Page 211 of Tessa and Nash

His eyes flash with something primal, dangerous. He stands so suddenly that his chair scrapes against the floor with a screech, and I feel a wave of tension in my chest. But I don’t back away.

“You’re saying we should agree to their terms?” He spits the words like venom. “Let them come in here and take what’s ours?”

I stand my ground. “No, Thomas. I’m saying we’re going to take what we need, too. We’re going to get something from them that’s fair. They don’t get to bulldoze their way through here. They don’t get to rewrite the rules.”

The silence between us is thick and suffocating, but he mutters under his breath, the words slipping out in disbelief. “You’re seriously going to side with Nash McCoy on this?”

I don’t blink. “Yes. I am.”

His face contorts with rage, his eyes wild. “To the man you pretended to be engaged to?”

I swallow hard. “Yeah… that’s not so much pretend anymore.”

Understanding crashes over him, a wave that drowns everything else.

“You what?”

His anger is no longer just visible—it’s palpable, raw, and unhinged. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

But then the pity vanishes, replaced by a searing kind of disappointment.

“You’re dating him?” He spits the poisonous words. “I thought you had more sense than this, Tessa. You’re throwing everything away for him? For that McCoy piece of shit who’s done nothing but⁠—”

“Don’t you dare. Don’t you ever talk about him like that again.”

But Thomas isn’t listening anymore. His fury is spiraling out of control. “You’re dating Nash McCoy? After everything he’s done, everything his family’s done, and you’re choosing him over your own family?”

I stand tall, my chest tight with every word he spits. “You’ve wrecked everything, Tessa!” he yells, pacing back and forth like an animal caught in a cage. “You’re ruining this family! You’re ruining everything we’ve worked for, all because you’ve gone and fallen for him! Him! Of all people!”

His face is red with rage, his breath coming in sharp, heavy bursts, veins popping out of his neck. And with each insult, each accusation, I can feel the pieces of him I thought I knew shattering.

“I knew I never should’ve let you get mixed up with him. I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” he spits, his words jagged. My chest aches, but I don’t look away. “You’re an idiot. You’ve completely lost your mind! This is a betrayal! You’re betraying us all for him!”

“You don’t get to talk to me like that,” I snap, finally losing the last of my patience. “You don’t get to say I’m the one ruining everything when you’ve spent years holding onto a grudge that’s done nothing but tear us apart.”

Thomas steps forward, getting in my face. “I’ve protected this family. I’ve kept everything in line. And you think you can just walk in here and ruin it all for a McCoy? You’re choosing him, Tessa, and in doing so, you’re choosing to tear apart everything we’ve ever had!”

He stands there, chest heaving with his fury, but I don’t flinch.

“You’re making a huge mistake,” he mutters under his breath. “This isn’t just about the land, Tessa. This is about everything. You can’t just ignore the past.”

I shake my head slowly, the words coming out firm. “I’m not ignoring it. But I am moving on from it. This isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about building something better. For all of us. Something that moves us forward, not backward.”

For a long, heavy moment, he doesn’t speak. I can see the gears turning in his mind, his eyes flickering as he processes everything I just said. Maybe he’s starting to understand. Maybe not. But it doesn’t matter.

He speaks again, quieter now. “I don’t know if I can trust them. I don’t know if I can trust you to do this.”

“I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” I reply. “Not for you. Not for me. But for us. For this family. For this town.”

He stares at me for a long time, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking. It doesn’t matter. I’m not asking for his approval anymore.

“You think this is easy?” he mutters. “You think it’s all about money?”

“No. I think it’s about doing what’s right. You’ll benefit from this deal. More than you realize. But you need to let go of the past. You need to understand that this is what’s best for all of us.”

I turn to leave, but just as my hand grips the doorknob, I hear him mutter, low and dangerous, the word I’ve been expecting: “Money.”

I stop. My heart tightens, but I don’t turn around. Instead, I press down on the door handle and face him one last time.