The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

"I know this sounds absurd," Yvette said, her voice heavy with sorrow.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, one after another, as she continued, "But I've been there for Gavin through it all, from the moment he started dating his first girlfriend until now, and yet he's never once considered me."

Sherry leaned back against the couch, her arms crossed, watching her cry with a mixture of frustration and helplessness.noveldrama

"If he keeps wasting his time with you, I'll never have a chance," Yvette added.

Then, it dawned on Sherry. A glimmer of amusement flickered in her eyes.

"I think he's never noticed you because he believed you'd always be there for him, just like I was. Maybe you need a boyfriend more than I do," she said.

Yvette's voice grew sharp. "I don't want anyone else! There's no one else I could ever see myself with."

Her words hit Sherry with a sharp irony. After all, it was Yvette's feelings for Gavin that had driven her to sabotage every relationship he'd ever been in.

"I'm just saying it might be time to consider seeing other people. That doesn't mean you're completely letting go of him," Sherry explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yvette's eyes locked onto Sherry's.

"He never paid any attention to me either, not until I walked away," Sherry said. "It wasn't until I ended things that he finally started seeing me as someone with my own emotions.

"If you tell him that you're not getting any younger, that your family's pressuring you to settle down, that you're tired of waiting and might just go along with their plan to pair you up with someone..."

Her tone settled into something calmer. "Don't you think he might finally realize how much you mean to him?"

Yvette mulled over Sherry's words.

Sherry got to her feet. "Just a thought, of course. If it's not your thing, feel free to ignore it."

With that, she turned and walked off.

Yvette remained where she was sitting alone. She couldn't even remember when she first fell for Gavin. Maybe it began in high school, or perhaps even earlier than that.

What had started as a friendship had gradually grown into something more. By the time she realized it, she was already too entangled to escape.

Yvette turned, her gaze drifting to the window. Every so often, she caught herself wondering why it had to be Gavin. There were countless exceptional men in her life, any of whom would make a great husband. So why him?

As soon as Sherry stepped out of the elevator, she bumped into Sasha, who had been waiting nearby.

"Don't you have work today?" Sherry asked, not giving it much thought.

Sasha moved closer, hooking her arm through Sherry's, and

responded, "We just wrapped up the last project. So, Mr. Felker, our department manager, said we could

take some time off to unwind."

Sherry gave her a surprised look. "That's pretty generous. Is that how it is for everyone or just your department?"

Sasha paused, mulling it over before replying, think it's just us. The other teams have their schedules set by the company, and once they finish up, they're done for the day. It's nothing too hectic.

"But our projects are much more demanding. No one wanted to handle them before, and the company was even thinking about scrapping them completely."