The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Portia stared at Steven unblinkingly.

After a long silence, Steven said, "He's my son after all."

Portia snapped, "You're finally acknowledging him as your son, huh? But guess what? It's too late!

"I'm warning you-you can only talk to him today because I didn't notice you. If I see you with him again, I won't let you get away with it!"

Steven thought Zachary was the only connection he had left with Annalise if he lost Zachary, it would be like he had lost everything.

He looked Portia in the eye and retorted, "But do you even have the right to control me? You're his maternal grandmother, but I'm his biological father. I'm being very generous to let him live with you..."

Portia sneered, and she snarled, "Control you? First of all, you were the one who gave up Zachary's custody. You were also the one who refused to give Zachary any money! How dare you tell me such things now? Do I look like an easy target to you?"noveldrama

The fact that Portia thrived after the divorce, even when Otis tried to suppress her, meant she was anything but weak. But to Portia's disbelief-Steven was threatening her.

Steven wasn't scared of Portia at all. He said, "We can bring this argument to court. Why don't you guess who will walk away with custody of Zachary?"

Portia replied, "I know my laws."

Even though Steven tried to threaten Portia with the law, she once fought legal battles before and wasn't scared.

When Otis' company was on the verge of bankruptcy, he tried to recover his public reputation by

taking advantage of Annalise. Honet

planned to take Annalise away from Portia and pretend to be a caring father, crafting a narrative that implied Portia had been lying.

However, Portia refused.

Otis challenged her to a lawsuit, trying to take Annalise away. Thankfully, Portia's boss willingly sent his attorney to help her.

When the judge asked for Annalise's opinion in court, Annalise decided to give Portia custody of her. The court then ruled that Otis had to pay child support, but he never paid them a single cent.

However, Portia made Otis sign an IOU so that Annalise could return the favor in

Otis' old age. Only then would they truly be even.

Portia said calmly, "I'm not scared of

you. If you want to bring this to court, then go ahead. In the end, the court will ask for Zachary's opinion. Why don't you guess if Zachary will pick you or me?"

Steven continued to stare at Portia.

Before walking away, Portia said, "Here's a piece of advice-don't embarrass yourself."

Stunned in place, Steven fell into deep thought.

His wife had abandoned him, and his son was unwilling to reconcile with him either. Steven wanted to gain Zachary's forgiveness as soon as he could, but he wasn't sure what to do.

Steven had no experience coaxing his son, but upon remembering that Jessica had a son, he drove to her house in the middle of the night.