His Unveiled Passion

On New Year the next day, Tessa went back to the Yates residence.

Marianne and Samuel were both at home.

As soon as Tessa stepped through the door, Marianne greeted her with a smile. "Tess, you're back! Lunch is almost ready. Go wash your hands first."

Tessa had woken up with a hangover at 11 that morning. After taking a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, she drove home just in time for lunch. Seline ran over in her little leather shoes, hugging Tessa's leg. "Tessa!"

Smiling, Tessa reached into her bag, pulled out a thick envelope containing a generous allowance, and handed it to Seline. "Seline, Happy New Year!"

Seline's face lit up with a sweet smile as she took the envelope and planted a kiss on Tessa's cheek.

Samuel approached and handed her a gift bag. "Here's your New Year's present. Take a look."

Tessa opened the bag curiously and saw a set of keys and a property deed.

"This apartment's close to your law firm. It'll be more convenient for work," Samuel said calmly. "Young people like celebrating New Year's Eve out and about, so this is my New Year's gift to you. Marianne picked out the car-it's in the garage. You can check it out after lunch."

A warm wave of emotion swelled in Tessa's chest, and her eyes grew slightly misty. "Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Ms. Connors."

She accepted their kindness with gratitude.

After lunch, Tessa casually scrolled through her phone and noticed a new follow request on Instagram.

Her heart clenched. Holding her breath, she tapped to open it, only to feel a wave of disappointment wash over her.

It wasn't Stephen.

Zachary had long been blocked and deleted, so he couldn't add her anymore. Instead, he'd created a new account.

At first, she didn't recognize who it was, but the attached message made it clear soon enough.

"Have you broken up with Stephen? I told you men are all the same. You just wouldn't believe me. Tessa, come back to me."

Reading those two lines left a bitter taste in her mouth, as if she'd swallowed a fly.

She rejected the request and blocked any future messages from that account without hesitation.

The car Samuel had gifted her was a white Rolls-Royce Phantom. She left the blue Bentley that Stephen had given her to gather dust in the underground garage of the Yates residence and drove off in her new car instead.

The apartment was located in a high-end residential complex near her law firm. It was prime real estate in a city where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The place was over 2,000 square feet, fully furnished with modern, high-end appliances and decorated in the cozy cream-toned aesthetic she loved.

Tessa picked up her phone and called Michelle Mercer, the housekeeper at Grandview Garden, asking her to throw away everything that belonged to her in the villa.

On the other end of the line, Michelle agreed readily, but her eyes couldn't help but dart toward the man sitting on the couch.

After hanging up, she spoke cautiously. "Mr. Jacobson, Ms. Yates asked me to throw away all her belongings..."noveldrama

Stephen's voice carried a trace of exhaustion. "Don't throw anything away. Keep everything as it is. Make sure her room stays clean. She'll come back one day."

"Then... I..." Michelle hesitated, unsure how to continue.

She had been hired by Stephen specifically to cook for Tessa. Now that Tessa no longer lived there, who was she supposed to cook for? Was she about to lose her job?

After a moment of silence, Stephen spoke again, "She's moved into a new place. Who knows if the housekeeper there can cook the way she likes?"

A short 15 minutes later, Tessa's phone buzzed with another call from Michelle.

"Ms. Yates, Mr. Jacobson has let me go. I don't have a job now. Do you need a housekeeper at your new place?"

Tessa was stunned for a moment before quickly piecing it together.

Back when Stephen had hired Michelle, it had been solely to ensure that she ate well. Now that she'd moved out, it wasn't surprising that he'd let the housekeeper go.

Seeing Michelle would inevitably remind her of how Stephen had once gone out of his way to learn from the Somerton family's cook just to make meals that suited her taste and how he'd hired Michelle specifically to prepare the food she liked.

There was a time when Stephen had truly cared for her.

She wanted to turn Michelle down, but then she thought about how Michelle had

lost her source of income, and the words of refusal wouldn't come out.