The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Jessica continued, "The way men spend on me shows how highly they think of me, but Annalise is different. The men in her life must think she's cheap if they aren't willing to spend on her."

It was only after she sent this that she wrote another text revealing her true intentions. "So maybe you should reconsider dating Annalise and start going out with me instead. Perhaps then you'll see why all the men fawn over me."

Casper heard his phone chime with new messages and picked it up. Upon reading Jessica's texts, he felt his blood run cold. Whatever drive he had suddenly extinguished, replaced by disappointment.

He couldn't believe Jessica had used his heartfelt declaration to provoke another man into dating her. He felt like a fool for not seeing Jessica's true colors until

now.

Deciding he wouldn't go easy on Jessica anymore, Casper took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure. He couldn't understand why he had deluded himself into thinking she would still love him after his downfall.

She had betrayed him the moment he went bankrupt. When he was short on money after that, she demeaned him and treated him like dirt.

Casper should have come to his senses sooner and realized Jessica only had one true love—money. His heart tightened to the point of agonizing pain as he told himself not to let Jessica get her way this time.

He impassively picked up his phone and typed out aggressively, "What are you implying? We haven't even dated yet, and you're already eyeing my money? Do you expect me to hand you a hefty allowance?"

Casper was grateful that he had taken Zane's advice and created a secondary account to keep in touch with Jessica while disguised as Zane. If not, Jessica would continue manipulating him, and he'd believe she had good reasons for doing so.

Meanwhile, Jessica's heart leaped to her throat when she read the texts from "Zane": Did he think she was a gold-digger who only wanted his money? Desperate to clear her name, she immediately denied his accusations, "No!"

Casper scoffed and retorted viciously, "No? Then why did you tell me about those two men and how generous they are with you?"

She explained hurriedly, "I only wanted to show you how much I mean to them, unlike Annalise. She's worthless to them, and men clearly don't find her attractive enough to want to spend on her!"noveldrama

Casper's brows furrowed. Was Jessica implying that a woman's values lay in the money a man spent on her?

To be fair, Jessica's thinking had never been normal, to begin with. As such, Casper stopped himself from dwelling on her words.

If a man loved a woman, he would cherish her even if she did not spend his money. He would be head over heels for her.

Having thought this through, Casper

replied nonchalantly, "I think you should think of ways to make amends with Steven instead of bothering me with inane stories about your love life. If not, Steven might give you up for Annalise.

"You were talking about how Steven

must not care about Annalise if he couldn't be bothered to spend on her, but here's some food for

thought... Who do you think Steven

will choose if given a choice you or Annalise?"

Jessica knew, of course, that Steven wanted to reconcile with Annalise. Not that she planned to tell "Zane" this.

She carefully chose her words before replying, "Annalise has no interest in getting back together with Steven, which is why you have the upper hand against him."