody, please help me!”

Her cries bounced off the cold bathroom walls, but no one came. The house was too quiet, the staff too well-trained to stay out of it.