Imprisoned While Pregnant, She's Back for Payback novel Chapter 50

Chapter 50 The Price of Dignity

How could she still try to talk him out of selling the place?

After everything, this was the only stable home she and Layla had.

And now they were about to lose even that.

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Her savings, her grandma’s inheritance–it all felt like she was hitting rock bottom again.

Charles could see the look on Tess’s face. He gave her shoulder a light pat. “It’ll be okay. The house is old, yeah, but it’s a solid starter home in a good neighborhood. Once it’s auctioned off, I’ll finally be able to breathe a little easier.”

“But we’ll need to find a temporary place to rent for now,” he added.

“I’ll do what I can to make sure you and Layla have a decent setup. You’re still with me on this, right?”

Tess opened her mouth, about to shake her head.

What did he mean, “stick with him“?

She was grateful for everything he’d done as a friend.

But she couldn’t just keep leaning on him forever, dragging him down with her.

“No… I’ve actually been thinking of finding a place for me and Layla,” she began.

But then she caught the look in Charles’s eyes–red–rimmed and tired.

Tess paused, startled. Her words died in her throat. “Let’s talk about it later,” she said instead.

Charles smiled faintly. “Once this place is sold, we’ll move into one of the apartments above the firm. It’s got three bedrooms. We can even set up a little play area for Layla …

He could barely hide the hope in his voice as he pictured the future.

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He knew it–half of it was him trying to do right by her. The other half was the feelings he’d been trying to ignore for way too long.

Those apartments were for the law firm’s staff only. If they saw Tess and Layla living there with him, eating and sleeping under the same roof, everyone would assume they were a family.

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Chapter 50 The Price of Dignity

Tess didn’t respond.

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Taking her silence as agreement, Charles’s tired expression softened just a little. But then he thought about Finn–still a wild card–and that flicker of hope dimmed again.

“Even if it’s temporary… it means a lot to me,” he said quietly.

That was enough for him.

Once the auction plans were set, Charles got called back to the office.

Tess watched him leave. His posture was still upright, still composed. But the ease he used to carry was gone. It was like someone had strapped a heavy stone to his back, weighing him down with every step.

He looked like a man who’d aged years in just a few days.

She still remembered when they first met. He’d been that confident, sharp–witted young attorney everyone admired.

A wave of discomfort twisted in Tess’s chest.

Now, just days away from letting go of the only home they had left, he was running on fumes. He hadn’t even had time to enjoy these last moments in the house.

That night, he still hadn’t come back.

Tess sat by the window, unease creeping in.

He was rarely out this late. Had something happened?

Even if she was leaving, she still wanted to make sure he was safe.

She texted him, concern getting the better of her. All she got back was a short, dry reply. saying, “Go to sleep.”

Meanwhile, in the VIP room of a downtown bar, the overhead lights were off. The only glow came from flashing multicolored strobes spinning across the ceiling, with loud music pounding in the background.

Charles’s face was flushed, but the dim lighting masked most of it.

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