The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

"Stuck on what?" I asked.

Sasha got right to it. "Our company is all about guiding startups without direction to the right partners."

She had met plenty of people like that-entrepreneurs who leaped into business headfirst, running on pure adrenaline, only to realize later they had no clue what they were doing.

Her company's support would at least give those entrepreneurs a chance to stay afloat.

I still didn't see the problem after hearing her out.

"You're clear on what your company does, right?" I asked.

"The thing is, we need promotion..." Sasha hesitated. "Don't we?"

Her reasoning seemed sound.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"PR firms cost a fortune. Do you think we should just build our own PR department?" Sasha asked.

"That could work," I said. "But if you do, make sure you figure out how to handle profit-sharing. If you're not giving them a cut, you'll need to pay higher salaries to keep them motivated."

Sasha hadn't expected me to back her idea so quickly.

Delighted, she said, "I get it! Don't worry, I'll make sure that's taken care of."

We chatted a little longer before she hung up.

I set my phone down, and my thoughts drifted back to Zane. He actually wanted to marry me? It felt almost too surreal.

When I think back to my time with Steven, even when things were

going well between us, he'd always start pulling away whenever marriage came up. He'd come up with every excuse to avoid the topic.

swnovel.n

Back then, was so in love with him that I couldn't see it for what it really was. He was saying those things to push me away, hoping I would be the one to walk away.

I even thought he was serious about us-that he was just trying to approach marriage carefully by raising issues we'd need to address later.

At the time, I felt touched by his thoughtfulness. But now, I realized how naive I

was.noveldrama

After being with Zane now, I understood that men weren't any different from women when it came to worrying about the future.

Men, too, looked forward to the next step and desired the stability and commitment that marriage brought.

Comparing Zane to Steven made it painfully obvious who genuinely cared for me and who never did.

My phone buzzed with a new message. I glanced at it and saw it was from Zane.

"You said you want to hear Willow's opinion. Was that just a gentle way of turning me down?"

The question was simple, yet I could feel the worry behind it. A man as impressive as him was actually overthinking my words, afraid I might reject him.

I stared at the screen, a smile creeping onto my face before I even noticed.

"Of course not. We met because of Willow. She's the reason we got to know each other. And more than that, she's only just started getting better if we move forward without asking her, what do we do if she's against it?"

"Trust me—she won't be. She likes you a lot," Zane responded. Then, noticing

how hasty he had sounded, he quickly added, "It's the truth."

I took my time typing. "Let's get married if she's okay with it."