The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Zane's phone rang the moment the bedroom door clicked shut. He glanced at the screen to find Steven calling. He stayed expressionless as he answered, "What do you need?" "Put Annalise on the phone. I need to talk to her." Steven sounded in a hurry.

"She's in the middle of putting Willow to bed. I doubt she has time to talk now," Zane replied flatly.

Steven was amused. "If you love Annalise so much, why leave her to handle everything? Look at me I don't love Jessica, but I've got people at her beck and call. Your love for Annalise doesn't seem all that deep." His voice was thick with sarcasm. Zane could hear the mockery, but he didn't feel the need to take the bait.

"Didn't you know that Anna loves kids?" Zane asked. "She only starts her part-time job once Willow heads off to school. But as soon as Willow's home, Anna's all about spending time with her." Steven's expression soured instantly.

Zane continued, "It's exactly because she cares so much about kids that she swallowed her pride when you and Jessica were making things miserable. She chose to bear with it, even when you gave her every reason to walk away.

2V

"She kept at it until you took Zachary and began cozying up to Jessica. You even caused her to lose the baby she was carrying. Otherwise, she would have put up with you for Zachary's sake." The words cut into Steven like a knife to the heart, and he muttered, "That's all in the past."

"Just like the way things are now,"

Zane said, slowing down his tone. "Anna earns far more from her

comic work than caring for metnoveldrama

yet she still prefers to spend time

with Willow. Why do you think that

is?

At first, Annalise might have taken the job for the money, but after spending time with Willow, she had clearly grown attached to Willow. She now considered Willow as her daughter.

Steven, however, remained defiant. "She'd do the same if it were anyone else's child."

In other words, Willow wasn't anything special.

Zane thought Steven was

unreasonable, but he didn't call him out. Instead, he asked, "Is that how you see it? But Steven, when Anna

was together with you, you never

bothered to pay her, never"

you?