Just then, a stripper walked towards Carl and caressed his face. She tried to kiss him but he stopped her. He dipped his hand in his pockets and brought out a roll of cash and handed it to her.
"Take this and leave me alone," Carl said to the stripper and the stripper stopped touching him at once. She collected the cash smiling at the amount she got just like that.
"Carl you're a single man have fun for once." Carlos laughed and Carl rolled his eyes.
The stripper turned to Carlos and kissed him, unbuttoning his shirt.
"hey can't you see he's drunk" Carl yelled at the stripper separating the both of them. He gave her extra cash so she could leave and he paid the bartender for the drinks he and Carlos had.
"Carlos, why did you allow that girl to kiss you when you have a girlfriend?" Carl said while putting Carlos's right arm around his neck to help him walk out of the club.
Meanwhile, Carlos laughed hysterically "why did you allow me to get this drunk in the first place? Don't you know I'm not myself when I'm drunk"
"I'm your best friend, not your servant" Carl groaned.
Carlos laughed "I love you man,"
"I love you too" Carl replied as he struggled to take him out of the club because Carlos was weak in the knees and could barely walk.
The next day***
Anne felt bad for pushing Carlos away last night even though he deserved it. She has never provoked or yelled at Carlos before no matter how angry she gets but last night, she was fed up.
She thought about how Carlos gripped her jaw with anger in his eyes and she gently stroked her jaw, staring at her face with a hand mirror in her hand.
The red marks on her face were no longer visible but her jaw still hurt a little. Thankfully, Carlos's fingernails weren't long, if not he would've pinched her skin.
Although, Carlos had never raised his hand at Anne before and maybe it was because she hasn't provoked him to that extent. Moreover, Anne always tries her best to please him and to be on his good side because she loves him so much.
Anne dropped the hand mirror and groaned softly, massaging her temple.
"Did I overreact last night?" Anne asked herself. She had been thinking about Carlos throughout the night.
"or did I act like I'm supposed to? Oh my gosh! I'm so confused and I miss him… What if Carlos has been going through a lot and I've not been considerate? What if I'm only thinking about myself?" She questioned herself in frustration.
Anne felt the need to reconcile with Carlos. She wanted things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to be in his arms again but without any doubts.
After so much thought, Anne left her house to see Carlos at his workplace. She was wearing a black tight-fitting romper and red color flat shoes that matched the red handbag she was hanging on her shoulders which contained a mini box of cookies specially made for Carlos.
Anne knows for a fact that Carlos loves her cookies so she decided to surprise him with them. Perhaps, it would make Carlos happy and they can move on from their previous fight she thought.
She boarded a cab and stopped at Carl's company. She admired the tall buildings as the clouds were reflected on the transparent glasses.
Anne walked towards the company and saw Carlos standing next to his car, browsing his phone. It seemed like he just got to work.
He was on a black turtle-neck long-sleeved sweater that hugged his slim chiseled body and he was wearing black leather trousers giving off a bad boy vibe as usual. He looked so hot and Anne was staring at him in admiration.
Anne didn't tell Carlos she was coming to see him because she wanted to surprise him.
"Carlos" Anne called his name in a soft tone. She was standing three feet away from him and she was sure he heard her.
Carlos lifted his head and was surprised to see Anne standing right in front of him like an angel. He immediately ran to hug her grinning from ear to ear.
"sweetheart! I'm so glad you're here," Carlos said and kissed her forehead. He was really happy to see her.
"Anastasia you don't know how happy I am to see you, I've missed you so much… and I'm sorry for being such a jerk bag lately" Carlos apologized for the thousandth time.
"I'm sorry too for thinking about myself alone," Anne said and wrapped her arms around his neck. "couples fight all the time and I should know better to learn to forgive…" she said and Carlos interrupted her with a deep kiss on her lips.
Meanwhile, Carl was watching them through his office window with red eyes and furrowed brows. He had been staring at Carlos and Anne even before they shared a kiss.
He felt bitter and angry watching the two love birds make out. He couldn't help but wished he was the one holding Anne instead of Carlos. It was like his heart was going to explode from his chest if he kept on staring at them.
He thought he could cope with seeing his best friend and someone he loves being in a romantic relationship but he was wrong. He couldn't stand it, he felt so jealous.
"Prosecutor Carl, Prosecutor Carl!" Sasha called his name several times but Carl's ears were deaf at the moment.
Sasha was staring at Carl's back view as he was looking at the giant transparent glass window in front of him. She wondered what Carl was looking at that would make him not hear any of her calls.
She got closer to where Carl was standing and traced his eyes. She saw that Carl was staring down at Carlos and his girlfriend, with a dark gaze, feeling envious of their relationship.
Watching them, It seemed Anne was laughing and removing something from Carlos's face. It was impossible for Carl and Sasha to hear their conversation because they were watching them from a high floor which was over 40 feet.
"is she the one you talked about?" Sasha asked Carl.
Carl was startled to hear Sasha's voice and he immediately sat down on his seat. "how long have you been here and why didn't you knock before entering my office" Carl said to Sasha in a husky tone.
"Prosecutor Carl, I knocked and called your name several times but it seemed you were too distracted staring at Carlos and his girlfriend... Wasn't she the girl who got kidnapped recently?" Sasha asked.
"Yeah, that's her" he muttered.
"And the one who you're in love with but can't be with her because she has a boyfriend," she said
Carl exhaled deeply, stroking his forehead. He was still feeling a sharp stabbing pain in his chest and one could easily tell that he was devastated.
"Being in a one-sided love and being stuck in a friend zone with someone you're in love with hurts, but what hurts the most is seeing that person love someone else right in front of you.
She's in love with my best friend and I have to deal with it... I'm dying silently seeing both of them together" Carl poured out his heart.
"I told you to stay away from her else, you'll keep on getting hurt seeing the both of them together," Sasha said to Carl, sitting opposite him.
"…yeah but sometimes I see her against my will… and she won't stop talking about Carlos" Carl groaned.
Sasha scoffed "you want her to stop talking about her boyfriend?"
"That's not what I meant, I just feel so jealous" he responded.
"how about the next time you see her whether it's against your own will or not, you ignore her… that way you might over her" Sasha said.
"is that what you think?" Carl said in a low tone.
"you have any other ideas?" she asked
"hmm… you're right because the more I get close to her, the more I fall for her" he sighed.
"Well, that's not why I'm here boss". She said flatly "I'm here to inform you that there were no fingerprints of the criminal that killed the delivery man, the only assumption is that the murderer wore gloves," she said.
"so there are no other clues on who brutally killed that man?" Carl asked.
"I'm afraid so. But I'm sure I'm going to catch that criminal… eventually," she said and left Carl's office.