The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 482

Steven clearly did not believe me as he stared at me. I continued flippantly, "Regardless of what the future holds. I'm happy with the way things are now. I've earned more than I could ever dream of, and there's no point in being greedy and asking for more."

He froze. He hadn't expected Annalise to be so easily pleased or content. Had she always been like this, even while they were together? Would she have stayed if he had been a little nicer to her or showed that he cared?

His heart cracked at the idea. It was only then that Steven realized he had missed out on and lost a woman who had truly loved and cared for him. The love she'd had for him was pure and unconditional.

He frantically argued, "But Jessica wasn't as good as you when she started as a comic artist. She became better afterward."

"I already expected that." I knew Steven was still skeptical, not that it mattered. I said calmly, "You claimed you loved me, but what you failed to realize was that you were drawn to Jessica. You had always sided with her, even before our divorce.

"After we divorced, you thought you loved me and tried to win me back. But your actions proved otherwise." A dry chuckle escaped me as I added, "Remember how stingy you were with me? You had the money, but you refused to buy flowers for me.

"You said it was a waste of money and that the flowers would wilt in days. You said you'd rather bring us out for a proper meal than spend on such valueless things.

He seemed irked as he grumbled, "Was I wrong, though?"

"No, you weren't," I said with a nod. "But you didn't think that way when you bought Jessica flowers, did you?"