The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Maybe the night was too quiet, so Jessica's voice felt unusually soft. For once, Steven seemed genuinely moved.

"Don't worry. Even if Annalise and I get back together, I won't neglect you and the child," he said.

Jessica almost rolled her eyes. If Steven really cared about her and the child, how could she be with Zane?

However, she kept her thoughts to herself and said, "If it comes to that and you're still involved with me, Annalise won't be happy. For the sake of your future together, maybe it's best if we keep our distance." Steven didn't want to abandon his child. "What about the child?" he asked.

Jessica nearly said the child wasn't his, but she caught herself and swallowed the words just in time.

She replied, "You can visit the child occasionally if you want."

Upon hearing Steven's lack of response, Jessica added, "But honestly, it might be better if you don't. Otherwise, Annalise might get jealous. She'll start wondering if you still care about me."

Steven didn't respond immediately. Instead, he murmured, "Give me some time to think this through."

Jessica smiled contentedly. With Steven's money, she could invest in her comic. If it did well, she'd make a nice profit. Even if the comic wasn't a big hit and Steven managed to win Annalise back, marrying Zane would be a great fallback option. It seemed like a win-win situation.noveldrama

After hanging up the phone, Jessica leaned back on the couch and texted Zane.

"Steven's been going to the office to look for you every day. You must be so annoyed, huh?"

Casper furrowed his brow, suddenly struck by a thought. Jessica hadn't even broken up with Steven yet, but she was already in touch with Zane.

Did Jessica do the same thing when his family went bankrupt? Did she immediately contact Steven when she sensed things were going south, making sure that Steven still wanted her, before finally breaking things off?

When Casper realized this, he found it suddenly amusing. He laughed at himself, realizing how seriously he had cared about Jessica's feelings.

In those years they were together, Jessica got everything she wanted from Casper without hesitation.

What happened in the end?

Casper loved Jessica and treated her like a queen.

And Jessica? She only ever calculated what she could gain. She would stay as long as she could extract money from Casper. She was heartless.

Casper couldn't help but feel bitter,

but he dared not reveal his emotions in their conversation. Instead, he simply stared silently at their chat window, a storm of complicated feelings swirling inside him.

Jessica was not bothered about the lack of reply from Zane. She casually continued texting him.

"I think Annalise just doesn't value herself enough. She already has

someone as great as you, yet she's still secretly stirring things up with her ex-husband. We are such opposites. I have a boyfriend and I remain virtuous."

Casper didn't know why, but his chest ached so much that he couldn't hold back a laugh.

After switching to another phone, he opened their separate chat history.

There it was, clear as day-a message he'd sent to Jessica.

Her reply? She'd said she was tired and wanted to sleep.