Carrie
With my soul amazingly draped in comfort, I stirred out of my sleep. I do not know if it’s because the bed was extremely comfortable… But that sleep was one of the best I have had. And that is strange.
Who sleeps peacefully after a one-night stand?
Me. I am that person.
My eyes opened to the sight of the gorgeous stranger who was still sleeping beside me. At that moment, I wished I was with my phone. For some reason, I wanted to keep his image in my head and my phone. The peace on his face was a lovely sight and it made me guess that he was someone who was doing something meaningful with his life.
But before I could spend tons of minutes staring at the stranger who gave me one of the best nights, I realised that it was time to leave. So, I carefully got off the bed and landed my feet on the ground.
I grabbed my satchel which I had kept closer after I woke up in the middle of the night to bathe.
He was awake then but he was busy with his laptop and I knew better than to disturb him.
As I straightened my back and looked his way again, I realised I had one little problem.
Okay, it was actually a huge one.
And it has to do with getting back to where I came from. I have no idea how I could get back to the hotel.
But there was no need to panic.
I exhaled hard.
The solution was very simple. I just had to use G****e.
I am sure Mr. Gorgeous wouldn’t mind me touching his phone and using his finger to unlock his phone. He won’t be seeing me again anyway.
My solution worked without waking him up.
As I clicked on the G****e icon, his name popped up.
Alessandro.
I whispered his name into the air. I did it again and soon, it turned into a song that filled my lips. As I searched for directions, I kept singing his name.
And, when I finally got what I wanted, after I committed my destination route to memory, I dropped his phone at the spot I met it.
Then, quietly, after stealing another look at him, I walked out.
~~
Walk of shame?
Please.
I just had the best sex ever and no matter what any soul says, I gave myself the best thing ahead of my forsaken wedding.
So yes, I strutted into the reception of the classic hotel my father had booked for his daughter’s destination wedding with pride on my shoulders.
“Stop.” My walk of pride was soon ruined. “Put your ur hands in the air and turn slowly.”
“Gary…” My lips blurted the name of my bodyguard while I did as he asked. My hands mid-air, I turned and asked him, “Do you have to be so dramatic? Do you need to treat me like a criminal?”
Gary used to work for my father but after I nearly got into trouble during a simple night out, he was assigned to work for me and keep a good eye on me. And since then, he made sure to trail my every movement. I am certain he knows exactly where I was over the night. But, Gary being who he is, might not say a word.
“You are not meant to be outside,” his deep voice boomed and he signalled to the men behind him to fall back.
“Where is my father? Did he order you to imprison me?”
Gary moved closer and gathered my hands till they were behind me. Without a word from him, he began to walk.
“Gary… Does my father know?”
It was necessary that I knew the truth. That would determine the kind of act I will put up when my father confronts me.
“What do you think?”
“That you are ridiculous for listening to my father?” His eyes peered dangerously into mine and I sighed in complaint. “Can you people just for once stop killing my fun? Please.”
“Running away a few days to your wedding is not a good definition of having fun.”
I rolled my eyes as he led me down an open corridor that was decorated with sculptured pillars.
“Yeah, my wedding to a man I don’t know anything about.”
“You brought this upon yourself, Carrie. You know that.”
I said nothing more after what Gary said in his deep, ever-monotonous voice.
A few more steps after, we were in front of the room my father turned into his temporary office. Gary released me, I looked up at him and sighed.
“Let’s go in,” he urged.
I bit into my lip before I asked, “He is really angry, isn’t he?”
“You’ll find out when you go in.” I sneered at him. His kind of friend was annoying. He never helps cover my tracks even though he finds it comfortable to sneak into my room for movie night.
“Dad,” I announced my entry.
As I made to speak another word, Gary grabbed me by the wrist, rushed into the room, and slammed the door shut.
“Wh-What are you doing?” He put on his towering persona and made sure to push me further into the room without touching me. “G- Gary…” I stole a look behind me. “Is this another intervention?”
“Trust me, I am tired of having to organise interventions three times a year.” At least he finally replied to me.
“You make me sound like a terrible person.”
“I know you are not. But it is time for you to start acting like the daughter your father expects you to be.”
“Gary…” I rolled my eyes at his unbelievable statement. “My father’s expectations are ridiculous. My father expects me to get married to a man I don’t know.”
