The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Chapter 187

Sasha grinned widely, showing off her perfect white teeth, and then went ahead and piled more food onto my plate.

Seeing that, Zane wasn't about to back down, either.

Before long, there was more and more food being piled onto my plate. It soon looked like a small tower.

I could see they were still trying to outdo each other, so I couldn't help but ask, "Do you two really have to play Jenga with food on my plate?"

That made Zane pause, but Sasha still wasn't satisfied and dropped two more pieces of meat onto my plate.

I laughed helplessly. "Do you think I can eat all of this?"

Sasha smiled encouragingly. "I believe in you. You can do it!"

I crushed her enthusiasm with a smile. "You can believe in me all you want, but I'm not turning into a bottomless pit!"

Zane calmly said, "You can ignore the food she gave you, but you'd better finish what I gave you."

Zane-the grown man-to show such a childish side. "That's

frustration clear, they both reluctantly retrieved some of the food

given up. However, I shot her a look that made her

one, Zane noticed Sasha had backed down and quietly returned

...

chair, a thoughtful frown crossing his face. With Jessica gone, he finally had the space to think-really think-about

said he hated Annalise, but was it

shared. Nothing about it bothered him, not even sharing a bed at night. Whether his eyes were open or closed, Annalise's face was always there, and he didn't mind

his

moment to reflect-really think about whether, as his friends suggested, he truly loved Jessica-his

It was Jessica.

the call absentmindedly, and her cries

but he knew he had to be patient. "What's

pitifully said, "I'm alone at

flickered back to Annalise, a sudden pang

He left early in the morning and didn't get home until nearly midnight. He remembered that Annalise had always seemed so stable and

a deep,

asked, "Can I visit