The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Upon seeing how two-faced Otis was, my lips curled into a mocking smile as I hummed, "Mhm?"

Otis said pretentiously, "I was thinking... Since I'm getting older, even if I have the stamina now, I won't be able to work for much longer. When that time comes, what will happen to my son?"

Upon hearing that, a question crossed my mind-why was Otis so certain his unborn child was a son?

He continued, "I don't want him to be left without anyone to care for him. I can't trust anyone but you."

I met Otis' eyes, nodded, and said, "No problem."

When Otis heard that, he was in disbelief. Given our past conflict, he couldn't believe I had agreed so easily. He even wondered if I was trying to trick him.

He asked, "Why are you suddenly so cooperative?"

I was trying to lower his guard, so I smiled and said, "I'm your biological daughter, after all. Why would I hold a grudge against you?"

Otis felt relieved when he heard that. He pushed further and asked, "Then, can you introduce me to Zane?"

I gazed icily at Otis and said, "I agreed to your terms because I wanted to express my sincerity in collaborating with you. Now, it should be your turn to express your sincerity, but it seems..."

I looked Otis up and down and then continued, "Your terms make me think that you're just trying to take advantage of me."

Otis refuted, "But it feels like you're just giving me verbal promises! You didn't really do anything, did you? Remember, you were the one who put me in jail. You should be doing more to make it up to me!"

However, I disagreed with Otis. I said, "First of all, I wasn't the one who put you in jail. You shouldn't blame me for that."

I leaned back in my seat and

continued to say, "My only revenge was publicly announcing that your daughter bullied me. But that's because your daughter frequently bullied me.

"After I announced that, we're even. As for your company's bankruptcy, you arenoveldrama

fully responsible for losing out amidst the competition.

"Given the circumstances, I respect

you enough to agree to reconcile But if you're not going to appreciate this, then I don't see a point in continuing this discussion

Otis felt as if I was threatening him; he was certain that I had been pretending and

was trying to take advantage of him.

"Leave, then!" he said.

I scoffed and got up to leave. Without any intention of looking back, I walked away quickly and headed straight toward the company building.

When Otis saw that, he became restless. He rushed to me and pulled me back.

"Young lady, why do you have such a bad temper?"

I sat down again but didn't bother to smile at him. Noticing how sullen looked, Õtis asked, "If you introduce me to Zane, it would be beneficial to

you, too. Wouldn't it?"

I replied, "First of all, you're begging me to collaborate with you, so you have no

right to make demands."

Otis went silent.

I continued and said, "Secondly, what you need to know is that you need me more

than I need you. So, you should watch your attitude."

In response, Otis asked, "Is my attitude not good enough?"