Chapter 20

Tessa’s POV

“Leave her alone.”

I can read Evander’s lips and picture the way he says the words, voice is cold and commanding as he pulls me through the crowd of reporters and parents, shooting them angry glares as he passes. Still, the cameras keep flashing, and I know this is going to make the news in no time.

With Evander involved now, too.

Shit.

This is exactly why I didn’t want any of my coworkers telling Evander I’d ended up in the hospital.

Once we’re past the crowd, Evander looks me up and down. His gaze catches on the wound on my shoulder for a second, but he doesn’t dwell on it. He starts to say something, but his lips are moving too fast for me to read them.

I shake my head and point at my ears again.

Evander breathes out a heavy sigh. We drive back to the villa in silence, and once we’re past the house’s threshold together, he turns away from me completely.

Brokenhearted, I return to my bedroom and collapse onto my bed.

Much to my surprise, I hear the soft whumph of my body hitting the sheets, and it seems like my hearing may have improved ever so slightly again–thanks to the change in my shock levels, maybe.

This entire situation is such a mess.

They really want to take away my job?

And the very idea of me colluding with rogues–of being caught up in some kind of human trafficking scandal…

It all just seems so ridiculous, I can hardly fathom that any of it is real.

Now that my hearing is somewhat back, though, I should probably try to find Evander and talk to him.

I leave the bedroom and make my way down the hallway, heading toward the study. But just before I knock and alert anyone inside of my presence, I hear Evander and Mira’s voices floating through the door.

“I don’t see why Tessa doesn’t just resign,” Mira says, voice sickly sweet and hapless as ever. “After all, as a deaf person, she can’t even perform her job properly! Besides, she’s been in the news an awful lot these days. Her frequent appearances in the public eye will just end up damage both your image and the pack’s.”

Panic shoots through me.

If Mira manages to convince Evander that I need to quit…

No.

That would cost me everything.

I pull open the study door and burst into the room. Both Evander and Mira look over at me in surprise, but the words have already started spilling out of me.

“Please, Evander, don’t make me leave work,” I say desperately. “I need this job! Please, let me keep working as a kindergarten teacher. I don’t know what’s been happening lately, but I’m good at this job, and–”

My voice breaks. I can’t do this.

My original plan was to use both my teachers’ salary and the dividends from my father’s inheritance to raise my child. It would be enough to cover the two of us comfortably. But if I lose this job…

And Evander, as the kindergarten’s largest donor, has the power to directly influence what the school does about me.

I can’t lose my job.

Mira raises an eyebrow and sets a hand on her hip. “What can you do now, besides bring trouble to Evander and the pack?” She asks sharply. “You’ve become nothing but a liability.”

She pauses, then turns to Evander, a wicked grin creeping across her face. “You should probably announce your divorce immediately, so Tessa’s actions no longer have any effect on your image.”

I freeze for a moment, then nod. “That might be the best solution.”

If Evander and I are severed completely, there’s no reason he should want me out of a job, and I can live my life in peace.

But much to my surprise, that only seems to make Evander angrier.

“Just stay home for a couple days,” Evander says sharply.

My mouth falls open. “But–”

“Stay home, Tessa.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I shake my head slowly, trembling, then turn and leave the study.

My life might be over.

I end up taking the leave of absence–I have absolutely no choice in the matter. In the days that follow, the public outcry against me only continues to grow, with the human traffic scandal sparking widespread social attention.

Much to my horror, none of this seems to be going anywhere.

It’s on the third day of my leave that, on the phone with a colleague, he finally admits what I’ve been thinking all along.

“Unfortunately, I doubt you’re going to be coming back to work,” he says softly. “With the way Mr. Redding’s been hanging around this whole situation…”

I breathe out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hang in there, Tessa,” my coworker says.

I smile faintly. “I’m trying.”

The line clicks dead, and I stare up at the ceiling.

I can’t take it.

This is unbearable.

Something here has to change.

And it might as well be me.

I toss my phone onto my bed and rush out of my bedroom, hurrying towards Evander’s office. Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, I throw open the door.

“You have to let me go back to work.”

But much to my surprise, Evander’s not alone in his office.

Gabriel is there.

As soon as he sees me, he smiles. “Hello, Tessa–”

“Leave us.”

Evander’s cool voice echoes through the room.

Gabriel tilts his head. “You’re not letting her go to work?”

“It’s causing unnecessary complications," Evander says sharply. “And it’s none of your concern. Get out of here, Tessa.”

“At least hear her out!” Gabriel says kindly. “Why would you keep her from doing what she loves?”

At Gabriel’s interference, Evander’s expression clouds over even more, and a shiver runs through me.

“Evander, you can’t just keep me from–”

“Tessa, you’re a deaf woman!” The words are spoken so forcefully they knock me back a step. “If it weren’t for me, no kindergarten would even consider hiring you. And now, at this point, you want me to step in and fix things for you?”

Evander pauses, rubbing his temples. He looks angry. He looks exhausted. He stares at me, aghast.

“Is this your way of broadcasting to the world that you’re my deaf Luna?” He asks. “Using public pressure to force me not to divorce you?”

As he continues to snap at me, I stand there, rooted in place and quietly horrified.

After all our years of marriage…

Does he really think I’m capable of such awful manipulation?