The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

I objected immediately. "Don't put words in my mouth. I never said I disapproved

of you."

"If you do, then why won't you marry me?" Zane asked.

It was clear this was a sore subject for him. Gripping the suit, he strode toward the door. I stayed in place, watching him leave.

Maybe it really was true-when people loved someone, they couldn't help but crave their approval, long to be recognized as husband and wife, and hope to spend their lives together.

Realizing I wasn't following, Zane stopped and turned around.

Calmly, I said, "Willow will be back tonight."

He looked disappointed that I wouldn't give him a straight answer.

I added, "We should talk to Willow about this first. If she agrees, we'll get married.

If not, we'll just keep dating."

Zane knew I was making the right choice, but that didn't make accepting it any

easier. He had wanted me to say yes without worrying about anyone else's say in

it.

But if anyone understood me, it was him-he knew I wouldn't do that.

After a long stretch of silence, he finally muttered, "Alright."

"You two are taking forever just to pick one outfit! Haven't you changed yet?" Sasha asked, growing impatient.

With the event looming, her nerves were fraying even more.

Zane knew that talking too much would only make things worse, so he kept it short. "Almost finished."

"Hurry up," Sasha urged. "You don't want to be late."

...

Jessica made a special trip to bring Steven breakfast again in the early morning. Once he was done eating, she took the empty container and made her way home.

On the way, her phone buzzed with a call from Paula.

"Hey, what's up?" Jessica asked.

Paula kept her voice calm. "All the printed copies of your comic have sold out, so the company is moving forward with a reprint. This new release is really taking off.

"We've already got orders for at least 200 thousand copies just from bookstores alone, and online sales are booming. So we're planning to print another million copies.

Jessica had published comics

before, but her sales had never been

remarkable. Hitting 10 thousand

copies was already a major

milestone. But now, orders were

pouring in like never before.

She suddenly felt a surge of accomplishment. She had always relied on men for

money, never managing to earn much on her own.

That had left her feeling like she had to keep a man in her life. She had never imagined how freeing it would feel to make her own way.

Jessica couldn't suppress her smile. "That's fantastic news. We should celebrate!"

"Traveling might be a bit difficult since you're pretty far along in your pregnancy. But there's something I wanted to ask..."

"Go ahead," Jessica said easily.

"Would you be willing to sign some books?" Paula asked cheerfully. "Signed copies are always a bigger hit."

Jessica remembered a picture someone had shown her before-Annalise signing her books.

Without hesitation, she said, "Of course. Just tell me when and where, and I'll come over."

bit."

"Tomorrow at the printing factory," Paula answered. "I'll send you the location in a

Jessica checked her phone and saw that Paula had already sent the address.

"I'll be there tomorrow," Jessica said.

"Fantastic," Paula replied, sounding just as thrilled.

Jessica hung up and immediately opened her homepage to check the doll orders.noveldrama

It turned out that sales of both the dolls and other merchandise were taking off.

She couldn't resist mentally calculating her monthly earnings—after deducting production and shipping costs, of course.