Chapter 120 Chapter 120
Tessa
Hours later, my hands were still shaking and the city felt heavier, darker, and more dangerous. But for the first time in weeks, I felt something else too: protection, the unshakable certainty that Zaiel was there, and no one would touch me again. Somewhere deep inside, I couldn’t shake the awareness: this wasn’t over. The stalking, the threats, the terror ,it was only beginning. And Zaiel’s wrath promised it would only escalate from here.
But for now…for now, I was alive. I curled up on the couch, trembling, shaking, and exhausted. Zaiel didn’t leave my side and didn’t let me out of his sight. And for the first time, I realized something terrifying: my life had changed.
We were still there when my phone vibrated.
UNKNOWN: You thought you caught me? , that was just a pawn
My hands started shaking so hard I almost dropped my phone. Zaiel took it from me, and it was like a switch was flipped. That man wasn't the stalker; he was used. The real stalker was still out there.
The wedding was coming. Our new life together. But the stalker and the threats, I tried to put them aside and focus on the wedding. And I knew, deep down, that Zaiel would do anything, kill anyone, to make sure I survived to see that day.
By noon I was sitting at my desk pretending to work while my brain replayed every strange moment from the last few weeks. The flowers that showed up with no card. The calls that hung up when I answered. The feeling of being watched in the elevator. The way someone had known I switched coffee orders one random Tuesday, like it mattered to them.
I tapped my pen against the desk, trying to focus on the paperwork in front of me, but my eyes kept drifting toward the glass walls of the department. People moved normally outside. Laughed, talked, and complained about deadlines. It felt surreal that one of them might be the man unraveling my peace piece by piece.
Zaiel insisted I still come in today. Not because he wanted to risk me, but because he was setting bait, and my stomach twisted at that thought.
My phone vibrated. I stiffened, my pulse jumping, but this time it was Zaiel.
KAI: Stay until three. Then leave like normal. I’m close.
I stared at the message for a long second, then typed back a simple Okay.
I tried to act normal after that. I even laughed at one of my coworker’s jokes, though it sounded hollow in my own ears. Time dragged painfully slowly, every second stretching longer than the last. By the time the clock hit 2:57, my nerves felt like frayed wires sparking under my skin. At exactly three, I grabbed my bag and stood.
No one stopped me. No one looked at me strangely. It was just another workday ending like every other workday. That almost made it worse. It made it easier for him to hide. I walked to the elevator, my reflection staring back at me in the metal doors. I looked normal, calm, and collected, but on the inside, I was shaking.
The elevator dinged open to the parking garage, and cool air rushed over me as I stepped out. My heels clicked against the concrete floor, the sound echoing too loudly in the open space. I gripped my keys tighter between my fingers, my eyes scanning automatically. Halfway to the car, I felt it. That presence, that shift in the air, was like someone was standing too close without touching me.
“Miss Jansen.”
I froze, and I turned around slowly. It was Daniel.
He worked two floors above me. Quiet guy. Always polite. Always lingering slightly too long when conversations ended. My brain scrambled, trying to piece together every interaction I’d ever had with him. Every smile, every casual hello. Every moment that now felt wrong in hindsight. His eyes looked different today. Too intense, too bright, too focused on me, like I was the only thing in the world worth seeing.
“I figured it out,” he said softly, stepping closer.
My pulse slammed against my ribs.
“Figured what out?” I asked, keeping my voice steady even though my palms were sweating.
“You aren’t safe with him,” he said, his voice trembling slightly like he believed every word. “He watches you like you’re something to own. That isn’t love,” he said, and my stomach twisted violently.
“You’ve been watching me,” I said quietly.
His lips parted slightly, and for a second he looked almost relieved.
“I’ve been protecting you,” he corrected.
Fear slid cold and sharp down my spine.
“You sent the flowers.”
“Yes.”
“The messages.”
“Yes.”
“The calls.”
“Yes,” he repeated, stepping closer again. “I needed you to notice me. I needed you to see that someone actually cares about you.”
My throat tightened.
“I’m getting married,” I said carefully.
His expression flickered, something dark sliding across his face before smoothing into something disturbingly calm.
“You’re making a mistake,” he said. “He’ll destroy you eventually. I’ve watched the way he looks at people who come near you. That isn’t love. That’s possession.”
Suddenly footsteps echoed behind him, and he froze.
Zaiel stepped into the dim light of the garage like he’d been carved out of shadow itself. His expression was unreadable, but the air around him felt lethal. My breath left my lungs in a rush of relief and dread tangled together.
“You’ve been busy,” Zaiel said casually.
Daniel turned slowly, his jaw tightening.
“You think you own her,” Daniel snapped.
“I know she chose me,” Zaiel replied smoothly.
The tension between them snapped tight like a wire about to break. I stepped back instinctively, my heart pounding so hard it made my vision pulse. Daniel’s hands clenched at his sides, his breathing turning uneven.
“She deserves someone who worships her,” Daniel said hoarsely.
“I do,” Zaiel answered flatly. “You just worship the idea of her.”
Silence slammed down. Daniel lunged.
It happened so fast my brain barely processed it. Zaiel moved like he’d predicted every step before it even happened. He caught Daniel’s arm mid-swing, twisted sharply, and slammed him against the side of the car beside them. The impact echoed through the garage like a gunshot. Daniel gasped, struggling, but Zaiel held him pinned effortlessly.
“You terrorized her,” Zaiel said quietly, his voice dropping into something cold and final. “You stepped into a line you never should’ve seen.”
Daniel laughed weakly, blood trickling from his lip.
“She’ll thank me one day,” he rasped.
Zaiel’s eyes flicked toward me briefly, something soft flashing there before vanishing completely. Then he turned back to Daniel, and whatever I saw in his expression made my stomach drop.
“I doubt that,” he said.
Security rounded the corner moments later, followed by two officers Zaiel clearly had waiting nearby. Daniel fought as they dragged him away, shouting my name like it meant something sacred. I pressed my hands over my ears, my entire body shaking. He walked back to me slowly once Daniel disappeared from sight. He cupped my face gently, his thumbs brushing under my eyes like he was checking for cracks.