Henry thought Tessa was just feeling sad about him having to be hospitalized. He got up and hugged her around the waist, burying his head in her neck. "It's my greatest fortune to have met you, Tessa."

Tessa didn't wear perfume. She smelled like the fresh scent of her shampoo. Henry loved the smell of her, and his breathing got increasingly heavier. His hand tightened around her waist.

Tessa's wound from the surgery in the morning was still fresh. Her face turned pale, and she took a sharp breath when his hand suddenly tightened around her waist.

Henry quickly released her, looking at her anxiously.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

Tessa forced a smile. "It's nothing. It's just that time of the month. My tummy doesn't feel that well."

He placed his warm palm on her lower abdomen while pulling her into his arms with his other hand.

"I'll help you warm up."

She did not push him away. She closed her eyes. That slight warmth could no longer warm up her heart, which had been chilled to its max.

Meeting Henry was her greatest misfortune.

…

Tessa woke up early the next day.

The rustling noises she made woke Henry up from his sleep. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Tessa packing all her clothes in the wardrobe into a suitcase. He jerked awake instantly. There was panic deep in his eyes.

"Why are you packing your clothes? Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm going back to the orphanage to see the director. I'm donating my old clothes to them." Tessa continued packing without looking up.

Henry would probably leave behind all her cheap clothing after she left in half a month. After all, he was a rich heir whose one pair of shoes was probably more expensive than everything put together in their rented house. It was better to donate her things to the orphanage than throw them out.

Henry quietly sighed with relief. He knew that Tessa had always been grateful to the orphanage and would bring stuff over every month.

"I'll accompany you there."

Ever since they got together, Henry would often visit the orphanage with Tessa.

However, she wasn't planning on going there with him today. This was the last time she would see the director and the children before she left the country. She wanted to have a proper goodbye with them.

Before she could reject him, Henry's phone suddenly rang. He looked at the name that popped up on the screen and quickly clenched it in his hand. He was a little nervous when he spoke. "My boss wants to talk to me. I'll pick up the call first."

He quickly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him.

This house was only about 110 square feet. It did not have a great soundproofing system. Tessa could hear the sickly-sweet voice of a woman from the other end of the call. "Come shopping with me, Henry. I feel down today. You have to accompany me."

Henry agreed without hesitation. He had the familiar apologetic look on his face when he walked out of the bathroom. "I'm so sorry, Tessa. I was away from work too long when I got hospitalized, and my boss wants me to start working today. I can't go to the orphanage with you."

Tessa did not expose his lie and nodded calmly. "Alright. You should go do your thing."

Henry quickly changed his clothes and left the house.

She watched him leave and was reminded of how he would always leave hurriedly in the past two years, especially late at night or when they were finally on a date. He would always use his boss needing him to work as an excuse.

She had once worried over him for working too hard and even tried to talk him into changing jobs.

He would always respond by hugging her from behind and leaning his chin on the top of her head. His tone would be filled with helplessness. "I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm just worried I won't have enough money to marry you. I don't want you to live a poor life with me."

Henry's loving words had touched her so much. After that, she took up chores at the university, in addition to her three part-time jobs, just to earn as much as possible—even if the amount was not that much.

Henry was working hard for their future, so she could not let him down.

Now that Tessa thought about it, she realized how stupid she was.

The last time she visited the orphanage, she promised to bring the children snacks. After packing up all her clothes, she headed to the supermarket.

She did not have much left in her account, but it was enough to bring smiles to the children's faces.

Tessa bought two huge bags of snacks. She carried them with great difficulty toward the subway.

When she walked past a cosmetics store, she heard a familiar voice. "Just buy everything. It's so much trouble to try them one by one."

Tessa looked in the direction of the voice. Henry was smiling fondly as his eyes focused on the woman in front of him.

Despite saying it was a lot of trouble, he obediently reached his arm out for the woman to try swatch lipstick colors on it.

Even though Tessa's memory from two years ago was a blur, it was not difficult to guess that this woman, who looked exquisite from head to toe, was Serene. It seemed like every time he used his boss as an excuse, he was really accompanying Serene.

Serene pouted while saying unhappily, "You're always with that working-class woman. Are you so reluctant to come shopping with me instead?"

Henry rubbed her head. There was adoration in his eyes. "Why would you think that? Aren't I doing this to get back at her for you? I'll get all of these for you. I'll continue shopping for clothes with you. I promise I'll be with you the entire day."

He waved his hand for the staff to pack up a full set of lipsticks.

The staff clearly knew them. She packed up their items expertly and took Henry's black card for payment. "That will be a hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Jennings. Thank you, and please come again."

A hundred thousand dollars.

Tessa nearly fell when she heard the amount.

In their past two years together, Tessa only had gotten some cheap gifts from Henry. The most expensive one was a silver bracelet that was about 15 dollars.

Tessa could not bear to wear it when she got the bracelet. She even kept it carefully inside a box.

However, she was now watching Henry cheer Serene up with a hundred thousand dollars, and it seemed to be something he did regularly.

