Confrontation And Threats

Confrontation And Threats

Tessa stepped out of Damien’s car with the dessert boxes gently stacked in her arms. The afternoon sun had softened into a warm glow, brushing everything in soft gold. Damien stepped out too, closing the door behind him.

She turned to him with a bright, thankful smile. “Thank you for filling my system with so much sugar.”

Damien chuckled, slipping his hands casually into his pockets as he looked at her with warm eyes. “Oh, trust me… I look forward to filling your life with a lot more sweet things.”

She felt her cheeks warm immediately. That man had a way with words. Smooth, gentle, and disarming.

She laughed softly, shy. “Goodbye, Damien.”

“Goodbye, Tessa,” he said. “I’ll run back to the office now. I have a few last-minute things to finish before leaving.”

“Of course,” she nodded. “Thanks again.”

He took a few steps back, still watching her with that faint smile, then finally turned toward his car. Tessa turned toward her front door.

And froze.

Standing there, waiting like a nightmare she didn’t ask for, was Jordan. Her stomach lurched. She was so tired of this. Tired of the emotional invasion. Tired of the constant disturbance.

She walked straight past him, refusing to give him any kind of power. She didn’t even lift her head. She unlocked her door with one hand, dessert boxes balanced in the other.

Jordan tried to follow her inside.

She turned sharply, blocking the doorway completely.

“Jordan,” she said, her voice low and tight. “I really, really do not want to have a problem with you. And I’m very certain you do not want to have a problem with me either.”

Jordan scoffed. “Bring it on, Tessa. I really don’t care about you or what you think you are. But you cannot keep me away from my daughter.”

Tessa’s heart thudded painfully. Daughter?
Where was this coming from?

Jordan continued, voice raised, chest puffed in misplaced confidence. “You cannot deny me the right of being a father to my child.”

She stared at him, momentarily stunned.

This didn’t even sound like him, this was someone else’s script, someone else’s pressure. And she knew exactly whose voice echoed behind his words.

His mother.

Tessa swallowed and steadied her voice. “Naya is not your child.”

Jordan’s jaw tightened, rage scratching at the edges of his expression. “Do you think I’m stupid? She’s not my child? Whose child is she then?”

“I repeat,” she said, firmer this time. “Naya is not your child, Jordan. If she was, I would never kept her away from you. I’m not that kind of person.”

Jordan looked her up and down slowly, coldly. “I don’t know… maybe you’ve changed. Maybe you’re not the same Tessa I used to know.”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I’ve changed. I am not the Tessa you used to know. But I will never be the Tessa who denies a man his own child. So please leave.”

He stepped closer, face hardened. “Tessa, if you continue this nonsense, you give me no choice but to take you to court.”

Her breath weakened. “What?”

“You heard me,” he snapped. “I’m taking you to court. And if we end up there, I promise you I’m taking this child away from you. For good.”

The words were knives.

Her stomach twisted violently, knees wobbling. She clutched the dessert boxes tighter to keep from collapsing. He couldn’t be serious. Jordan? Court? Taking Naya from her?

Her vision blurred as she tried to steady her breathing. She whispered, “So that’s why you came back… right? You wanted me to let you close again so you could take her away from me.”

Jordan gave a short, humorless laugh. “Tessa, I don’t want to go back and forth with you. Dare me.”

He turned immediately, walked off like nothing he said mattered, got into his car, and drove away.

Leaving her there, stunned, shaking, barely breathing. She looked down at the dessert boxes clutched in her hands. Extra sweetness, now completely soured.

Her life had just tilted again.

She staggered inside, locked her door, and pressed her back against it. Her hands shook, her throat burned. Her eyes stung.

She had to call Maya.

……..

Damien walked into the office looking unusually cheerful, a lightness in his step. He carried a small dessert box fruitcake.

He pushed open Evelyn’s office door. “Hey, I got you your favorite.”

Evelyn looked up with a welcoming smile that froze the moment she saw what he was carrying. “Fruit cake?”

“You guess right,” Damien said, setting the box on her desk. “You love fruitcake, and since I don’t… I saved this one for you.”

“Oh?” she said, smile widening again. “You didn’t tell me you were stepping out to get me cake.”

He shrugged. “Well…I didn't just step out to buy you cake. I had a picnic date with Tessa and since you loved fruit cakes I decided to save you a box.”

Her smile fell so fast he almost heard it drop.

“You… what?” Her voice cracked, just slightly.

“A picnic,” he repeated casually. “I needed a break. You said so yourself.”

Evelyn blinked, processing but failing to process. “With everything going on at the office? The work overload? And you… you went for a picnic?”

“You told me I needed a vacation,” he reminded her gently.

“Yes, a vacation,” she said sharply. “Not disappearing during work hours!”

Damien raised a brow. “Are you forgetting I’m the boss? You want to query me?”

Her eyes flared. “Of course not. It’s your company. If it fails, it fails. If it succeeds, it succeeds. None of it rests on me.”

He stared at her, stunned. Why was she so worked up? So sharp? So… emotional?

There was a flicker in her eyes, a glint he’d never seen before. Jealousy. He didn’t know what to do with that. So he simply nodded and stepped into his office.

The moment the door shut, Evelyn’s hands started trembling.

She picked up the box of cake and threw it in the waste basket, grabbed her phone and dialed immediately.

“Michael,” she breathed.

He answered on the second ring. “Eve?”

“Did you get the private investigator?”

“Yes. I’ll send the number to you now.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

When she ended the call, she sat still for a long moment, staring at the fruitcake box in the waste basket.

Why Tessa? Why her? What did Damien see in her that he didn’t see in Evelyn?

She clenched her jaw.

She's been here for Damien, not just as a friend but also as a confidant. She's been here to hold him through his highs and his lows. Her family was in love with him, he was a perfect gentleman and she wants to build not just a lasting friendship with him, but also a family.

Tessa would not come from God knows where and ruin all that for her. Never.

In no time, Michael texted her the number of a good private investigator. She wants to know everything about who this Tessa Bloom lady really is.

She typed the numbers carefully and called.

“Hello, Boyde investigations…”