The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

If Steven had shown his willingness to spend on her, she probably wouldn't have landed in such a tough spot.

"Anna only has one job when she's at our place-taking care of Willow-and I pay her 80 thousand dollars a month," Zane said, stressing every word. "But when she was with you, she had to handle everything, didn't she? So, how much were you paying her for that?" Steven bristled. "Does it actually come down to money?"noveldrama

"Of course it does," Zane replied evenly. "When Anna was at your place, she never asked for anything-not even money-and in the end, she walked away with nothing. As an adult, she'll naturally turn her past mistakes into lessons.

"She knows that putting everything in without expecting anything back doesn't get her anywhere. That's why, moving forward, she'll make sure she gets proper compensation for her efforts. How many people would offer her as much as I do?" After a moment of consideration, Steven had to admit that no one would pay her as much aside from Zane. The realization made him feel worse.

Zane added confidently, "Which is why your claim that she'd do the same for any other child doesn't make sense. She'd only come to my place to be Willow's mom."

"You're not the only man out there willing to spend money on a woman," Steven shot back without missing a beat. "Have you seen what I've spent on Jessica?" Zane didn't argue. Instead, he calmly asked, "Then why didn't you spend a cent on Anna when you were with her?"