The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Steven stood there silently as he watched Annalise walk away.

Initially, Jessica had thought of skipping the send-off for the kids, but she was worried that it might give Steven and Annalise a chance to reconnect. After wrestling with her thoughts, she finally decided to join Steven.

From atar, Jessica watched as Steven stopped Annalise. Though she couldn't hear their conversation, she could see Annalise's expression turning colder by the second, as if she didn't care about Steven.

Still, Jessica couldn't shake off her unease at Steven's reaction. She approached him and asked, "Does she still not see your good Intentions?"

Steven hummed in reply before getting into the car, and Jessica climbed into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt.

However, Steven didn't start the engine immediately. Instead, he looked at her and said, "Annalise used to love me so much. How could she just stop loving me like that?"

He seemed to struggle with the idea of it.

Upon hearing that, Jessica tightened her grip on the seatbelt, anxiety flooding her. What did he mean by that? She looked into Steven's eyes and noted the bewilderment he was going through, as if he couldn't accept what was happening. Jessica couldn't tell exactly how Steven was feeling, so she hesitated before she said, "I think she might be putting on a brave face."

Having heard her reply, Steven began to relax a little "Really? That's what I was thinking, too."

Just by his response, Jessica could tell what he was thinking about. But she went along with it. "Maybe she's just pretending strong before you, hoping you'll see her worth and make an effort to win her back."

to be

Steven scoffed. Did that mean his suspicions were right? That meant that Annalise still cared about him and loved him, right? With that thought in mind, his mood was lifted right away.

"Let's just ignore her. Once she sees that her little games aren't getting to me, she'll come back in tears to say she's sorry, just like always." He then took Jessica's hand. "But I won't budge, because you're the one I've always loved." Jessica merely smiled without saying a word.

The driver took us down the road while Zane sat next to me in the back seat. He seemed to be worried that Steven's harassment might bother me, so he asked, "What did your ex-husband say to you?" Just hearing Steven's name made me feel sick.

"Just the same old stuff. He said he's 'seen through me and thinks I should quit 'acting.""I sighed. "He's so full of himself, always thinking that I'm his to control and can never leave him." "Good thing you're not," Zane said as he turned to me.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I chuckled. "Yeah. When I stopped counting on others and started living for myself..."

I met his gaze as I paused. Then, I added, "I realized that life isn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I feel so much more comfortable and free now."

Zane usually held a stoic gaze that concealed all of his emotions, yet they now displayed a hint of warmth. "Congrats, Annalise! From now on, you're no longer anyone's wile or mother. You're just you" "Thank you," I replied politely.

However, things weren't as easy as it turned out to be, for Zane had mentioned that Steven would keep coming after me. Just what was I supposed to do to completely shake him off?

I thought a lot about it, but I couldn't come to a definite conclusion, so I decided to move on and leave it be first.

Husham Corporation occupied an entire building-the lobby was on the first floor, while the cafeteria was on the second, and the offices started on the third