The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Chapter 552

Shane wasn't stupid, either. He knew what Sasha was getting at. "So what you're saying is, they might end up as miserable as me?" "Bingo," Sasha said with a nod. He made no reply.

Only then did he realize how he had indeed been living like a man-child under his father's roof before the latter threw him out. Back when he and Carlisle were on good terms, his friends put him on a pedestal and went along with his shenanigans. But now, they wouldn't so much as spare him the time of day. Shane couldn't help but chuckle mirthlessly.

Sasha pointed out, "Your old friends were unreliable and would only show up for a good time, but there are always others who truly care about you."

Shane eyed Sasha eagerly as if suddenly enlightened and asked, "Did you ask me out so you could tell me that you care about me?"

She nearly sputtered. She had asked Shane to meet her for lunch so she could plot her revenge against Yvonne, not turn herself into collateral damage!

She drew a deep breath and blamed herself for letting Shane steer the conversation off-track. She even threw in some sage advice, for that matter! Now that he had brought up the reason why she wanted to meet him, she decided to cut to the chase, cruel as it might be. Feigning indifference, Sasha countered, "Am I the only person you think who cares about you?"

"Is there someone else?" Shane asked, frowning in confusion.

than her. "Did you forget about Yvonne? Didn't she call you

Yvonne for making trouble for her, refusing to go down without a fight. As far as she was concerned,

Sasha's statement. "You

"That means she

"If she did, why didn't she

were and what you were like before your father gave up on you? You were the eldest son of the CEO of

to inherit a large, wealthy family business! More importantly, you were seeing someone

mere mention of

to drag her into his mess and call Jenny his "stand-in lover was disgusting. He had screwed up

couldn't care less about using Shane as a pawn for her revenge now. "And Yvonne is just an ordinary young woman with no powerful background to speak of. It was only natural for her

comprehension dawned on Shane, though not

"You were a prince back

and you