Chapter 6 The Way He Said Dad .

Tessa couldn't breathe.

Nathan's voice still echoed, sharp and shaken-

"Dad?"

Like it wasn't a question, it was a blade slicing through the hallway.

She stepped back so fast her heel caught on the rug. She stumbled. Dorian didn't move. Didn't flinch. Just stood there watching Nathan like this moment had always been waiting for them, like he wanted it to happen.

Nathan's gaze swung between them, wild and raw, like he couldn't make the pieces fit. His mouth opened, then closed again-

Trying to find a version of this where it made sense.

Tessa opened her mouth.

"Nathan-"

"How long?"

He whispered with a broken voice.

"What? No-Nathan, I swear it's not-"

"How. Long."

This time it cracked like thunder. He stepped forward. Eyes dark.

This wasn't confusion anymore.

It was betrayal and it was heartbreak's uglier, meaner cousin.

Dorian finally spoke, calm and deadly.

"You should lower your voice."

Nathan blinked.

And then laughed-just once, bitter and stunned.

"You're not even denying it," he said. "You're just gonna stand there and act like this is normal?"

Tessa's voice shook.

"It's not what you think. I didn't plan it. I didn't want-"

But that part didn't even sound right in her own mouth.

Nathan turned on her like a storm.

"You're tutoring me. Flirting with him. What, did you want both of us?"

"I'm not sleeping with him," she snapped. "I haven't touched anyone."

"Oh," he said, too fast. Too cruel. "Yet."

That landed like spit in her face.

She felt the sting behind her eyes before the first tear even formed. And God, she hated herself for it.

Hated how small her voice sounded when she said,

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

Dorian turned, quiet and done.

Nathan looked at her like she was a stranger in his skin.

She walked out of the house like someone pushed her off the edge of something tall.

---

The night was too cold. Her body moved fast like it could outrun the shame sitting in her chest.

She hadn't cried,wasn't sure she would nor could.

Because right now, the only thing holding her together was the weight of not falling apart.

She'd gone over there hoping maybe she and Nathan could build something small-just a soft place to land. A second chance. A goodbye.

Instead, she let a man undress her with a breath.

Her phone buzzed and an unknown number popped up.

Are you still shaking?

She stared at the screen and didn't reply.

Because yeah was not from shame, but from how badly she wanted more.

---

Zara was still awake, perched on the kitchen counter in leggings and a hoodie, eating cereal like it was interrogation fuel.

Tessa dropped her bag. Sank into the couch.

Zara waited.

"You kissed him, didn't you?"

Tessa didn't say a word ..

Zara blinked, slow.

"Tell me you didn't touch him."

Tessa rubbed her face, couldn't look up.

"He touched me."

"Oh my fucking God."

Zara set the bowl down like she was preparing for an emotional crime scene.

"You're playing with a blowtorch in a gasoline dress."

"I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Of course you didn't. But fires don't wait for you to mean it."

Tessa looked up, her voice thin and haunted.

"He knew my mom."

Zara paused.

"What?"

"He said her name like he remembered her. Like he's been remembering her this whole time."

Zara stared.

"Okay, no. What the hell kind of generational thirst trap are you caught in?"

Tessa let out a hollow laugh.

Zara wasn't done.

"Tess. This man-he's older. He's dangerous. He is your ex's father. Do you even hear the sirens right now?"

"He's not my ex."

"That is not the point."

Tessa stood up too fast.

"He doesn't act like he wants anything. He just-he just shows up and makes me feel like I'm on fire and nobody's throwing water."

Zara narrowed her eyes.

"And do you like it?"

Tessa didn't answer.

Because the answer was yes.

Yes. She fucking did.

---

The phone rang at 2:14 a.m.

She didn't recognize the number. She answered anyway.

"Couldn't sleep?"

His voice was low and slow like black velvet over bare skin.

She didn't speak.

"If you had kissed him tonight," Dorian said, "would you have thought about me?"

Her breath left in a shiver.

Her body said yes but her pride didn't answer.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered.

Silence on the line.

Then-

"Because I've already had a taste," he said. "And now I want the rest."

She hung up.

But her hands didn't stop trembling.

---

The next morning, the diner was chaos and she was barely holding together. Orders blurred. Plates slipped. Her apron string wouldn't stay tied. She hadn't eaten. Her thoughts were a mess.

And then Evelyn Cross walked in like she was floating. Pale silk. Pearls. Perfection. She took a booth like she owned the damn place.

Tessa almost dropped her tray.

Evelyn smiled. Crooked. Controlled.

"Coffee," she said. "Black. You remember how I take it, don't you?"

Tessa nodded. Moved. Returned with the cup.

Evelyn didn't thank her. Just took a sip. Then placed the cup down like it offended her.

"It's a dangerous thing," she said calmly, "getting close to men who don't ask permission."

Tessa froze.

Evelyn didn't look at her.

But she didn't need to.

"Especially when those men belong to families that chew girls like you up for sport."

Then she looked up, slow and slicing.

Eyes like ice.

"I do hope you're not about to make the same mistake your mother did."

Tessa's blood went cold.