The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Shane began to list his daily expenses. "I could have a cheap breakfast and a fuller lunch, then skip dinner entirely. I could probably live off 2,000 dollars a month."

After hearing this, Sasha was suddenly grateful that she was not dating Shane. He was a philanderer who only cared about mooching off other women. If he had a girlfriend, she would have been driven to madness by his behavior.

Sasha might not like Yvonne very much, but she couldn't let the woman suffer from Shane's parasitical behavior. "And what about next month? Are you going to ask Yvonne for money?"

The questions left him stumped. Seeing this, Sasha added helpfully, "Maybe you should look for a job. Your dad's washed his hands off you, and you have to start planning a life for yourself. You can't just stay unemployed forever and mooch off women, you know. You're capable of labor."

Shane fell silent as he considered Sasha's advice. She rose from her seat and said, "I have to get back to work. Think about what I said, okay?"

"Okay," was all he replied.

...

When Sasha left, Shane remained at the table and stared at the crowd meandering past the window.

He could see Sasha, who had once been so high-handed, walking purposefully toward Huxham Corporation like a professional office lady. Everyone else seemed to be moving on and up in life, and even his old friends had changed for the better. He was the only one stuck in the same old place.

Shane stared at the pasta before him and picked up his fork. He stirred the pasta to loosen it up in the thick sauce, then slowly took a bite. The pasta was cold, but he had been starving for so long that it tasted delicious anyway.

After polishing off his plate, he

slowly sipped the bitter coffee he had ordered. Since Carlisle publicly disowned him, he had never once considered that his father would cut him off for good.

He kept believing that Carlisle would turn around and extend an olive branch toward him once he cooled off. But would Carlisle truly do that this time?

Shane had seen the recent news of

Carlisle training a new heir to take over Winslow Group. In other words, Carlisle had truly abandoned him What would he do to fend for

friends to keep his belly fuyer

himself? Should he mooch off his

Even if he continued mooching off his friends, how long could he keep it up before they grew tired of him? He had Yvonne to rely on, but she would get sick of him and cut him off someday, too.

What would Shane do then? Grumble about Yvonne to some old pal and go off searching for the next sugar mommy? Shane leaned into the cushioned seat and stared at the ceiling. He hadn't expected his life to turn out this way.

"What are you thinking?"

He suddenly heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Yvonne seated across from him. Sasha's words played through his head, and he bolted upright as he asked, "What are you doing here?" Yvonne sensed something off with him, but she brushed it off. She was only using him to make life difficult for Sasha, anyway.noveldrama

She gave him what she considered a warm smile and explained, "I was walking past when I saw you through the window and figured I'd stop by for a chat."

In truth, she wanted to know exactly what he and Sasha talked about!