His Unveiled Passion

Tessa removed the wilting flowers from the vase and replaced them with Stephen's Pink Floyd roses.

The Pink Floyd roses were known for their vibrant colors. They were bold, passionate, and full of life.

These roses also held a romantic meaning in the language of flowers. It went along the lines of, "You flit across my dreams so carelessly, yet you've turned my heart into a fragrant garden of flowers."

Once she was done arranging the flowers, Tessa immediately recalled that the nurse claimed that Stephen had arrived 30 minutes ago.

Her breathing quickened at a certain possibility.

Could he still be here?

Her mind raced as the idea took root. She couldn't stop herself from wanting to find out. So, she pushed the door wide open before rushing toward the elevator.

It was 7:00 am, and the sunlight was starting to feel warm against her skin.

She was only wearing a simple pale purple dress when she left the elevator and darted toward the open-air parking lot outside the hospital.

A few minutes later, she felt her footsteps slow when she caught sight of the familiar figure standing right before her.

Stephen was indeed still here.

He was leaning against his Cullinan with his head lowered. He had a lit cigarette between his fingers. The white smoke curled in the air, swirling upward before fading away.

Stephen didn't notice Tessa was standing nearby, observing him from a distance.

He seemed lost in thought. It was as if there was a barrier between him and the world.

The early morning sunlight fell upon him, softening the sharp lines of his side profile.

It had been days since they'd last seen each other.

Tessa's breath hitched, and she instinctively took a few steps toward him.

then, unintentionally meeting Tessa's

it was as if someone had pressed pause

and threw it into the trash can next to

didn't like the

a smoker in

with all the chaos surrounding the Jacobsons in recent times. He had to handle both family and company affairs, working through the day and then the night. He barely had a moment of

his relationship with Tessa

a great deal, but they couldn't go back to how things were after everything. His heart ached whenever he thought of her, and the only way the pain would ease was when he drank

as he hated the thought of losing his rationality due to alcohol. Thus, he could only smoke

Stephen, making him take a hasty step back. "Don't come closer.

you hate the smell of cigarettes,

lowered his gaze, hiding the stormy emotions within. "I'm sorry. I only smoked because of

was worried that Tessa would be put off by the smell of smoke clinging to

Stephen before murmuring,

lowly, "It's good that

ask why he hadn't knocked on

it impossible to say the

Fortunately, Stephen seemed to

have

mind as he

to disturb your s didn't

slightly. "I

sol

silence seemed to stretch on

of them knew

while, Tessa spoke. "I'll

Stephen answered, his gaze

...

a call

moment? I