The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

"But this is about Steven, so I can't let you deal with him alone. I must be there with you, or I won't feel right about it."

When I heard Zane say that, I stopped pushing and quietly headed downstairs.

Steven's car was parked right in front of Huxham Corporation. I watched him from a distance and slowly walked up to him.

Steven got straight to the point. "Annalise, I never said a word about you seeing someone else. Don't you think what you did is crossing the line?"

Suddenly, he couldn't help but feel pathetic, using a reason like that just to get close to Annalise. What was even worse was that just seeing her seemed to pull him out of his funk and back to feeling like a real person. For some reason, that felt oddly comforting, and he liked it.

Steven continued, "She's pregnant. How could you upset her like that?"noveldrama

I was confused. "Upset her? When did I even get the chance to do that? Steven, I'm not the one you can take your bad mood out on. Maybe I never mentioned this, but I'm totally buried in work. I've got my comic to focus on."

I had already started on the second volume.

"I'd spend every minute of my break on it if I could!" I added. "I barely have time to catch my breath, let alone do whatever you're accusing me of. You got that?"

Without missing a beat, Steven shot back, "She told me everything. Are you saying she's lying then?"

I was at a loss for words with how confident he sounded. I asked, "Fine, what exactly did I do?"

"You're using the fact that you're Zane's girlfriend to have your team push your work. Even if Jessica's

comic is better than yours, you're

blocking anyone from promoting it. How is that not on you?" Steven questioned.

Zane stepped in front of me, defending me. "That's not on her. I started the comic department to see how we could grow the comic publishing company using Anna's work. We need to get that right before we even think about bringing in other artists.

"We haven't expanded or officially planned to bring in more artists yet, but one of our editors went ahead and signed your girlfriend's work.

"That said, we've provided all the standard resources. So, there's no issue of targeting her or holding her back."

The way Zane defended Annalise hit Steven like a punch to the gut. In the six years they'd been together, he'd never once stood up for her like that. He wondered if she had been through more than he even realized. Steven couldn't help but blame himself. Why hadn't he noticed something was off when they were together? Why was he only seeing it now?

"Why are the resources you gave Annalise so much better?" Steven blurted.

"I've already explained that. We're only working on one book right now, so it's easier and cheaper to figure out how to run a comic publishing company, create a hit, and sell the merchandise," Zane said

о

matter-of-factly.

Steven went silent.

I stared at him, who looked blank, and said, "Look, I have no reason to do what you're accusing me of. I'd rather work on more pages if I've got any free time. "And if I'm too tired to draw, I'll take a break. Both of those things actually help me get better. So why would I go after Jessica? What would I even gain from that?"