The Unveiled Rose

Despite the absence of any physical intimacy between her and Steven, Jessica sensed that his feelings for her were slowly rekindling.

Back then, she was confident that once Steven was single again and free from moral constraints, their relationship would quickly develop. They would fall in love and grow very close, with Steven becoming obsessed with her. However, after employing every tactic to sabotage Steven and Annalise's marriage, she discovered that the reality was far from what she had envisioned.

Jessica was annoyed. Each time she expressed a wish to deepen their relationship, Steven would pull back. He seemed more at ease sticking to a friendship or a more distant connection.

Jessica rubbed her brows. She wondered if things would have been better if she had waited for Steven to love her completely before trying to get him to divorce Annalise.

The car was parked outside the villa. However, Zachary didn't even dare to roll down the window, anxious that Annalise might spot him.

He eagerly observed Annalise, who wore simple casual clothes and had a calm, comfortable expression he hadn't seen at home for a long time. Zachary felt a surge of envy.

At that moment, he realized he had never treated Annalise well in the past. He had met her secretly before, but he only spoke to her harshly.

Yet, Annalise was excessively patient with him. She didn't understand the reasons behind his temper. She believed he was simply unhappy and consistently tried to soothe him. Yet, beneath her smile lay a persistent sadness that she kept hidden, worried it might impact him.

In contrast, Annalise now radiated joy. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. She had to be living her best life now.

Mist clouded Zachary's eyes as he heard laughter and joy from the gate. Tears streamed down his cheeks, landing softly on the car seat.

Annalise hadn't spoken to him recently. Thinking of this, Zachary quickly wiped his tears. He hoped that Annalise would want to talk to him one day.

Annalise had resolutely decided to sever ties with him and would not engage in conversation anymore. Consequently, when he next saw Annalise at the school, he had to take the initiative to speak with her.

Willow was a determined girl. After running, she was sweaty and went upstairs to wash up. Then, she practiced a different speech than the one she had practiced yesterday.

She looked in the mirror and said resolutely, "I'm really happy to have you as my friend. Can we hang out this weekend? I struggle to speak, but I'll keep trying. As long as you want to be my friend, I know I'll be able to communicate with you someday." As I gazed at her, a flicker of respect stirred within my heart.