Chapter 48~ A cruise date âDid you guys notice anything? Are you doing your jobs correctly? Tessa said she was being followed. How come you couldnât detect the danger around her?â Aaron snapped at his bodyguards.
Tessa grabbed his arm and stopped him, saying, âDonât be so hard on them. Whoever is sending those messages is good at staying hidden.â
It had been a few days since Tessa started receiving texts from the restricted number. At first, she thought it was one of Aaronâs admirers who somehow got a hold of her number and began to text her to scare her.
She thought it was just a crazy fan making some pranks on her, so she had ignored it.
However, it became too much and thatâs how she knew it wasnât a prank. She constantly felt like she was being watched. The text she received after she knocked off from work that day made alarm bells go off in her head.
It read, [I heard you have three kids. It will destroy you if something happens to them, right?]
The text made her stomach twist and turn. She couldnât keep quiet about it any longer and showed Aaron the messages she had been receiving. He became livid and began to scold Tessaâs bodyguards, thinking they werenât doing a good job.
They were in the hallway outside Tessaâs house because they didnât want to worry Elena.
âNo. Iâm still blaming them. Their job is to ensure your safety but they failed. Josh, Andrew, you two are my best men. What happened?â Aaron said and directed his last question to the two bodyguards.
âWe didnât notice anything, Sir. We were not careful enough. Iâll have the team do a thorough investigation,â Josh answered.
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. He glanced at Tessa and sighed, presenting, âIâll give the inspector a call. The police have to be involved in this matter as well. We need all the help we can get.â
âWho would do this though?â Tessa asked.
It was strange that an enemy would pop out of nowhere and target her. Was it someone she knew?
âI have no idea. Probably my business rivals. I have a lot of enemies, Tessa. This is why I wanted you and the kids to move in with me. I can only be at peace if I know you are safe,â Aaron replied with furrowed eyebrows.
He lacked his brain to try and figure out which one of his enemies would do such a thing but he came up with blanks. The only ones that he knew were either in jail, presumably dead or out of the Country.
Tessa sighed. She glanced at Aaron and uttered, âIâm not ready to move in with you, Aaron. We already discussed this â
1/5.
Chapter 48-A cruise date Aaron ran a hand through his hair. He pulled at his tie, feeling frustrated and then his eyes landed on the door of the apartment next to Tessaâs.
A thought occurred to him at that moment. He took out his phone and called Enock, his assistant.
âFind out who the apartment next to Tessaâs belongs to. I want to buy it. Offer them double the price,â he ordered.
Tessaâs eyes widened at his words. She looked at Aaron incredulously and questioned, âAre you crazy, why would you buy the apartment next door?â
Aaron shrugged. He put his phone back into his pocket and replied. âSince youâre not ready to live with me. Iâll move in next door so that I can protect you and our kids properly.â
Tessaâs heart fluttered. She shook her head and said, âThatâs not necessary. Donât waste money like that. Letâs do this, you can hire more bodyguards if that will make you feel at ease.â
Aaron nodded, âOk. Iâll do that.â
He went back into the house to say bye to the kids âReagan, Nia and Willa, I wonât be able to put you to sleep tonight. I have something to do,â he said.
The three childrenâs smiles dropped immediately. Reagan frowned and asked, âWhy canât you just live with us? I miss that time when we all stayed in the big mansion with Grandpa.â
âDaddy, are you still fighting with Mommy?â It was Willa who asked this time.
Tessa didnât know how to respond so Aaron stepped closer to the kids and went down on his haunches. He looked at his three kids and said, âNo, Mommy and I are not fighting. We are just working on something and then we will live together once itâs sorted, ok?â
The kids nodded and he smiled at them, saying, âI love you all so much.â
âWe love you too, Daddy,â the kids said in unison and glanced at their mother. âMommy, we love you too.â
âI love you all so so much,â Tessa replied with watery eyes.
She was touched that Aaron was there to answer some of the kidsâ difficult questions.
An hour later, Tessaâs mouth was almost reaching the ground when twenty bodyguards showed up at her apartment.
Five would be stationed outside the door and five would be inside. The remaining ten would be downstairs, patrolling and keeping watch..
She took out her phone and dialled Aaronâs number âI didnât mean you should fill up my house with bodyguards, Aaron,â she complained whilst in her bedroom.
âI canât take the risk, Tessa Iâm so worried. How can I sleep peacefully knowing my family is out. there alone with a threat looming over us? This is the only way I can be sure you will be safe. But Iâm not a hundred percent sure. Please, agree to live with me,â
Aaron said on the phone.
