His Unveiled Passion novel Chapter 253

However, Lester cropped out the lower half of the photo, leaving only the upper half where the two of them were visible. This completely changed the feel of the image. Without the background, it almost looked like a formal couple's portrait, similar to that of an official wedding picture.

That afternoon, Lester posted the picture to his social media feed.

His caption read, "A very special day."

The wording of this caption was not without a touch of calculation.

Since today was Valentine's Day, he deliberately avoided writing something direct like "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's." That would have been too obvious and might have annoyed Tessa.

At the same time, he refrained from using something entirely neutral like "Successful collaboration", which would have completely eliminated any room for misunderstanding.

The vague and ambiguous phrase "A very special day" struck just the right balance.

It would not make Tessa uncomfortable, yet it would be enough to mislead Stephen.

Lester had added Henry on Instagram since he had handled several cases for Henry's company.

There was no doubt that Henry would come across this post. Given his close relationship with Stephen, it was inevitable that Stephen would see it as well.

After posting the picture, Lester put his phone away, leaned back against the couch, and took a slow sip of red wine. He savored the moment with quiet satisfaction.

Meanwhile, when Tessa came across Lester's post, she casually tapped like before scrolling past it.

…

When Henry saw the same post, he immediately took a screenshot—with Tessa's like still visible—and sent it to Stephen.

"Someone made a move on your woman?"

"Why does this photo look like a wedding shot? I have to admit—they do make a good match."

Stephen stared at the message, his dark eyes turning cold.

The bright, carefree smile on Tessa's face in the photo pierced through him like a blade.

He remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on the image. Then, he made a call.

"How's the situation on James' end?"

It was past eight in the evening, but the jewelry store was still open. The store assistant quickly answered with a standard greeting.

Tessa spoke politely. "Hello, I just received a package from your store. I'd like to ask what's inside and who sent it."

"Could you provide your phone number? I'll check our records for you."

Tessa gave her number.

"Alright, please hold on while I check."

A short pause later, the assistant returned with an answer.

"Ms. Yates, correct?"

"Yes."

"Hello, Ms. Yates. According to our records, this package contains a necklace that was personally selected for you this afternoon by a man. He provided your address and phone number and specifically requested that it be delivered today."