“Your father knows you ran away, Carrie.” Gary sighed and I watched as his built chest moved. “He is not happy.”
“I am not happy either, Gary. I ran away because I am not happy.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Well…” My lips wore a mischievous grin immediately and I disjointed my body from the edge of the desk behind me. My finger began to trail a line on his chest and I said, “You can help me run away. You know that is very possible. And I know you’ll do a good job of helping me.”
“Carrie…” His eyes softened and I saw something I have always noticed. I saw his affection for me. Gary reached for my finger and that grip converted to wrapping the entirety of my hand. “Listen to me… You are on the verge of getting your father’s wrath. So you need to take a minute to understand what you want to do with your life.”
“Gary…”
He took a step back before I could show how affected and appreciative I was of his advice. It is the first time he has spoken in such a sombre tone with me. And since I deduced the affection that he has tried to keep hidden from me in his words, I wished to say a word or two, but he beat me to it.
Gary began to take steps back. “Your father is currently considering calling off the marriage.”
“What?” My eyes widened in excitement and my feet were ready to fly. “Really?”
With his usual stoic expression, he continued, “But you are grounded for two weeks.”
“Grounded? I am not a child.”
“You act like one, Carrie.”
Okay… That is a burn. A huge burn.
“Whatever you say…” I quickly pushed his hurtful words away and focused on the fact that I will be getting out of my terrible wedding ceremony to Frank Maximus, the man I give no shit about. “As long as I remain unmarried after those two weeks, I am good to go.”
“Let’s go to your room,” Gary offered his arm and I hooked mine with his. “I told the chef to prepare a meal for you.”
“Oh… Gary. You know the way to my heart.” My pouting lips soon wore a sigh and I rested on the comfort of his buff arm as we walked out of the room.
CarrieBoredom is a disease. I’ll tell you.Two weeks have already passed since my father’s decision to call off the marriage. But I have been stuck in my room since then. And now, I think that my hotel room is my designated purgatory. Nothing I did was fun.Even Netflix was boring to me.Shocking, right?I mean, I should be jumping and throwing pillows recklessly since I am not getting married to a stranger anymore.But no, I just went into the bathroom to take my fourth shower. Yesterday, I took six showers. I truly deserve an award for the cleanest woman of the week.So, give me my award, people.But, man, I miss LA. I wish I could escape this hell and go back to my usual life. But no, my father refused to show me his face ever since he sent Gary to announce the wedding annulment.And since I can’t run away to LA without letting my father know how grateful I was for his decision, I have to stay put.A sigh was already leaving me when a knock came on my door. I was expecting it to b
CarrieNo, no, no. No.That can’t be right.“Carrie?” I looked up at my Dad, my mind in jeopardy. “When did you and Frank get intimate? Why don’t you want to get married then?”Uh? Intimate? Frank?Wh-What is my old man talking about?My father must have sensed that I was not ready to give him a response, so he faced Frank who had been busy pressing his phone with rigour until the news bomb was dropped.“Frank...” As my Father called the man, my eyes that were squinted out of fear darted in the his direction. “You never told me you and Carrie finally hit it off.”“Hit what off?”Oh my. My dad is going to lose it soon. Oh, I am eternally doomed.Excitedly, my father replied to Frank, saying, “Didn’t you hear? Carrie is pregnant.” His dark eyes shined brighter than they ever have and the happiness my father was displaying made him look pitiful. “Frank, this calls for celebration. This is-”“Sir…” An air of darkness overpowered Frank’s stance. Before he continued, his eyes met mine, he j
CarrieThe next day, I found myself at the location indicated on the card the hotel’s receptionist gave me. The huge building that was supposedly Alessandro’s company was an architectural firm built in solitude, far away from most business buildings in that area.This time, Gary was not available, so I had to take a taxi and walk some distance before I got to the building.Soon, I walked past the gates and towards the building that was constructed uniquely and technically. Well, it is expected of such a firm to be unique about the construction of their building.But is it strange that I think their building looks like a jug that has been sliced in half?Oh well…I entered a room that was empty save for some chairs that lay beside a staircase that ran all the way up.Well, I am definitely not climbing it.So, I turned to my left and walked to the elevator and a few seconds later, I was led into a chilly room.“Good afternoon,” I called the attention of the man behind the desk who had c