This was the real Henry. He was someone who paid for things without looking at the price.

Tessa could no longer watch the rich couple being lovey-dovey, and she turned to leave. That was when her bags broke and all of her snacks fell everywhere on the ground.

The loud crash caught Henry's attention. When they met each other's eyes, Tessa could see Henry's eyes widen. There was panic in his eyes. He was at a loss for what to do.

"Tessa, didn't… Didn't you go to the orphanage?"

She pointed at the snacks on the ground. "I came here to buy something for the children."

Henry wanted to hide the shopping bags, but it was pointless. His hands were filled with them. "I… I'm here to accompany my boss' daughter to do some shopping. He has work today, so he got me to come shopping with her. I didn't buy any of these."

The more he explained, the more guilty he felt. His last words were the most unconvincing.

Tessa looked at the glaring brand logos on the shopping bags. Even though she did not recognize any of them, it was not difficult to guess how expensive they were when a mere set of lipsticks was worth a hundred thousand dollars.

"I didn't realize your boss was so rich."

Henry did not reply for fear of saying something wrong. He put the shopping bags down to help Tessa pick up all the snacks.

Serene smiled as she walked over. She placed her long, slender, and fair fingers on Henry's shoulder to stop him.

"Tessa, he shouldn't help you even if he's your boyfriend. He still needs to shop with me. That's his job today."

That was when Henry paused in his steps and looked hesitantly at Tessa. "My boss gave me the orders, Tessa. I…"

"I understand. I'll handle this on my own. You should continue shopping." Tessa stopped him from saying more.

What did she do to deserve an heir and heiress putting on a show for her? All she wanted was for them to leave.

Tessa crouched to the ground and started picking up the snacks.

Henry's fingers twitched, but Serene dragged him off in the end.

…

Every child in the orphanage was happy to see the snacks. They chattered while surrounding Tessa. She looked at the pure smiles on their faces and finally felt a tinge of warmth in her heart.

The director was curious to see her alone. "Where's Henry? Why isn't he here with you?"

Tessa pursed her lips. She had no idea what to answer.

The director thought they had gotten into an argument when she saw Tessa's reaction. She patted Tessa's shoulder and tried to advise her. "I watched you grow up, Tessa. I know you've always wanted a family of your own.

"Henry works three jobs a day just to save enough money to marry you. He stands up for you in the face of danger and always has fun with the children whenever he drops by the orphanage. You can tell from all of these that he's a good man. He's worth living your life with.

"Don't make any rash decisions out of anger. You should sit down with him and talk things through if there are any problems between you."

Tessa was filled with bitterness. She did not tell the director about Henry's cancer misdiagnosis. The director had no idea that Tessa even sold a kidney to 'save' him, only to find out everything was a lie.

The couple had spent every night and day together for two years. Tessa knew very well how good Henry was to her. However, she had given him her heart too. That was why her heart was filled with so much pain when she found out the truth. It shattered her.

When Tessa got home, Henry had prepared a table full of food for her.

"It was my job to accompany my boss' daughter as she shopped today, Tessa. I had no choice but to leave you there alone. I promise never to leave you behind like that again once I earn enough money."

He sounded apologetic and reproachful of himself.

Tessa had heard many similar lies from him. She no longer felt anything. All she did was grunt a reply and sat down to eat.

It could be because of their awkward encounter earlier, but they had their meal in silence.

Henry put down the cutlery and took out a box, handing it to her.

"It must've been hard on you to take care of me at the hospital, Tessa. My boss' daughter was in a good mood today, and she gave me a tip. I bought this present specially for you. Open it up and have a look."

Tessa took the box from Henry as he looked expectantly at her. She opened the box and saw that it was lipstick. The logo on the box looked exactly like the one on the set of lipsticks he bought for Serene earlier that day.

However…

Tessa felt the sticky bottom of the box and smiled sarcastically. The label must have been freshly peeled off. She did not have much knowledge of high-end brands, but she knew that only complimentary gifts would have labels stuck on them.

Henry had given her a free gift but bought Serene a set of lipsticks worth a hundred thousand dollars.

Tessa was probably just an orphan to Henry, and that was why she only deserved free gifts like this.

Henry was surprised by the lack of emotions on Tessa's face. She used to treat his gifts like treasures, but she did not react to his gift today.

"What's wrong? You don't like the shade? I don't understand cosmetics, so I got the staff to pick the shade for me."

Tessa put the box aside and shook her head. "There's no need to spend anything on me."

They were about to break up, after all. She did not want to be financially entangled with him in any way.

Henry sighed with relief. 'It seemed like she didn't want me to waste money like this.' He thought.

A familiar, adoring smile appeared on his face. "It's only right for me to spend money on my girlfriend. Besides, you spent your life savings on me. I should be spending on you too."

Tessa pursed her lips slightly but said nothing. She was exhausted from all the traveling today. She took a bath and went to bed early.

She was still sleeping the next morning when she was woken up by a call. She was still in a daze when Lawrence's anxious voice was heard on the other end of the call.

