The Unveiled Rose

Now, Annalise had become gentle yet strong.

Even though Zane had been angry moments ago, holding Annalise made all negative emotions vanish. His heart felt incredibly calm. Once Rowena's matters were settled, Zane wouldn't bother with her anymore.

He called Eric and said, "I want everyone at the kindergarten to know about what Jessica has done before school starts tomorrow."

"Understood."

...

Zachary pushed the door open and saw the living room's lights were on.

Steven immediately approached him. "Why are you back so late?"

Zachary looked uninterested. "I already briefed you over the phone."

Seeing the sadness on Zachary's face, Steven didn't know what else to say.

Now that Steven was treating her better, Jessica knew she needed to seize the opportunity and run her act well. She supported her belly and stood up. "Zachary, do you know how worried we've been?" Zachary calmly glanced at her before looking away again. He didn't say anything, quietly returning to his bedroom.

Jessica looked at Steven, and the latter spoke softly, "I know you're worried he might get into trouble, but the child is just throwing a tantrum. You don't have to mind him. Go to sleep first."

Jessica walked to the bedroom door reluctantly. However, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "Will you come find me tonight?"

Even when he didn't love Annalise, he was unwilling to sleep in separate rooms with her. Since he loved Jessica now...

Steven thought that if Jessica was pregnant and unable to do anything, he should feel happy just being in the same space as her. So, he nodded in agreement. "Mm."

Jessica hid the smug look in her eyes and turned to walk into the bedroom.

Steven walked to Zachary's room and reached his door. "Son."

"Dad, I'm exhausted," Zachary replied wearily. "I just want to sleep right now. Can we talk about any problems tomorrow?"

His tone indicated he was rejecting any communication.

Steven didn't know what he had done wrong. But he could only leave.

After hesitating, he still went to Jessica's bedroom.

Jessica had not yet fallen asleep. She sat on the edge of the bed, unable to contain her joy. "Steven."

Steven sat down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Jessica candidly expressed her feelings, "You've been so indifferent to me these past few days. I keep feeling like you don't love me anymore."

Annalise had said the same thing before.

He recalled how Annalise had looked down, hesitating and troubled, and he felt a wave of pleasure. And what did he do next? He held her hand and kissed her until her cheeks flushed, and she gazed at him with playful eyes. Only then did he stop teasing her. At that moment, he felt happy.

But now?

Steven felt impatient and even more confused. Wasn't he in love with Jessica?

Logically, he should feel delighted because Jessica's vulnerability indicated that she cared about his feelings, too.

He couldn't figure out the reason. Yet, he could only force himself to suppress the annoyance brewing inside him, along with the faint sense of rejection toward Jessica.

"How could that be, Jessica? Everyone says you are the woman I love most."

Tears filled Jessica's eyes. "That's good."

As she spoke, she cautiously leaned into Steven's embrace.

Steven instinctively wanted to push her away.