The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

I told Dorothy, "My ex-mother-in-law just called to tell me I'm not good enough. She warned me not to even think about remarrying her son."

Dorothy looked incredulous. "You're already divorced! Isn't it delusional of her to say things like that to you still?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "She probably thinks I'm still the same pushover..." I added slowly, "The kind who lets her play the overbearing mother-in-law."

Dorothy frowned. "How did you put up with these people for so long?"

"Honestly..." I wondered the same thing. "Back then, I was so in love with Steven that I thought any sacrifice was worth it to be with him. I kept telling myself things would get better if I just endured.

"Then, I fell out of love. After that, I stopped caring so much. I just wanted to keep my distance." I was surprised by my own growth as I said this. "They're not part of my life anymore. So, they wouldn't affect my mood." Dorothy turned her attention back to Willow. "I'm glad you've moved on."

I nodded and agreed, "Me, too."Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

...

Chloe stared at her phone in disbelief after hearing the dial tone. How dare Annalise hang up on her? That was so disrespectful of her!

She had to demand Steven not to get back with Annalise! With that thought in mind, she immediately called him. "So, I reached out to Annalise after hearing about your plan to remarry her.

"I was going to be nice about it and maybe set some ground rules for how she should treat you and Zachary. But she told me to keep an eye on you and stop you from bothering her. Can you believe it?"

Chloe laughed bitterly. "Everyone used to know how much she loved you-"

"Mom." Steven felt exhausted. "She's over me."

Chloe nearly choked on her next words. "What?"

Steven told her the truth, "She has no intention of getting back together."

"She must be lying!" Chloe insisted. "You're handsome and wealthy-she'll never find a better man!"

She sounded so confident, but Steven felt lost hearing her words. Was he really as great as Chloe claimed? Probably not.

So what if he was wealthy? If

Annalise had cared about that, she

would have claimed her share in the divorce. After all, he had built his career during their marriage

But Annalise had not asked for anything. All she had wanted from their marriage was love, and that was the one thing he had failed to give her. Steven felt nothing but guilt.

"She has her own career now, and she makes over six figures."

To most people, that was serious money. But Chloe was too used their wealthy lifestyle, so she scoffed. "That's nothing compared to what you make!"

"Her income's growing." Steven had kept tabs on Annalise's success. "She'll probably outpace me soon."

Chloe knew Steven rarely lied. "Is she really doing that well?"

Steven was too weary to speak. "Yeah. So, she has no reason to settle for me anymore. Mom, she's been thriving without me..."

Chloe was defensive of him. "Settle for you? Any woman would be lucky to be your wife!"

Steven could not take Chloe's delusions anymore, so he hung up.