Chapter 229 Tension–filled
TESSA
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I could already feel the ache in my arms when I walked home, the water jug digging against my palms. It wasn’t heavy in the way it had been weeks ago. My body was used to these small burdens, but tonight, it felt heavier than usual. Maybe because my thoughts had been tangled all day. Or maybe because I kept seeing Rowan’s face when I closed my eyes.
And just like I feared, there he was. His shoulders were slumped, his shirt sticking to his back, a thinyer of dust clinging to him from the renovation work at the clinic. He looked utterly exhausted, light strands of hair sticking to his forehead. Still, the moment he saw me, he reached forward and took the jug from my hands.
“I can do it,” I snapped, ring up at him.
“I know,” he muttered. “But I still want to do it for you.”
The way he said it caught me off guard. It was a quiet insistence. I sighed, shaking my head, but I didn’t try to take the jug back. Fighting with him when he was like this felt pointless.
By the time we reached the house, I was ready to shoo him away. I didn’t want Ca to peek out the window or the door and see him again. She was clever. She’d notice patterns. When he inevitably leaves, she’d just be disappointed.
“Put it on the steps,” I told him.
He frowned, but he obeyed, setting the jug down carefully on the steps leading to the small house. His hands lingered there for a moment, scratched and bruised. My heart clenched before I could stop it.
“Leave,” I said firmly.
He pursed his lips. For a moment, I thought he’d argue. Instead, he swallowed, his voice quiet when he asked, “Can I have some water?”
I crossed my arms, trying to hold onto the wall I’d built. “Have it at Edith’s house.”
His eyes flickered with hurt and resignation. Afterward, he said in a much softer voice, “Can I
see Ca?”
I bit my lip, not allowing myself to answer.
My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth. Was I being too harsh? Or was this exactly what
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Chapter 229 Tension–filled
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he deserved? He had shattered me once. Didn’t he deserve to feel the weight of the walls he built with his betrayal?
But even as I thought it, my gaze betrayed me. His hands were rougher now, the skin broken in small ces. His shoulders seemed smaller, like he’d been running himself ragged.
I bent down, meaning to take the jug myself and carry it inside before Ca noticed. But before my fingers could even curl around it, Rowan stepped in.
“I’ve got it,” he said.
“Rowan-
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“Please, Tessa.”
Just then, my foot caught on the edge of the step, his arm brushed mine as he reached for the jug, and before I could correct myself, we were both stumbling. The water sloshed violently. He shoved the jug away at thest second to keep it from bursting, and instead, I toppled forward, right onto him.
His back hit the ground with a dull thud, and Inded on top of him, breath knocked from my chest. My palms pressed against his chest for bnce, and his arm instinctively curled around my waist, steadying me.
For a heartbeat, maybe two, I couldn’t breathe. His scent flooded me, stealing the air from my lungs. His chest rose and fell beneath me, and I could feel the strength still there, even if he looked worn down.
My breath hitched.
I lifted
my head, ready to scramble away, to spit out some sharp remark that would cut the moment to pieces. But then I saw his eyes filled with real concern, and I couldn’t find myself to
move.
His hand didn’t tighten possessively around my waist–it stayed there like an anchor.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly.
The question broke something inside me.
I should have leapt up and put as much distance between us as possible. However, my body refused to move. My heart betrayed me with its frantic hammering.
I stared down at him, my hair falling loose around my face.
<b>13:29 </b><b>Thu</b>, <b>Sep </b><b>11 </b>
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Chapter 229 Tension–filled
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His hand was still on my waist. My breath stuttered as I tried to calm myself, but it was impossible. He was so close. I could see every detail of his face–the flecks of gold in his irises, the faint scar near his temple, and the shadows under his eyes that told me how hard he’d been working.
My throat went dry, my pulse racing in ces I didn’t want it to.
He smells good.
“Thank you,” he suddenly said, making my eyes widen.
Oh no. My stomach dropped. Had I said that out loud?
“I-” My mouth snapped shut. Heat red in
my cheeks.
His lips curved, but not in mockery. “You smell good, too,” he muttered under his breath.
My eyes widened even more. Just then, as if he couldn’t resist, he leaned in, closing the smallest space left between us, and inhaled.
“I missed your scent so much,” he confessed.
My resolve cracked right down the middle. I knew he wasn’t lying. I could feel it in the way he looked at me, like he’d been starved for years and suddenly found air.
I was no better. I found myself staring at him, memorizing the curve of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders, and the way his chest rose beneath my palms.
God, it felt good. His touch on my waist was firm but careful, grounding me and igniting fire all at once. My body leaned into it before my mind could catch up. My breath mingled with his, shallow and uneven.
“Rowan…” I whispered, though I didn’t even know if it was a plea to stop or to continue.
His eyes darkened at the sound of his name. He inched closer, his nose brushing against my temple, and I almost melted. The world seemed to blur, everything narrowing down to this one impossible, intoxicating moment.
Slowly, we started to lean in. His lips hovered just a breath away from mine, his gaze dipping from my eyes to my mouth and back again. My heart thundered so loudly I was sure he could
hear it.
I shouldn’t. I couldn’t.
And then-
<b>13:29 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>11 <b>N </b>
Chapter 229 Tension–filled
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A sharp force jolted through me. Rowan’s body was ripped away from mine so abruptly that I gasped, stumbling backward. The heat vanished, reced by cold shock.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” a furious voice demanded.
My eyes shot wide as I scrambled to my feet, heart mming in my chest. Rowan was sprawled on the ground, blinking in stunned surprise, his hand half–raised as though reaching for me.
I turned to the intruder.
“Owen?” I eximed.