The Unveiled Rose

"She'd be scared that I'd drink too much when I went drinking with you guys back then," said Steven. "She would tell me not to drink too much. She'd advise me not to drink at all."

He continued reminiscing. "And when I reached home, she'd take good care of me and prepare some hangover remedies."

Those memories were imprinted deeply in his mind, and, looking back, Steven realized that he had lost a woman who loved him with all her heart.

"I've lost her. No one will ever care about me like she did." Steven burst into tears after that.

Sympathizing with Steve, Gavin couldn't help but say, "It's just that the way you treat Jessica and Annalise is just..."

He paused as if to search for the right words to put it. "It's too easy to misunderstand. You like Annalise, but why did you treat her so badly?"

Before the divorce, Steven was nonchalant and scornful whenever he brought up anything regarding Annalise. It made Gavin and the others feel like it was Annalise who just wouldn't let Steven go and that Steven had no choice but to accept her feelings for him.

"You say you don't like Jessica, but you always seem to be concerned about her," said Gavin. "When she told you she liked some food, you'd buy it for her even if it meant going to the other end of the city."

He continued, "And when she said she wanted a luxury item, you'd buy it for her without even blinking. You never asked Annalise what she thought, and you even brought Zachary out to spend time with Jessica."

Only after Gavin brought this up did Steven realize that he'd actually done something that terrible.

"That's right," Steven mumbled.

Why did that happen? Steven had no clue. Was it because Annalise pampered him all the time and that she forgave him regardless of what he did?

And so, he thought that she loved him with her life and couldn't leave him. Was that why he hurt her over and over again without fearing the thought of losing her?

He had thought that he would have a place in her heart even if they got divorced. He also believed that she'd turn back and stay with him if he simply told her he'd leave Jessica.

However, Steven seemed to have forgotten that Annalise's heart wasn't made of stone. She was human, and humans could get hurt and had their own breaking points.

Steven felt as though someone stabbed his heart with a blade. The pain he felt was heart-wrenching.

Things shouldn't have come to this. He should've cherished her for loving him.

Steven lifted his arm to cover his eyes. He was wrong. He was so terribly, seriously mistaken.

...

Back at home, Zachary moved the two dolls beside Annalise to a position far away from her.

He snorted in disdain. Of course, they could be close over at Zane's house. But here, Annalise belonged to Zachary only. No one could take her away from him.

Zachary sat at the edge of the bed and picked up his tablet. Although Annalise blocked him, he didn't delete her number from his contacts. Their chat history was still on his tablet.

He scrolled up, his movement gradually slowing down when he realized that Annalise had cared deeply about him until Jessica showed up.

Annalise sent him lots of messages. Worried that he couldn't read them, she even sent him voice messages. All of these voice messages were full of her love and care for him. He randomly played one of the voice messages.

"Zach, are you scared, staying at Grandma's house with Daddy?"

"I miss you a lot, Zach."

Annalise's voice was as light and gentle as a feather.

"Do you miss me?"