The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 190

When Jessica had first heard this rumor from Yvonne, she was utterly shocked.

Hearing Willow call Annalise "Mommy" made Jessica think that Zane was planning to marry Annalise, which unsettled her.

How could Annalise, after leaving Steven, still meet such an outstanding man?

But thankfully, it seemed Zane wasn't interested in Annalise, after all, making Jessica very pleased.

…

"Is there a problem?" I asked as I took a seat across from her.

Jessica propped her chin on her interlaced fingers. "Before you divorced Steven, you were a wealthy woman, after all. Every gift he gave you must've been worth a fortune.

"Even if things went south after the divorce, surely selling just one of those items would've been enough to keep you comfortable. There's no way you'd have to resort to working, right?"

It didn't take me long to understand why she had asked me to meet.

She just wanted me to know that Steven treated her better than he ever treated me.

Then, she would compare her life with mine, making herself look smart for making the right choice and living well while portraying me as foolish for ending up as someone's employee.

I leaned back in my chair.

Jessica feigned an exaggerated surprise. "Or are you telling me he never gave you anything at all?"

I had no interest in playing along. "You probably should know that better than anyone."

Jessica put on a mock look of concern. "I just don't get it. How is it that he's so stingy with you, yet he's been so generous with me?

"You two haven't divorced that long, and he's already gifted me a luxury villa and jewelry worth millions of dollars, maybe even tens of millions of dollars.

"Annalise, do you think that he never loved you?" Jessica asked maliciously.

I nodded. "Exactly."

Jessica hadn't expected me to admit it so easily, and she was stunned.

I looked at her with a hint of amusement.