The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Zane didn't respond to Chloe immediately. Instead, he looked at me. After I nodded at him, he handed his phone to her. Chloe immediately called Steven.

Steven answered, "Hello? Do you need something from me, Mr. Huxham?"

"It's your mother. I'm outside Zane Huxham's house. Come over," Chloe said. "Oh, and Annalise has something to talk to you about."

Steven thought Chloe had crossed the line when she forced him to get a vasectomy. He had no desire to entertain Chloe, but her words made him hesitate.

"Okay. Wait for me."

Chloe hung up, returned the phone to Zane, and shot me a disdainful look.

She declared proudly, "My son is coming over now! If you don't want him to expose you, you should

confess now. Who knows? But Zane might give you a second chance for being honest."

Zane raised an eyebrow at Chloe's words. In Zane and Annalise's relationship, Annalise always held the

upper hand. Zane figured Chloe didn't fully understand the situation.

I chuckled and said, "If Steven isn't here, you'll dismiss everything I say as a lie. wait until Steven arrives."

Chloe said, "Sure."

Then, she immediately turned to Zane and continued, "Zane, you have no idea how awful Annalise was after marrying my son. She was like a parasite!"

Zane concealed his disgust for Chloe and stayed silent. She continued excitedly, "Not only did she stay home and refuse to work, but she expected my son to support her entirely. After all, my son was more than capable of supporting a woman!"

I thought to myself, "Your son was also more than capable of hiding his mistress."

Chloe went on and said, "But what's worse was, she expected my son to support her mother, too!" Zane couldn't bear to listen anymore. He asked, "If my memory serves me right, your son probably didn't have much money when they first got married, did he?"

Hearing that, Chloe paused. She had forgotten about that. After a long pause, she retorted, "That just proves how terrible Annalise was! She made my son work tirelessly so that she and her mother could enjoy a luxurious lifestyle."

Chloe pitied Steven. She continued, "You have no idea how rough it was for my son."

Zane couldn't hide his disdain. He knew that a man like Steven-who divorced his wife without giving her a share of his assets and showed no concern for how she would fare after the divorce-couldn't possibly be generous.

He did not believe a word Chloe had said. Then, he asked, "May I ask something?"

Chloe didn't mind that Zane interrupted her. She said, "Go on."

Zane slowed down and asked, emphasizing each word in his question, "How much money did your son give Annalise every month?"

After going on about her son for so long, Chloe finally realized she hadn't clarified that with Zane until he asked. But Chloe wasn't certain either. Thus, she came up with a random figure.

"In the beginning, he would give Annalise and her mother five thousand dollars each; that adds up to about ten thousand dollars.'

I casually pointed out the loophole in

Chloe's statement. I said, "Your son was just starting out his business. He had to put money into the business, so he's not really making any profits. In that case, how did he give my mother and me ten thousand dollars in a situation like that?"

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