ARRANGED TO CARTER ANDERSON

CHAPTER 2

CAUGHT IN THE ACT

“Mum, Dad?” Emily’s quaking voice caught their attention. “What happened? You both look like something has gone wrong.” She had just woken up from a fall last night.

Her parents had taken her home after she fainted at the turn of events at her wedding anniversary. They called their family doctor immediately who ran a check on her and told them to let her rest and that she’d be okay.

“Oh, dear Corazon, let me get you some water to drink.” She watched her mum walk out of the door. Lucia often referred to her daughter as her Corazon, a Mexican pet name meaning ‘my heart.’ She was their first daughter who came in after 5 years of waiting.

Her father rose from his seat and sat in her mother’s spot. “You’re going to be fine okay, princess?” he said, caressing her hair. “Don’t you remember what happened last night?” Immediately, the memory of last night began to surface. “Where’s my husband?” she asked, her brows widened.

“Where else would a man who denied his wife and ran after another woman be at this time? At any of the hotels in town with his w***e of a girlfriend,” her father replied, his face stern and concerned for his daughter. “Listen, my darling, you need to rest now. You’re so precious to us. Don’t let that bastard ruin your happiness. You don’t deserve this despicable thing we witnessed last night.”

He regretted ever making the decision of giving his daughter in marriage to that lunatic.

Carter’s parents had left for their home a few hours after they accompanied Emily’s parents back home, promising they’d talk to their son to desist from his wayward acts.

Emily held her head in her arms, heading pounding from the inside like it was being hit by the blacksmith’s hammer. She could barely turn her head or move her body. Her mum entered with the glass of water in her hand. “Take this, my darling. You’ll be alright.”

She gulped the water half and returned it to her mum. She noticed some awkward looks on their faces which made her flinched. “Mum? Dad? What is it?”

Her parents stared at each other thoughtfully before her mum turned to her. “The doctor took some series of tests to accurately find out what was wrong with you. One of the tests proved you’re about two months pregnant.”

Her heartbeat skipped a bit, her brows pushed away. Should she be happy or sad at the break of the news? The sweet memories she had had with her husband came haunting her. Immediately, anger rose to the surface of her visage as a glare formed in her eyes.

“Princess, don’t worry, we will take care of you and the child. That bastard doesn’t deserve this child. You should stay away from you.” Jason – her father instructed with finality.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” her quaking voice came pleading. “This is more reason I need to see him. I need to know why…”

“Where are you going?” her father asked, bemused.

“To see my husband.” With that, she spun out of the house with her Dad’s car keys.

Mr. Jason followed her immediately as his wife tagged along. Outside, before the car, he held his hand. “I can’t let you go kill yourself for that bastard. If you insist you want to see him, fine, but I won’t let you drive in this unstable condition.” He ordered his driver to drive her instead.

While on their way, she taught of the last lovemaking she had with Carter. The memory made her chuckle. She was wearing a long, red transparent gown that subtly displayed the beauties of her breaths and down, her front and backside exuding fragrance of charms.

Carter had returned from work, late as usual. Emily was already lying in bed when he entered. The sight of the angelic creature in the bed took him off-guard, mostly her breast that stood erect, pointing straight at him. He pulled off his coat and trousers, and with his boxers, he jumped into the bed, making her flutter.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take your bath first? Or at least, take your dinner?” Emily offered. But those things didn’t mean any importance to what had entangled him.

He waved it off, cupping his mouth into Emily’s lips as he grabbed her tongue into a deep kiss. Emily held his both cheeks, returning the kiss. His other hand moved and caressed her whole body. When they were finally at the top of their urge, he pulled off his boxers, his rod already strong, long, and thickened. He thrust it into her, moving up and down with his both elbows fixed on the bed to support his weight. Emily moaned joyfully feeling like she was riding in the curtains of the heavens.

…

Emily took a fresh breath of air as the car alighted in her husband’s house and saw that his car was packed at its slot. At least, she was happy; her husband wasn’t at the hotel as her father thought. If he was in the house, then, there’s a possibility he wasn’t with any woman. Emily tried to make a positive of the obvious negative situation. She quietly dragged herself into the house.

