The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 281

It was another message from Zane. "Since you're so worried about Jessica, her injury must be super serious, right?"

Even Steven was not dense enough to miss the sarcasm. He asked, "What are you getting at?"

Zane replied instantly, "How would you have felt if Annalise kept abandoning you for other men while you were married?" Steven had no answer.

Zane had expected this silence, so he did not mind it. He continued, "You would've been furious, just like Annalise was.

"She believed in your marriage and was sure you'd choose her. But after everything you did, she accepted that Jessica meant more to you. So, she finally gave up on you." Steven's eyes burned as he read each word...

Zane twisted the knife. "I don't know if you'd forgive Annalise for doing what you did, but I know she'll never forgive you. If she did, you'd just put her through it all over again." "That's impossible!" Steven protested.

"Ask yourself honestly..." Zane split his next message in two. "Could you really give up on Jessica?"

Steven did not know.

Zane continued, "Have you thought about what would happen if Annalise took you back? You'd think if she could forgive you after everything, she wouldn't mind about Jessica either. And you'd hurt her even worse." Reading through the messages, Steven latched onto one detail. He became overjoyed. "Did you say there's a chance Annalise might take me back? Is she thinking of forgiving me?" Zane could not believe how he had twisted things. But fearing Steven would keep pursuing Annalise without clarity, he quickly replied, "Not at all. I'm just explaining why she left you. "Steven, only a mistress would be able to put up with you."

...

Alone in the living room, Steven could not shake Zane's words. They rang true, even though he did not want to admit it.

Troubled, he messaged Gavin. "Do you want to get a drink?"

"Now?" Gavin replied immediately.

Steven glanced toward Jessica's bedroom. She was pregnant and alone. She would be scared.

"Tomorrow. The nanny and cook are off today, and Jessica's here alone. She's frightened."

Gavin was baffled. Hadn't Steven sworn he loved Annalise? Why was he with Jessica again?

He probed, "Have you realized you actually love Jessica?"

"No." Steven did not want any misunderstanding. "Why would you think that?"

Gavin was even more confused. "If you don't love her, why are you so concerned about her?"

Steven explained, "She's hurt."

Gavin took a deep breath. "But when Annalise was hospitalized so many times throughout your marriage, you never visited her."