Alessandro“Spit it out,” I ordered while I tried hard to stay calm in the midst of chaos.“Mm…Mmm Mmm…” The bastard kneeling in front of me uttered incoherent words and I lost it. He has been hoarding something important inside his mouth and since it was something he would be unable to swallow, he made sure to keep his mouth.But I don’t have time for such games.So, I faced the butler beside me and reached for the gun he deliciously presented on his gold tray.With charisma in my action, I toyed with the weapon for some minutes. My eyes tinged with joy as I ran my fingers through the blackness of the gun and I began to feel the rush I hadn’t felt in weeks.My impatient self faced the bastard and the fear in his eyes told me that I was already torturing him.Of course, in the face of a deadly weapon, fear is only normal.But you know what? I consider fear an annoying reaction.People tremble in the worst ways when they are caught doing things they shouldn’t be doing and I find that h
CarrieI know I have never been too keen on getting married but there were times I imagined living a great deal of my life with someone else. I sometimes went as far as picturing how magical the wedding ceremony would be.So if the twenty-one-year-old-college-me sees what I am doing right now, she will drop dead for several minutes like the dramatic girl she is.The more I walked down the corridor that was supposed to lead to the open space where my wedding was located, the more my feet dragged.With each passing second, the reluctance to get through that moment grew and that reluctance reached my legs so much that it began to feel as though stones were set in their soles.But do I have a choice?Even if it takes a whole day to arrive at my destination, I will still get married.My father made sure to send several messages to drill that particular truth into my mind. He also said that even though I was not deserving of it, he was going to allow me to use the outdoor venue he booked fo
CarrieWithout stopping to look back, I stormed into my room. But beyond my anger were the tears I have been trying to hold back since I realised Alessandro Valante would never reply to my messages.So, by the time I was standing in front of my dresser, my hands had become shaky and my eyes were very red.“Carrie! What exactly is wrong with you?” My father barged in after, and my mom followed quietly.“I don’t know, Dad.” Before I faced him, I managed to tuck my feebleness to the side. “Everything?”“Carrie, I will not have you act this way.”“What way? What?” I tendered my palms in question. “Is it so wrong to throw up? Is it wrong that I was sorry for throwing up? I shouldn’t be sorry for throwing up, I am pregnant!”“Don’t you raise your-”“You know what Dad, since you want to support Frank so much, since he wasn’t wrong to shout at me because of some cheap shoe, why don’t you get married to him? I am sure Mom won’t mind having a man as a rival just like she did not years ago.”“Ca
Alessandro“Pass. Too much lipstick, is she trying to cook with that much oil?”“Are you trying to murder me? I haven’t eaten all day?” As he tossed the pictures I gave him to the side, Eduardo pouted and gave his stomach a rub to show that he was hungry.One would think that I kept him captive for days and refused to feed him. Well, I did keep him by my side for a couple of days.After a sigh, I reached for my phone, tossed it at him, and said, “Order something for yourself.”“Nice. What about you?” His excitement quickly turned to worry and I appreciated how much he cared about the state of my stomach. “You haven’t eaten anything reasonable in days.”“When do I ever eat anything reasonable?” came my solemn question. “I have dipped myself in too much shit that I can’t enjoy any meal anymore.”Eduardo began to tap away on my phone. “You need to eat something regardless. We can’t spend all day trying to find you a potential wife without eating.”Yes. I am going to follow the wishes of
Carrie“I am surprised you are not trying to get rid of this baby,” my doctor friend, Rachel, said. Rachel is a friend I have had since I was five. Our families lived beside each other and even though the bond both families formed has now tarnished, Rachel and I take it upon ourselves to continue what could not be finished.“I can’t.” I sank into the chair. “I need the company.” The ginger-haired lady in front of me smiled. “What?” I frowned.“You know this baby changes everything right?”“It already has.”“And the father?”“A handsome stranger who isn’t replying to the messages I left him.”“He might still reply.”I scoffed. “Yeah right. And he will save me from getting married,” I said sarcastically.She got up and grabbed a file. “Look at the bright side though.”“Which side?”“Your baby will come out beautiful.”I nodded in agreement as I replayed Alessandro’s face in my head. Not realising that I was already wearing a smile, I replied almost quietly, “I am glad I have this baby.”