She called on her husband, but no one answered. She moved to their bedroom. The door was closed. Somehow, despite what happened last night, she was excited she was going to break the news of her pregnancy to him. Perhaps, that could make him change his mind from any thought of divorce.

It was her house too, so she didn’t find it thoughtful to knock before entering. She grabbed the doorknob, turning it to the right to open.

There, she beheld the greatest shock of her life, worse than what she saw at their anniversary night. Carter was lying naked in bed with her girlfriend also naked above him doing what he was supposed to be doing with his wife on their matrimonial bed.

At that moment, Emily felt tightness in her throat and a drumming in her temples, the weight of her peril pressed on until she could muster the strength to break loose. “Carter?” She shouted. “What are you doing? In our matrimonial bed?”

Ava quickly pulled out of him and covered herself with the blanket. Carter grabbed his boxers lying on the floor. He felt no remorse, rather deep lines cut across his cheeks in anger. “Have you lost your manners?” He echoed, pointing a finger at his head. “Don’t you know you're supposed to knock before you enter someone’s house?”

Ava Nelson was the woman Carter first met and had promised to marry before his parents’ sudden proposal.

Four years ago, while pursuing their MBA, in their first lecture, Ava was moving quietly, scanning for any available seat when her eyes locked on one just beside a tall, well-dressed stranger.

As she slid into the seat next to him, their arms brushed over so slightly, sending an unexpected tingle down her spine.

“I’m Carter,” he said with a warm smile that instantly put her at ease.

Over the next few weeks, Ava and Carter found themselves getting very close to each other, chatting and discussing many topics after classes ended.

With each meeting, the intellectual connection between them sparked the romantic attraction that made them inseparable, transcending across classroom walls.

What left Ava inseparably attracted to Carter was his quick wit and charming confidence, while he was drawn to her sharp intellect and radiant beauty. Casual study sessions had oftentimes turned into lingering walks around campus, hands occasionally brushing against each other’s in a tantalizing dance of unspoken attraction.

Though, there were times when Carter had over-heard her conversing with someone on the phone with romantic tones.

One of those moments, Carter approached her to inquire who the caller was. She innocently said it was her cousin.

The turning point came on the night of their end-of-semester party organized by the student union. There, Ava and Carter found themselves alone on the balcony with drinks in their hands.

Under the soft glow of fairy lights from the crackles, their eyes met, and just then the tension between them broke out with electricity.

In that moment of ecstasy, all pretenses fell away as their lips met in a passionate kiss that ignited the flames of a love story just beginning to unfold.

When the news of Carter’s marriage with Emily reached Ava, she was broken.

With that said, it became clear that Carter had moved on even without yet a proper divorce. Emily’s brows widened, with her lips shifted in utter bewilderment. “You mean our house? Because the last I checked, this is our house, my husband’s house.”

“Oh, c’mon, Emily, stop making a scene out of nothing,” Carter cut in, throwing his hand in the air. “It is over between us. Can’t you read the handwriting on the wall?”

For a while, a hushed silence took over the room until Ava broke in. “See Emily, I admire your sense of commitment. But can’t you see that what you have for Carter here is only a fantasy arranged by your both parents? You deserve to be happy; happy with the man who will truly love and care for you. And that man, I’m certain is not Carter.”

“Thank you for your advice, woman,” Emily retorted. “But you can keep it. I’m happy with my husband until you decide to come in.”

“Did you just say happy?” Carter broke in, throwing a hand up in gesture. “Only you are happy in this sham of a marriage. I’m not. So, stop being selfish, and let me have peace for once.”

Emily watched in bewilderment as Carter moved towards her with a steaming rage. He grabbed her by both shoulders. “What else do you want from me? Can’t you see I just kept up with you all these while just to sustain my family’s company?”

“I love you, Carter, and I want to be with you,” Emily busted; her eyes welled with tears threatening to drop.

Ava had already excused herself, seeing the hit of their arguments.

“But I don’t love, and I don’t want to be with you, ever!”

Emily’s heart raced like a wild horse, Carter’s last words echoing in her ears, piercing through her heart, leaving it shattered. Her whole body went numb again as she slumped to the floor.