The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

I looked around, seeing no one else nearby, then turned to leave.

"Are you Annalise?" a voice called out.

I spun around and saw a woman I didn't know.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I heard from the hospital staff that you've been trying to find proof-something to show Jessica hurt you. Is that true?" She sounded a little hesitant.

I'd been looking for evidence for a while but had come up empty. I was just about ready to quit, figuring I'd find other ways to get back at Jessica and Steven. But hearing her mention it threw me off.

"So, you've got proof?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do." Her voice was firm.

My revenge would be way worse if I could get my hands on solid proof. But I knew rushing in too soon could ruin everything.

"How about we grab a coffee and talk?" I suggested.

She paused. I smiled. "Got a minute?"

After a beat, she nodded. "Yeah, sure."

I chose a cafe nearby. As I was worried about being overheard, I made sure to pick a private booth.

Casper had to go to work in the morning and couldn't hang out with Gary and Julia.

Before leaving, he said, "If you guys want to go out, go for it. If not, just hang here until I get back, alright?"

"We want to see Jessica," Gary said.

Casper let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know where she lives. Just forget about it. I'm leaving."

And with that, he walked out, almost like he was worried they'd try to stop him. Gary looked at Julia. "He won't tell us where she lives. What do we do now?"

Julia frowned. "What else? We figure it out ourselves! Casper probably thinks there's no way to win Jessica back, but we're not giving up that easily. She hasn't completely shut us out yet, so why not give it a shot?"

Gary thought it over. She had a point. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and told the person-on the other end to track down Jessica's address. It didn't take long before the person got back to him.

He looked at the info and curled his lip in disgust. Julia noticed his expression. "What? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I figured once she hooked up with Steven, he'd get her a nice place—at least a small villa. But she's living in a regular penthouse.

"What's the deal? She dropped Casper for Steven, only to end up like this? Was she trying to make things harder on herself?" Gary muttered, his tone full of disdain.noveldrama

Julia thought for a moment and said smugly, "If Steven's not getting her a nice place, that actually works in our favor!"

"How's that?" Gary asked.

"Because we can offer her something better, and that might get her to say yes! Come on; let's go find her!" Julia said eagerly.

"Alright, let's do it," Gary said, eager to see his precious grandson, Cody.

Julia followed him, practically

bouncing with excitement. He'd

planned to drive but remembered he

didn't have a car. So, he flagged

down a cab and gave the driver the address.

Then, Gary leaned back, mentally running through how he was going to approach

the conversation with Jessica.