diff --git a/lib/rubocop/rspec/expect_offense.rb b/lib/rubocop/rspec/expect_offense.rb
index 86e4b78bb2cd..3546b3a3133d 100644
--- a/lib/rubocop/rspec/expect_offense.rb
+++ b/lib/rubocop/rspec/expect_offense.rb
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ def set_formatter_options
 
       # Parsed representation of code annotated with the `^^^ Message` style
       class AnnotatedSource
-        ANNOTATION_PATTERN = /\A\s*(\^+|\^{}) /.freeze
+        ANNOTATION_PATTERN = /\A\s*(\^+|\^{}) ?/.freeze
         ABBREV = "[...]\n"
 
         # @param annotated_source [String] string passed to the matchers