Chapter 30 What Had She Gone Through?

Chapter 30 What Had She Gone Through?

Tess stepped out of the car with baby La in her arms, her eyes scanning the dim alley with caution.

A bcar /bsat hidden in the shadows with its lights off, giving off a strange, creepy feeling.

Her brows pulled together, and she walked faster, holding La closer to her chest.

Something didn’t feel right–like someone was watching her from behind. The feeling made her skin crawl.

When Charles flipped on the light inside the house, he noticed right away how pale Tess looked.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, clearly startled.

Tess kept her lips shut tight, heart racing.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.”

“Then you should rest,” Charles replied, gently opening the bedroom door for her.

Trying to push away the unease building inside her, Tess gave him a

nod.

About 30 minutester, the light in her room turned off.

s

In the living room, Charles sat with the signed divorce papers in his hands.

Once he bwas /bsure she had fallen asleep, he crept quietly to her bedroom and carefully ced the papers on her nightstand.

In the dim light, Charles couldn’t stop himself from looking at Tess as she slept, his eyes filled with eager hope.

La was curled up beside her, sleeping peacefully.

To Charles, this was a gift for both Tess and the baby.

Feeling bpleased /bwith himself, he returned to his own room, already imagining her reaction when she woke signed documents.

biShe’ll /i/bbe bithrilled/i/bbi, /i/bhe thought.

The house slowly faded into silence and darkness.

But thenb, /ba soft click sounded near the front door.

Click!

up

and saw the

bA /bbtall /bfigure stepped into the narrow hallway, his presence shrinking the space and weighing it down with tension.

Finn’s sharp eyes took in the modest setup beforending on Tess’s bedroom door, firmly shut.

It looked like any other door, but his intense bgaze /bseemed to slice through it as if he could see straight to the person inside. Now that he was standing here, hesitation crept in.

Was ithe /iperson I’d been chasing all this itime /iireally /iion /iithe /iiother /iiside /iiof /ithat idoor/ibi? /i/b

His leather shoes barely made ba /bsound bas /bhe walked, but each bstep /bechoed the slow, steady beat of his heart.

The hallwayb, /bthough shortb, /bfelt endless.

His hand reached for the doorknob. He turned it gently.

His eyes flicked to the windowb, /bwhere moonlight slipped through the ss.

He remembered watching the darkened window from bhis /bbcar /bearlier, spotting a faint silhouette behind the curtains.

2:27 PM bd /b

Chapter 30 What Had She Gone Through?

A strange heat had risen in his chest then–tight, overwhelming, and hard to ignore,

iCharles /iihad /iiactually /iibeen /iiallowed /iiinto /iiher /iiroom/ii? /i

Finn didn’t even know what he felt at that moment.

Now, just like Charles, he stood next to Tess’s bed.

He could hear her calm, steady breathing.

At firstb, /bFinn didn’t even look at her. His eyes locked on the divorce papers left on the nightstand,

iSo /iithat’s /iwhat iCharles /ihad ie /iiin /iihere /iifor/ii–/iito /iileave /iithese/ii? /i

The thought passed through Finn’s mind, but his gaze hadn’t yet found the woman he’d spent so long looking for.fn9f70 Discover more novels at f?ndnovel/fn9f70

Only now did he realize how loud a person’s breathing could be in total silence,

Atst, his eyes shifted–slowlynding on Tess.

Moonlight touched her face, revealing her soft features. But there, on her cheeki, /iwas a scar,

Finn’s eyes narrowed, his pupils shaking with disbelief.

Tess had always been beautiful–so much so, he’d never been able to truly hate her.

But now, that perfect face was marked,

It reminded him of a white gardenia, ruined on purpose–something beautiful turned heartbreaking.

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Finn felt like his bchest /bwas being crushed, like some invisible force kept pressing harder and harder, each time more painful.

Without realizing it, his fingers began to shake as they hovered near the scar on her icheek/i.

The rough texture beneath his touch proved it was realb, /bnot something fake,

bWhat /bhad she gone ithrough/ii? /i

Finn looked down bat /bher as she slept, his bface /ba mix of emotions. The fury he’d meant to throw at her was gone without a

trace.

He’d been so caught up staring at Tess that he hadn’t even realized there was baby curled up in her arms.

Finn had always thought of himself bas /bcalm and in control, but now he couldn’t even move–his feet felt stuck to the floor.

The baby seemed around five ior /isix months old. Her skin was soft and wless, nothing like the scar on her mother’s facei, /i

But what really stunned him was how much she looked like he did as a baby–like a mirror image,

bTen /bmonths carrying ithe /ichild… iand /inow this?

bA /bwild, sudden thought shed through his mind.

His breath turned bshaky/b, his chest rising and falling fast.

Maybe it was the tension in the room, but Tess’s calm expression started to shift in her sleep.