Tessa raised her knee into Zachary’s gut, forcing him to release her with a pained cry. She didn’t stop there, though, as she raised her hand and slapped Zachary hard across his face.

Slap! The sound of her palm connecting against his cheek reverberated loud and clear in the hallway.

Tessa’s eyes were aflame with fury. She yelled, “Zachary, get away from me! You don’t deserve me!”

Her slap was so powerful that it forced Zachary’s face to the side. Raising his gaze, he stared at Tessa. The corners of his eyes were beginning to redden, matching the glaringly red handprint on his cheek.

“Tessy, why are you so cruel to me?”

Zachary’s voice was soft as he was upset.

Tessa chuckled coldly. Her eyes were filled with hatred. “Do you need to ask why? Heh. It’s because you’re filthy now. We can never go back to the past.”

Staring at him haughtily, she lifted her chin. “A man who doesn’t love himself is worse than trash. I’ll never go back for the trash I’ve already discarded.”

She didn’t give Zachary a chance to respond after saying her piece. Turning, she entered her apartment, slamming her door shut with a loud bang.

Zachary stood outside, staring at the closed door. A deep sorrow swam in his endlessly dark eyes.

“It’s because you’re filthy now. We can never go back to the past.”

Her words were like needles, stabbing deeply and mercilessly into Zachary’s heart. It caused his heart to puncture all over, turning it into a nearly unrecognizable lump of flesh.

Zachary returned to the apartment he had just purchased in low spirits. The apartment was right next to Tessa’s unit. He turned on the shower in the bathroom and started to scrub himself repeatedly.

“Tessy… Tessy…”

Zachary used all his strength to scrub himself, to the point that his skin started to turn red from the excessive force he was using. Tessa’s name was like a mantra on his lips. The tears that fell from his eyes mixed with the soapy water and flowed downward.

“I’m not dirty. I’ll be clean once I wash myself. Don’t hate me…”

…

Tessa returned to her room. Her

emotions had not yet calmed down. The recording that Zachary had

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played for her earlier was clearly Susan’s voice. Had she really been spirited away right under the police’s nosès? Why didn’t Stephen tell her? What was the urgent issue he had to handle tonight? Was it really related to Susan?

Tessa lay on the bed. She tossed and turned but sleep eluded her. After battling with herself for a long time, she finally decided to give Stephen a call. The dial tone went on for a long time, but the call didn’t connect. It ended up disconnecting automatically after a long time passed.

This was the first time that Stephen had ignored her call. Tessa’s heart was plunged into further turmoil. She continued to lay on the bed as images of what

happened a month ago played in her mind’s eye.

Susan looked utterly lovesick

whenever her eyes were on Stephen. When she saw Stephen and Tessa locked in an embrace, she tried to stab Tessa with a knife. How could a woman love a man to the point of insanity? Even if she had loved him for 10 years, she shouldn’t have been distressed to the point she wanted to murder someone.

Was there something else that Tessa didn’t know about?

When Stephen was stabbed, Susan had a mental breakdown. She had been crying while also laughing as if she had lost her mind. The fear and remorse she had shown had looked genuine. She had been truly terrified for Stephen’s life.

Tessa recalled the moment when Stephen had gotten hurt. She remembered it well. Stephen’s life had been on the line but he had comforted her instead. He had wiped away her tears, reassuring her gently and asking her not to cry.

He had been on the verge of death, but there had been nothing but relief shining

in his eyes. He was relieved that Tessa wasn’t the one who got hurt. Stephen loved her so much, so how could he possibly do something that would break her heart?