His Unveiled Passion novel Chapter 15

After hanging up the phone, Tessa reflected on the events of the evening.

Why would Wendy sneak into her room while she was showering? It couldn't have been for the innocent reason that Wendy had claimed. The woman must have had some other motive.

Tessa began to pace around the room, scrutinizing her belongings. Everything seemed in place, except for the broken porcelain doll.

Then, her gaze landed on the glass of milk on the nightstand.

She had a habit of drinking a warm glass of milk before bed.

The maid had prepared the milk before Tessa showered, ready for her to enjoy later. The porcelain doll had been placed there too, before it was broken.

Since Wendy was the one who had shattered the doll, it seemed she'd been near the nightstand when she entered the room.

That meant it was very likely Wendy had tampered with the milk.

Stephen arrived in Haverford three hours later.

By the time Tessa received his call, he was already on his way to the Evergreen Villa.

At that moment, she was hauling bags of unwanted items to the villa's garbage bins.

"Stephen, I won't be staying here tonight," she mentioned, walking toward the villa while still on the phone.

There were still more things to throw out, and with the maid off duty, she had decided to handle it herself.

Stephen simply replied, "Okay."

"Have you booked a hotel?" Tessa asked.

He then named a hotel.

"Alright, I'll book a room there too. We can meet later. You don't need to come here. Just head straight to the hotel."

She planned to finish packing and leave the villa that night.

It was time to say goodbye to Zachary.

Tessa placed her suitcase in the trunk and pulled out her phone to book a room, only to discover that the hotel was fully booked.

It turned out there was a major exam at a nearby school the next day, and almost every hotel within a few kilometers was already taken.

After some searching, she found only one budget motel with an available room. Tessa scrolled through the reviews and grimaced at both the photos and the negative comments.

One of the reviews read, "The soundproofing is awful. I couldn't sleep a wink because I could hear the couple next door so clearly. It felt like they were broadcasting live in my room."

Tessa understood.

She had a court hearing scheduled for 3:00 pm the following afternoon, and the drive there would take about three hours. Considering the time she needed to pack, shower, and have lunch, she had to be up by 10:00 am at the latest.

It was already 11:00 pm, and she was supposed to meet Stephen soon. She didn't have much time to rest.

If any noise disturbed her sleep during the night, she would definitely feel drowsy the next day.

After a brief moment of thought, she sent Stephen a message. "The hotel is fully booked, and all the nearby ones are too. Can you help me book a room, Stephen?"

While the regular rooms at those high-end hotels were all taken, they usually reserved luxury suites for VIPs.

After all, Stephen was the scion of the Jacobson family and the CEO of Jacobson Corporation, so booking a room would be easy for him.

He replied almost immediately. "My room is a duplex penthouse with two bedrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay with me for the night."

Tessa hesitated for a moment.

It had been over three years since she'd seen Stephen. Wasn't it too soon to be moving in together right after reconnecting?

However, where else could she find a place at this hour?

A duplex didn't seem like a bad idea. There were two separate rooms—one upstairs and one downstairs.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Tessa decided it was the best option.