Chapter 598
Zane couldn’t help smiling even as he asked modestly, “Really?”
“Yes!” I reassured him. That was when I realized that my cooking had nothing to do with Steven and Zachary’s refusal to eat the food I made. Their refusal stemmed from their hatred for me, and rejecting my efforts was simply an extension of it.
My feelings for Zane were the reason why I found his cooking delicious. My appreciation for his effort was an extension of my fondness for him.
Zane stared at the woman before him and noted the elegant way she ate. He shook his head and chided himself. He was already madly in love with her as it was; he would be a lost cause if he didn’t show some restraint.
Steven woke up to a painful throbbing in his head, as expected of a terrible hangover. He did not open his eyes and instead growled impatiently, “Annalise, why didn’t you make me hangover soup last night? Also, my head feels like it’s splitting down the middle. I could use a temple massage.”
However, his demands were met with silence.
He frowned, but he had taken not two steps before he realized that the woman who always nursed him from his hangovers had already walked out of his life. She had a new life now, not to mention a new boyfriend.
Unlike Steven, Annalise’s new boyfriend was kind and patient. He wouldn’t lash out at her for no reason.
Steven had always blamed Annalise even though he chose to drink his weight in alcohol and allow himself to be hungover. He faulted her for not looking after him when, in reality, she had gone over and beyond to tend to his needs.
He staggered over to the couch as memories of his days with Annalise flashed through his mind. Every time he stumbled home drunk, Annalise would help him to the bed and cook hangover soup for him.
After that, she would set the soup aside to cool before bringing it to him in the bedroom.
When he had finished the soup and started to doze off, she would bring in a basin of water and wipe him down. She would never let him go to bed dirty.
Worried that Steven would wake up
with a bad headache, Annalise would let him rest his head in her lap while she massaged his temples She would wake up early the next day to make him breakfast. By the time he woke up, the food was always nice and warm.
Just thinking about those days made Steven feel as if someone was squeezing the air out of his lungs. How could he have let a good woman like Annalise go? Why didn’t he cherish her before they divorced?
The more he thought about the what-ifs and what-could-have-beens, the worse bis mood became. He couldn’t understand why his appreciation for Annalise’s love and tenderness came only after they had divorced.
Had he realized this sooner and turned over a new leaf, things might have been different between them. Steven knew better than anyone that Annalise had given him plenty of chances. But he took those chances for granted and believed she would never leave him, so he continued to hurt her.
At the time, Steven never even considered that there might be a day when Annalise’s love for him would run out.