Bond To The Mogul

A Long For More

“Hey baby” she said trying to hug me. I stopped her with my hands.

“Why are you here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice on a minimum.

“You haven’t been answering any of my calls and messages and I was worried, you know after our fight on Monday night” she said still smiling.

“I didn’t pick your calls because we have nothing to discuss ashley”.

“Don’t tell me you’re still mad at me?” She said playfully.

Waking up that next morning, I felt drained-I guess dinner had gone well; at least there was something bitter lingering from Ashley’s sudden appearance. I had no clue what her next move would be, but I knew better than to underestimate her.

I got dressed and headed downstairs. Dad was already at the breakfast table, poring over the newspaper. He looked at me over his glasses.

“Well, you seemed a little tense last night,” he went on, more to himself than to me.

"It’s nothing," I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee. "Just sorting out some past issues."

He gave me an oblique nod of understanding but didn’t pry further.

While drinking the coffee, my phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number:

"You think you can walk away? Looks like we'll see, Carter. You'll regret this."

I clenched my jaw. Ashley.

I locked my phone and exhaled sharply. I could not allow her to mess it up for me. I had to think about the future. Anna.

Speaking of which, I suddenly felt the need to see her.

I grabbed my keys and left the house, ready to check on her. But just as I was pulling out of the driveway, I felt that feeling-I had then my spine-a sudden chill of being watched.

Ashley wasn’t done with me. And that scared the hell out of me.

I was losing my patience.

“I’m not mad at you, we’ve broken up so I see no reason for you to come here. Please let this not repeat itself again” I warned.

She looked as if I’d slapped her.

“I’m not breaking up with you Carter, let’s fix this, come I’ll talk to your dad, I’m sure we can convince him that we in love and he’ll give us his blessings” she said grabbing my arm and trying to lead me into the hall way.

“Stop!” I thundered.

“Are you okay, what’s so hard for you to understand?”.

“I refuse to understand, I’m not breaking up with you okay?” She yelled.

“Suit yourself” I told her. But don’t step foot here again. And with that said I turned and walked in. I heard the furious slam of her car door and her tires screeching as she drove off.

I stopped for a moment to calm myself down before walking into the room. Everyone turned and stared and dad asked “is everything okay son?”. I smiled and told him that everything was fine before taking my seat. Dad cleared his throat and proposed a toast to our future Union. We cheered and drank the wine. I turned and saw anna staring at me thoughtfully. I gave a small smile and she returned it briefly before turning away shyly.

Dinner was over and it was time to go home. Mr and Mrs Sharpe hugged me once again one after the other and I returned it with a smile. We were excorted to the driveway and our parents moved in front of us trying to give us some space.

We walked on in silence till we got the the car.

“Goodnight” he said,

“Drive safe”.

I told him we will and got into the car. He gave a small wave as our car drove away. I smiled and waved back. When we got home, I processed the events of the dinner in my head, turning over it as many times as possible. It didn’t go as bad as I thought it will and I was glad. I wondered who the “she” was that he went out to see. He still had traces of anger on his face when he got back. I reminded myself that it was none of my business, and I went to sleep.

I watched from afar as he walked with her, I peered into my binoculars. She wasn’t even that pretty, I mean she had ugly brown hair and mine was the lightest shade of blond. Did he really see something in her that made him want to continue with the marriage?. The Carter I knew would never do something that wasn’t in his benefit. Maybe there was something he would get from the marriage. I tried to console myself. I watched him again, it appeared like they were talking and I wished I could get close enough to hear them but I knew if Carter saw me again tonight he’d probably strangle me with his bare hands. It was safer if I kept a low profile. I watched him wave and smile at her and my hands tightened on the binoculars. As the black Seville slowly sped into the main road I ducked so whoever was passing would think it was an empty car parked. I raised my head and slowly memorized the plate number of the car. I repeated it until the car was out of sight and I couldn’t see it anymore. I picked up my phone and typed it out in my notes.

Tomorrow morning I’ll ask for a few favors.

I turned on the ignition and slowly drove back home.

I park in the driveway, unlock the door and walk into the flat. The lights were off and I click on the switch. The house is a mess, I hardly replaced the stuffs I’d broken and there was a stain on the wall. Some of my clothes were spread all over my chair and rug. I bent and picked them one after the other. I got into the bathroom and turned on the shower, I increased the red knob till I could feel the hot smoke seeping from my skin, and then the tears fell, mingling with the water pouring down my face.