The Unveiled Rose

"Back then, for six years, Annalise gave me everything, her heart and soul," Steven muttered, his voice thick with frustration.

"And now, in such a short time, she's holding someone else's hand? Kissing another man?"novelbin

The more he spoke, the more it seemed to unravel him. Steven's mind echoed with one overwhelming thought-this shouldn't be happening.

Though deep down he knew the fault was his, Steven instinctively shifted the blame onto Annalise, thinking it would ease his pain. But it only made the suffocating guilt worse.

His friends, watching him sob uncontrollably, all had the same thought.

Annalise didn't give up on him out of nowhere. For six years, he had treated her so poorly that she had likely lost hope long ago. She had only stayed because she couldn't bring herself to let go of their marriage, still holding on to the idea that things could be salvaged.

But Steven's affair with Jessica had been the final straw, shattering any remaining illusions Annalise had and pushing her to finally walk away.

The group exchanged glances, none daring to voice these truths aloud, afraid Steven might spiral even further.

Gavin, always tactful, tried to console him. "Yeah, she's in the wrong for moving on so fast."

Steven immediately snapped, his anger boiling over. "How dare you say that about her?"

The room went silent. His friends stared at one another, unsure how to respond.

He hadn't defended Annalise when he cheated on her, but now he wanted to protect her? What was the point?

...

Meanwhile, Chloe sat alone in the living room, waiting for Zachary to return home. When the clock struck ten and the door still hadn't opened, she knew this time he was genuinely upset. But she had no intention of indulging him.

If Zachary thought he could manipulate her into coddling Jessica's child out of guilt, he was sorely mistaken.

Chloe had made up her mind. She would play along just as Zachary demanded, but only to teach him a lesson-what it truly felt like to lose both a grandmother and a father.

Determined to play her role, Chloe stopped by Jessica's villa, this time not to reprimand her but to make amends. With bags full of gifts, she rang the doorbell, instructing the chauffeur to bring everything inside. The housekeeper opened the door, and Chloe entered, arms full of shopping bags, and set them down in the living room.

"These are all gifts carefully chosen just for you," Chloe said.

"Back when Annalise was married to Steven, I never went out of my way like this for her."

The implication was unmistakable-Chloe was treating Jessica far better than she ever had Annalise.

Jessica hid a sly grin behind a polite response. "Thank you, mom."

Chloe took Jessica's hand, her tone shifting to one of forced sincerity. "I know you and Steven are having issues, but all couples have arguments. What matters is how you work through them, don't you agree?" Jessica nodded, playing along. "Yes, absolutely."

"So, I think you should focus on patching things up with Steven. Your relationship is what matters most right now." Chloe continued.

Jessica fought the urge to roll her eyes but maintained her act. "I'd love to, but Steven won't even look at me. No matter how hard I try, I can't make any progress."