Tessa sighed. She looked out the window. There was a full moon that night and it made the night sky look bright. She loved the late-night phone conversations she had with Aaron every night.
Chap 48 A crome date For now, she wanted them to continue dating like this. They never really enjoyed dating back then.
âI want us to be like this for a while. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Every time that we are apart, we will yearn to be with each other and miss each otherâs presence. That way we will appreciate each other more,â she proposed.
There was a brief silence from the other side of the phone. Aaron dragged in a sharp breath and agreed, âI understand. Iâll be patient and wait for you. In the meantime, letâs date like never before.â
The two of them chatted for a whole two hours like teenagers who just developed crushes on each other. They talked about their future plans, business-wise. They discussed the kids and how they were going to raise them.
Aaron didnât forget to flirt and tease Tessa, making her blush despite the distance. It was already past midnight when they decided to call it a night.
âGoodnight, Tessa. I love you, sweet dreams.â
âGoodnight, Aaron.â
âAnd?â
âAnd what?â
âAre you not going to say you love me too?â
Tessa chuckled and replied, âThat word wonât come that easily, Mr Wentworth. Sleep tight.â
When she cut the call, Tessa went to the childrenâs room to check up on them. She covered them properly and pecked their foreheads before going back to her bedroom.
She had just gotten into bed when her phone rang. Her lips curved upwards into a smile as she picked the phone up, thinking it was Aaron.
âMiss me already?â
However, her smile got wiped off her face when she heard a disguised creepy voice coming through the phone.
âHello, Tessa.â
Tessaâs heart jumped to her throat. She sat up straight, her stomach twisting.
âWho are you? What the hell do you want?â She questioned.
The disguised voice chuckled darkly, sending an eerie chill down Tessaâs spine.
âThatâs for me to know and you to find out. Iâm coming for you, Tessa.â
âWhat the fuck do you want?!â Tessa was so enraged that she ended up cussing.
Receiving threats from a restricted number had stressed her out. She was worried sick about her family.
The disguised villainy voice laughed and then said, âRevenge, Tessa. I want revenge. Tell your man I said, game on.â
Chap³â) 48â A cruise date The next day was a Friday. Tessa was out of it as she sat in her office. She had called Aaron the moment the mysterious caller hung up and he rushed back to her apartment where he spent the night on the couch.
He later engaged police and military protection for Tessa, the kids and Elena in addition to the professionally trained bodyguards.
Even though the police and the military were on the case, Tessa couldnât help but feel uneasy.
âWho could it be?â she thought silently.
Her mind drifted to someone but she shook her head, saying, âIt canât be. He jumped off the cliff.â G However, she just couldnât figure out who would go to such an extent of stalking and sending creepy messages to her.
Michelle knocked on her door and invited herself in. She had a huge white box in her hands that she placed on Tessaâs table.
Tessa arched an eyebrow at her, asking, âWhat is this?â
Michelle shrugged and responded, âI donât know. Why donât you open it and see for yourself.â
âWhere did it come from?â Tessa inquired.
âSomeone gave it to me on my way up. He said it was a delivery for you,â Michelle replied and sighed.
âIâm sure itâs from your billionaire baby daddy. At least heâs trying his best to make you smile. While the man who left me after two days of hot sex is ignoring me.â
Tessa had managed to get Grahamâs number from Aaron. At first, Aaron refused because he thought Tessa had a crush on Graham. He was so jealous. But when she explained why she was asking for his line, he finally gave it to her.
âHe didnât pick up your call?â Tessa asked.
Michelle shook her head and replied, âNo. Not only that, he switched off his phone. I left him a message but thereâs been no response yet.â
âYou know how it is in the military. Maybe heâs on a mission or something,â Tessa consoled.
âYeah thatâs why Iâm upset with myself right now. Why did I have drinks with him? Now I canât stop thinking about him and heâs nowhere to be found,â Michelle sighed and turned to leave, âIâm just going to bury myself in work. Iâm probably just infatuated.
The crush will be gone after a few days and Iâll find someone else to crush on â
When Tessa was left alone, she got to her feet and opened the box. She gasped when she saw a dazzling champagne rose gown in it. There was a pair of embellished heels and diamond earrings with another diamond necklace. A pink one this time.
Her lips curved into a warm smile, knowing the box was from Aaron She couldnât help the butterflies that went wild in her stomach She picked up the note in the box, her heart raced as she read the words that were written on it in Chappé· 48- A cruise date Aaronâs cursive handwriting.
[Join me for a weekend away in the middle of the ocean. Letâs go on a cruise date.]