The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Jessica had no intention of exposing Steven's naivety. After all, her only goal was to keep spending his money.

As long as Steven was willing to support her, nothing else mattered.

Still, Steven couldn't help but remind her again. "We've agreed, right? You absolutely cannot go looking for another man."

"Don't worry. As long as you're willing to support me, I'm more than happy to keep things as they are," Jessica said calmly.

More importantly, since Steven never interfered in her decisions and they didn't live together, she had all the time in the world to mingle with other men.

Even if, by some miracle, Annalise foolishly left Zane and returned to Steven, it wouldn't really affect her. At the very least, she could still play the victim in front of Casper and beg him to accept her. Jessica always liked to keep a backup plan, no matter what she was doing.

...

Meanwhile, Zachary opened the door, his head lowered as he walked into the living room.

Portia turned at the sound and saw Zachary looking drained. She hurried over to him and asked in concern, "What's wrong? Are you upset?"

Zachary was afraid Portia would notice the swelling on his face, so he shook his head in a small, careful motion. "No. I'm just a little tired from studying. I'd like to take a rest."noveldrama

The more Zachary tried to downplay it, the more certain Portia was that something was wrong. Her gaze dropped to his face, and she immediately noticed the severe swelling. Her temper flared instantly. "Who hit you?"

Zachary was still just a child. His face wasn't large, but the slap mark was massive, nearly covering half of it. It was obvious this was an adult's doing.

A child couldn't have that kind of strength. Not to mention, their hands were far too small to leave such a large imprint.

Portia was fuming. What kind of adults did this? How dare they bully a child like that?

She was determined to seek justice for Zachary.

Zachary felt relieved when he heard Portia's anger-at least someone was willing to protect him. However, he also knew that with Portia's age, she would never be able to stand up to Steven.

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Not wanting Portia to be bullied by Steven, Zachary said after a short pause, "I'm all right."

Harry, who had overheard the conversation, was enraged. "How can you be fine? Look at your face! It's so swollen." Zachary gave him a warning look. "It's not that bad."

Under normal circumstances, Harry

would have listened to Zachary. However, he felt that he couldn't keep quiet this time. "I was in the car when Zachary was beaten. Isaw everything clearly."

Portia knew that Zachary wouldn't speak the truth. Hence, she turned to Harry and asked, "What happened?"

Zachary tried to stop Harry from speaking, but Portia placed a firm hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

Harry explained, "Steven hit him. Honestly, is that man out of his mind? He's already abandoned his son, yet he's hitting him."

"How dare he!" Portia bellowed. She stood up abruptly and continued, "I'm going to demand an explanation from him."

Zachary hurriedly tugged at her sleeve and murmured, "It's late. If you go now and something happens on the way, I'll feel guilty. Why don't you'

go tomorrow?"

Harry agreed and tried to persuade Portia. "Zachary's right. It's not safe to go out at night."