The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

No longer were Annalise's eyes filled with sadness. Instead, she was smiling more than before. Zachary's lips curled into a wistful smile as he called out softly, "Mommy..." However, Annalise turned away from his direction and entered the villa. Only then did Zachary withdraw his gaze and say to the driver, "Let's go." "Very well," the driver replied.

...

Willow held my hand as we returned to the living room. She was skipping as she asked without looking at me, "Can you sleep with me tonight, Mommy?"

I thought about what Penelope said earlier and figured this was a good opportunity for me to talk to Willow about the bullying incident. As such, I obliged her. "Okay."

Zane slowed in his steps, and there was a trace of jealousy in his usually indifferent tone as he asked, "What about me?"

Willow stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him in puzzlement. "You want to bunk in with us, too, Daddy?"

Zane said nothing. Willow was five years old, the perfect age for her to get used to sleeping alone. If he bunked in with her and Annalise, he would risk enabling her codependency; if he refused, he would miss the chance to talk to Annalise before bed. He was still caught in a dilemma when Willow spared him from having to make a decision. "But my bed's too small to fit another person, Daddy."

Only then did Zane mutter in disappointment, "I see. Never mind, then."

Willow happily led me to her bedroom. We had already showered, so she lay on the bed and patted the space beside her. "Come here, Mommy!"

I noted the expectant gleam in her eyes and lay next to her. "All right, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked casually.

She flipped on her side andnoveldrama

stretched her arm over my

midsection, putting her leg over mine as if it were the most natural thing to do. "For some reason, seeing you and Daddy get along so well makes me a little uneasy. But deep down, I want you and Daddy to be happy together.

"I don't know why I feel this way. I was hoping that if I asked you about it, you might give me an answer."

I thought she would tell me about the bullying incident in kindergarten, and I even prepared a script in case she brought it up. However, I never expected her to ask me about something else.

I patted her back gently and said, "Maybe it's because you think we belong to you and nobody else before we started going out."

Willow frowned as she considered

this. I added, "But after we got

together, you felt like we were giving

each other the attention we used to give you. Perhaps you were worried

that we wouldn't have tried

for you."

Upon hearing this, Willow nodded earnestly. "Yes, that's it!"

A lighthearted chuckle escaped me. "Regardless of what happens between me and your father, you must understand that we both love you very much. Can you feel it?"

"Yes!" she answered without

hesitation, her tone firm and full of

conviction. She cracked a sheepish

smile after that. "I guess it's true when they say we should ask grown-ups for help when we have problems. I'd probably still be upset

over this if I kept this to myself."

I stroked her hair and said, "You can talk to me about anything. I'll tell you whatever you need to know to get through troubled times, okay?"

"Okay," Willow said solemnly. A beat later, she added, "But I'm not in any trouble now."

Upon realizing she did not plan to tell me about the bullying incident at school, I decided to bring it up. "But I heard from your teacher that you were getting picked on at school. Is that true?" Willow did not answer me immediately. Instead, she said bluntly, "I don't think a teacher told you that."