The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 177

Steven asked himself whether he was really that unqualified as a husband, feeling an intense ache in his heart at the realization. He felt as if he was suffocating. He didn't understand. Didn't he hold no love for Annalise? If so, then why was he suffering so much?

"Steven?"

Gavin had rushed over as soon as he received Steven's message. He sat down opposite him and asked in concern when he saw Steven's lowered head, "Are you alright?" "I'm fine," replied Steven, wrestling his emotions back under control before raising his head. "I have a very important question to ask you."

Gavin said casually, "Go on."

Steven then asked a question that had been troubling him.

"You all say that I like Jessica, but why is it that I can only treat her as a friend? The moment I try to take things further and attempt physical contact, I feel terrible." "That's because..." Gavin trailed off.

Naturally, he knew that Steven didn't love Jessica. However, now that Annalise had a new life of her own, it was impossible for her to get back together with him. If he let Steven know that the person he actually liked was Annalise, he would definitely suffer a lot from the knowledge.

Therefore, in order to let Steven live with peace of mind, Gavin had to lie.

"You think that Jessica is someone unattainable," he bluffed.

Steven gazed intently at him.

Gavin continued expressionlessly, "You can't bear to monopolize her and sully her, so you've always rejected intimate contact with her."

"Is that so?" asked Steven.

Gavin was firm in his stance. "That's right."

In response, Steven simply turned to look elsewhere.

...

After lunch, I returned to my cubicle and started coloring in the comic, fully focused.

Zane stopped in front of me, asking, "Guess who I met just now?"

I raised my head to look at him, letting out a questioning hum.

Zane sat down slowly before answering his own question. "Your ex-husband."

"He looked very regretful," he added.

I calmly refuted his claim, "Impossible."

He didn't seem satisfied with my answer, asking hesitantly, "Then, what if he realizes that the person he truly loves is you?"

I didn't expect him to be such a gossipper, but I still replied seriously, "Having gotten to where I am today, I've finally truly started to live for myself. I feel at ease every day, Zane. Most importantly, I really no longer feel anything for him. "So why do I have to return to his side, only to fight for an uncertain future?"

I smiled, saying with finality, "I don't like taking risks."

"That's true," said Zane, his mood improving after confirming how I felt about the situation. "Are you free recently?"

I didn't understand how he could switch topics so quickly, but I responded honestly nonetheless, "Yes. What's up?"

"Then, would you mind helping draw some posters for the games department?" he asked.

My career in comics was on the right track, so I always ended work really early and thus could also spare quite a bit of time.

It just so happened that I didn't have anything else to do, either, so I nodded and replied, "I don't mind."

After getting my agreement, Zane returned to his office desk and sent me the requirements for the posters.

As soon as I opened up the document, I could roughly tell what sort of effect the other party wanted to go for. I then turned on my computer and continued to draw.

...

Zane observed the woman sitting in the cubicle, his expression gradually becoming gentle.

For the past few days, he had been working hard to create opportunities to be in close proximity to Annalise. He wanted to make use of those opportunities to verify to what extent he liked her. However, no matter how close he got to her, there was a voice within him that would clamor that it was still far from enough!