The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 799

"My friends told me I should always have gifts ready and plan surprises often," Zane said.

I felt like I was about to cry when I finally understood what he meant.

When I was with Steven, I put so much into our relationship, but he never seemed to care. But with Zane, I didn't think about those things as much—yet he noticed everything.

Tears filled my eyes. I blinked them away, then met Zane's gaze and said slowly, choosing my words carefully, "Thank you for putting so much effort into keeping our relationship strong."

Zane pulled me into his arms and gently wiped away my tears. "Why are you crying?"

I moved back from his embrace and met his eyes. "Because I can tell we're on the same page about this relationship. But giving gifts too often might cause misunderstandings, especially if we start expecting surprises all the time.

"There's only so much you can give and only so many surprises to come up with. I'll be sitting at home waiting for something new, and once you run out of ideas, won't that just turn into us arguing?"

Everyone had their own views on marriage.

Some people were all about romance and loved it when their partners planned surprises for them. Others believed that real devotion was about steady companionship.

I was in the second group.

I believed a strong relationship was built on two people getting along, talking things through when issues popped up, and working together on a reasonable solution.

A gift every now and then could add a little spark and keep things from getting stale. But at the end of the day, that wasn't what marriage was really about.

Zane finally got it after hearing what I said.

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