The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

"Casper was stunned into silence for a long moment before finally speaking. "I'm

sorry. If only I'd been stronger back then—"

"It wouldn't have changed anything." Jessica cut him off.

Lately, she'd been seeing things a lot more clearly.

"The truth is, your parents have always been your number one priority," she

added. "To be honest, I've spent a lot of time thinking about everything that

happened between us and my life recently.

"I used to be completely lost, always depending on men. But lately, I've changed. I

started following Annalise and the others. Whatever they did, I'd do the same. And

somehow, by copying them, I ended up finding my way."

The only problem was that Jessica was mimicking them without fully

understanding why their methods worked. But she figured if she kept at it long

enough, she'd get the hang of it and make even more money. In fact, she had a

feeling she wasn't far from being financially comfortable.

"I can make my own money and spend it however I want, and I can take care of

my children, too. I don't have to bend over backward to please anyone. Once I

realized that, I finally understood why I'd been so awful to you."

Casper needed to know.

"Why?" he asked.

Suddenly, Jessica realized that her calm conversation with Casper was proof

she'd moved on.

"It's really simple," she said. "I didn't

want to accept the fact you left me. I

still couldn't bring myself to let go.

Back then, you told me you loved

me, and I was already in love with

you. If only you'd fought harder for

us, we could have been happy

together for the rest of our lives.

"But your parents lied, saying their company had gone bankrupt. Even when I told

you the truth, you still chose to stand by them no matter what, and you even

agreed to divorce me."

Tears welled up in Jessica's eyes as

she continued, "How was I supposed

to see that as anything but betrayal?

So, I held onto that resentment, I

hated you for leaving me and

couldn't let go because I loved you.

But lately, all of that love and hate

has faded."

Jessica had finally come to understand the value of keeping herself busy. When

making money took up all her focus, there wasn't much room left to dwell on

anything else.

Above all, she knew her hard work would eventually pay off as long as she found

the right way to earn money. This was unlike other areas of life, which offered no

guarantees.

"I know you've been working on a project with Zane, and it's been going well,"

Jessica said. "Why don't you return to your parents after it's finished? I'm done

with you, Casper."

Casper's mind went blank. It felt like

his heart was being torn in two, and

his face went pale. Even when he

divorced Jessica, and she left for her

home country, he hadn't felt this

kind of loss before.

He looked at her. Maybe it was because she was pregnant, but her expression

was softer than ever. She was so calm that she almost felt like a different person.noveldrama

There was a time when Jessica trusted Casper completely and relied on him. She

kept in touch with him even after she started dating Steven.

That just made Casper believe she was still his. He always thought she was with

Steven to make him jealous and their relationship wouldn't last.