The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Chapter

45

I

After we sat down, the waiter handed us the menu to take our orders.This is the property of Nô-velDrama.Org.

pizza, describing the toppings on each one.

She nodded eagerly. "Yummy."

After going through the options, I asked her, "Which one do you want to try?"

Willow blinked and replied, "I want them all."

I handed the menu back to Zane and let him decide. Zane surely doted on Willow. He turned to the waiter and said, "One of each, please.

The waiter replied politely, "Sure"

Once the waiter left, Willow leaned into me and chattered excitedly, "Mommy, guess what?1 overheard my classmates talking about Zachary. He has been having a really tough time lately.

"After school, his new mommy doesn't even want to pick him up. He has to wait at the school gate until after 9:00 pm every day." Kids couldn't hold back their thoughts. They simply said whatever came to mind.

Willow whispered, "How could he be so dumb? He had such a great mommy, but he didn't appreciate it and chose a bad one instead." "Willow." I held her close. "Do you realize how lucky we are to be together as mother and daughter?"

Willow didn't quite understand why I was asking, but she nodded. I continued, "So why should we waste time on people who don't matter? Let's cherish the present and enjoy every second we have together, okay?"

"Okay!" Willow nodded seriously. She stood up, hugged me, and gave me a big kiss. "From now on, I'll only care about Mommy!"

Zane, who had been quietly listening, finally looked up and observed me intently. After a moment, he teased Willow, "So, does that mean you won't care about Daddy anymore?"

Willow pondered for a while before answering hesitantly, "Um. I care about Daddy, too!"

Zane could tell she was just saying it, but he didn't mind. His usually stern face softened into a smile.

In the past, Willow wouldn't utter a word no matter what she went through. But now, whether it was good or bad, she was willing to speakup. It was clear she was getting better, wasn't she? "Mommy." Zachary woke up from hunger. He knocked on Jessica's door. "I'm hungry, can you make me something to eat?"

Jessica responded impatiently, "Wait a little longer!"

already past 8:00 am." Zachary's voice grew softer. Jessica had become so mean. She wasn't like this before.

She finally got up, walked over, and handed him her phone. "Order takeout if you want something."

Zachary retorted in a low voice, "But delivery takes so long

Jessica snapped, "And making food for you doesn't waste my time?

Zachary was left speechless. When Annalise was around, she would get up early to make him breakfast whenever he wasn't feeling well. He looked up at Jessica, but she turned May and headed back to her room

"It you're not eating, then stay hungry. You can eat when your dad gets home."

Zachary was starving and quickly replied, "I'll eat!"

"Jessica handed him the phone again

"Later, I'm taking Cody out. We'll be back around 11:00 am."

Zachary was about to browse the takeout options when he heard her mention going out. He immediately put down the phone and asked, "What time are we leaving?"" Jessica met his eager eyes and coldly said,

not coming with us!"