The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Sasha raised her voice. "You've already broken up. And he still shows up here demanding apologies?"noveldrama

Sherry shrugged. "What else? Did you think I was making it up earlier?"

The idea hadn't even occurred to Sasha. Still, Gavin's nerve left her speechless.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

"No. I'll deal with it myself," Sherry replied.

She had moved on- it was only natural that she would face him alone. She walked out of the hotel.

Gavin hurried to block her path. "We need to talk."

He expected her to give in.

Instead, Sherry gave him a dismissive look. "What's there to talk about?"

"I know you're upset about her, but could you try to be the bigger person? If you'd

just apologize, this whole thing could be over," Gavin said.

"Why should I be the bigger person?" Sherry shot back.

"Because you're my girlfriend!" Gavin said, his voice heavy with earnest persuasion.

Sherry couldn't help but laugh. "Seems like you've forgotten. We're over."

Gavin stared at her calm composure, struggling to make sense of it. "You're serious?"

"Obviously." Sherry nodded.

"Just because I asked you to apologize to her?"

Sherry studied him. His face, once so charming was now twisted with indignant confusion as if her standing up to him over something so minor left him utterly baffled. Strangely, the resentment that had built up over the years faded in that moment. She couldn't even recall why his unfairness had cut so deeply.

Even now, Gavin didn't understand. He had never truly cared about her.

"Call it that," Sherry said.

Gavin only grew more bewildered. "But this is how it's always been! Why were you fine with it before but not now?"

Sherry dismissed the question. "If I'd kept quiet, would you have expected me to live with this forever? What would leven gain from being with you? The privilege of letting your friend insult me, twist the truth, and make me apologize?"

Gavin opened his mouth to explain but found nothing to say.

"I made endless compromises because I loved you, and you used that as a

reason to treat me poorly. Now, I don't care about you anymore.

"I'm choosing my own happiness. Since you and that friend are so inseparable, maybe the two of you should just date instead," Sherry said.

Gavin stared at her, finally realizing she meant every word.

After a long silence, he muttered, "Even if you don't care about me anymore, what about the company? How could you just leave overnight? Do you even realize how much—"

"I gave notice before I left," Sherry interrupted. You refused to find a replacement. To make things easier for whoever takes over, I organized all the files on my desktop and documented every step of the process. My leaving won't make a difference."

She held his gaze. "Anything else?"