"Someone reported that your graduation thesis utilized fake data. The university wants to investigate your work."

Tessa jerked awake instantly. Faking data was a serious crime. It was a devastating accusation to anyone involved in research. If she were convicted of faking data, she would not be able to graduate. Even her placement to study overseas would be canceled.

However, she could not understand why someone would report her data was faked when she had worked hard through the night for a month to produce the data. Who could have reported her?

"Mr. Werner, you know that I got my data through experiments. I would never plagiarize."

Lawrence sighed heavily. "It's not enough that I believe you. But we need evidence. It's just that there's only less than half a month before you graduate. Even if you manage to submit the timeline of your experiment, you won't be in time to make it for your graduation review.

"The only way is to explain things to the person who made the report and get them to rescind it."

Tessa quickly asked, "Who reported me?"

"Serene Chord."

Tessa instantly felt helpless when she heard the name. Why did Serence insist on giving her trouble?

She had already convinced Henry to mess with Tessa's feelings, but that was not enough. Serene was even going as far as to ruin her academic life.

The other half of the bed beside her had turned cold. Henry was gone.

Tessa had no idea how to contact Serene. She did not even know where to find Serene.

She had no choice but to search for Chord Group's address online. Tessa quickly put on her clothes and rushed there in hopes of meeting Serence.

Tessa waited from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. It had been four hours, and she had not drunk a single drop of water. Her body had not recovered from the kidney removal. She could not withstand the long hours of standing and the hunger.

Just as she was about to collapse, two familiar figures appeared at the door. It was Serene and Henry.

Tessa clenched her teeth and pressed her hand down on her wound while stopping them.

Henry did not expect to see her there, and he became flustered. "Tessa, what are you doing here?"

All Tessa could think about was getting Serence to rescind the report. She did not care about anything else.

"Ms. Chord, I produced my data by working through the night in the laboratory. I didn't fake them. Please rescind your report."

Henry had no idea about this. "What's going on—"

Serene interrupted him with a smile, "Well, what can you do if I suspect you, Tessa? The university will investigate and dig out the truth."

It would take at least half a month for the university to investigate this. There would not be enough time for Tessa.

"Ms. Chord, tell me what I should do to convince you to rescind the report."

Tessa knew that Serene was doing this on purpose. It would be better to confront her rather than go in circles.

Serene played with her long nails nonchalantly. She did not even look at Tessa. "You disturbed my fun yesterday while shopping. How about this? Stand here and apologize to me loudly until I forgive you. I'll rescind the report after that. Sounds good?"

Henry frowned subtly. His hands, which were hanging by his sides, moved slightly, but he said nothing.

Tessa took a deep breath. She tried to suppress the wave of emotions within her.

As crowds of people walked in and out of the office entrance, Tessa began apologizing clearly and loudly. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

People from every corner of the building turned to look at her.

Tessa had never experienced such humiliation before. It felt like she was being stripped naked and thrown out into the streets while everyone jeered and sneered at her. However, she had no choice.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Serene laughed softly. "Why is your voice so soft?"

Tessa closed her eyes. She tried her best to hold back the discomfort coming from her stomach. She raised her voice to repeat her words robotically, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Tessa did not remember how many times she apologized while everyone around her sneered and Serene looked at her tauntingly. However, Serene stayed silent throughout.

All of a sudden, a group of people appeared with eggs and rotten vegetables. They flung them at Tessa. They shouted vulgarities while flinging things at her.

"Die, you plagiarizer!"

"Bitch!"

"Shameless woman!"

Tessa wanted to hide, but more and more people surrounded her. She could not move at all. Those people got even more brazen. Tessa felt the pain from getting her hair pulled. She wanted to call for help, but her voice was buried in the crowd's yells.

Someone reached a leg out to trip Tessa. Numerous feet stepped on her calf and arms, and multiple slaps landed on her face.

Tessa's surgery wound had not healed, and blood began to flow out of it. It was extremely painful.

As another foot was about to stomp on the surgery wound on her abdomen, Tessa closed her eyes in dejection.

"Get out of the way!"

A pair of big hands pushed away the crowd.

Tessa used the last of her strength to look up. There was a frightening look on Henry's face. When he saw the disheveled Tessa on the ground, panic and fear appeared in Henry's eyes.

The increasing pain in Tessa's abdomen was too intense. She could no longer take it and passed out.

…

When Tessa regained consciousness, all she could see was white. She could vaguely hear talking outside her ward.

"Who told you to arrange those people to be there?" Henry sounded furious.

"We just thought she was getting away too easily after only apologizing in public. She deserves something more serious. She needs to be punished anyway. Wasn't it good to arrange for those people? Two years is almost up. We won't have another opportunity to get her again after this."

"Don't you know someone might die from all that stomping? Her life would've been in danger if I hadn't saved her in time."

There was silence. Everyone was shocked by Henry's anger, and they spoke carefully.

"Why do you care if that woman is in danger, Henry? You aren't… in love with her, are you?"