The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 190

When Jessica had first heard this rumor from Yvonne, she was utterly shocked.

Hearing Willow call Annalise "Mommy" made Jessica think that Zane was planning to marry Annalise, which unsettled her.

How could Annalise, after leaving Steven, still meet such an outstanding man?

But thankfully, it seemed Zane wasn't interested in Annalise, after all, making Jessica very pleased.

...

"Is there a problem?" I asked as I took a seat across from her.

Jessica propped her chin on her interlaced fingers. "Before you divorced Steven, you were a wealthy woman, after all. Every gift he gave you must've been worth a fortune.

"Even if things went south after the divorce, surely selling just one of those items would've been enough to keep you comfortable. There's no way you'd have to resort to working, right?" It didn't take me long to understand why she had asked me to meet.

She just wanted me to know that Steven treated her better than he ever treated me.

Then, she would compare her life with mine, making herself look smart for making the right choice and living well while portraying me as foolish for ending up as someone's employee. I leaned back in my chair.

Jessica feigned an exaggerated surprise. "Or are you telling me he never gave you anything at all?"

I had no interest in playing along. "You probably should know that better than anyone."

Jessica put on a mock look of concern. "I just don't get it. How is it that he's so stingy with you, yet he's been so generous with me?

"You two haven't divorced that long, and he's already gifted me a luxury villa and jewelry worth millions of dollars, maybe even tens of millions of dollars.

"Annalise, do you think that he never loved you?" Jessica asked maliciously.

I nodded. "Exactly."

Jessica hadn't expected me to admit it so easily, and she was stunned.

I looked at her with a hint of amusement.

If her relationship with Steven was truly going well, she would be busy enjoying her romance, not here trying to get under my skin.

Feigning indifference, I said, "But what about you? Why did you come all the way here to tell me this? Did Steven do something to make you feel insecure?"

"Let me guess," I added.

I wasn't the type to just sit back and take it, so I planned my counterattack. "Could it have something to do with me?"

"Absolutely not!" Jessica shot back without hesitation.

I raised an eyebrow, watching her as she hastily added, "Steven is completely devoted to me now. Unlike you, do you still believe that Steven would hurt me because of you? That's ridiculous! Could it be that you haven't gotten over him?" Without giving me a chance to respond, she slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"Let me warn you. Don't go after someone who never belonged to you in the first place."

With that, she grabbed her purse and stormed out.

Her reaction didn't make me angry, and I even found it rather amusing.

If I had been wrong, she wouldn't have acted so flustered. But I wasn't about to play the homewrecker and interfere in their marriage.

As she walked away, I called after her, "Mrs. Pelham, you're a wealthy woman with status now. Surely you wouldn't make someone as poor as me pay for your coffee, right?"

Jessica rushed to pay the bill.

"And maybe two more coffees and a milk, while you're at it?" I added, strolling up beside her at the counter.

I ordered Zane's favorite drink, then a house special since I wasn't sure what Sasha liked.

Then, the cashier glanced at me, and I gave Jessica a pointed look.

"Surely, a wealthy woman like you can afford three drinks?"

"I'm not that broke," Jessica snapped, though it was clear that she didn't want to pay for mine.

She pulled out her phone, brought out the payment code, and handed it to the cashier.

The cashier aimed the scanner at Jessica's phone and scanned it. "Payment successful."