The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 198

Zachary's voice gradually quietened as he murmured, "But who's going to treat me well in turn?"

Annalise didn't want him anymore, and Steven didn't care for him either.

He looked at the ground. He hadn't wanted to cry, yet tears fell steadily down his face against his will.

...

Steven didn't need to send Zachary to kindergarten, but he still arrived at the kindergarten entrance when it was time for parents to send their children there.

When he saw Zachary's pitiful appearance, he approached, asking, "Do you need my help?"

Zachary raised his head to look at Steven, then shook his head as he replied, "I don't."

"Why?" Steven asked in confusion. "Don't you secretly follow her every day just so you can spend more time with her? Won't it be great if I found you opportunities to have some alone time with her?" Certainly, it sounded wonderful.

However, Steven was the culprit who had made Annalise give up on him in the first place.

If Steven hadn't sneakily brought him to meet with Jessica, he wouldn't have been foolishly tricked into thinking that she was a great woman. He wouldn't have consequently started to hate Annalise more and more, even going so far as to bully her.

Annalise treated him as little more than a stranger now, so she was even more likely to ignore Steven. He understood all this clearly, but he didn't intend to let Steven know, because Zachary could tell that Steven remained unaware of his feelings and still thought that he liked Jessica.

A flash of vindictive joy crossed Zachary's face.

He thought cruelly that if Steven one day realized that his true love was Annalise, yet he had driven her out of his life due to his own foolishness, he would definitely suffer greatly.

He replied seriously, "I'll be responsible for my own matters, so just focus on your work, Daddy."

"Otherwise, the money you earn won't be enough to keep up with Jessica's spending," he concluded inwardly.

Why should he have to live each day in regret while Steven, the instigator, acted like he had nothing to do with the situation, despite both of them making the same mistake? He lived every day in a carefree manner, either taking his new sweetheart Jessica shopping or playing with Cody. Hence, he hoped that Steven would be so busy every day that he had no time to think about the situation with Annalise. This way, when he finally realized his true feelings, it would be too late for him.

When that time came, Steven would suffer even more than him!

Zachary finally felt a little better at the thought.

"I'm going to class. See you, Daddy."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked into kindergarten.

Steven stared blankly at his retreating back.

Unbeknownst to him, Zachary seemed to have become a lot more independent. Even if he encountered problems, he no longer asked him for help.

Long after Zachary had entered the school building, he finally remembered that he hadn't given an answer.

"Okay," he said uselessly.

...

Once I was in the car, I buckled my seat belt properly before turning to look solemnly at Zane.

He was still the picture of calm as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"The salary and bonus you paid me are too much," I answered honestly.

Willow was constantly around me during breakfast, so I hadn't had the opportunity to speak with him about this.

However, the opportunity had now presented itself.

"We never discussed my salary for taking care of Willow before," I said, continuing to try and return the extra money I had received. "But even the most expensive nanny in the industry should only ask 10,000 to 20,000 dollars a month, right? "Giving me 80,000 dollars at once is too much. I'm returning you at least 60,000 dollars."

I had never liked accepting money beyond my level of contribution.