Carl took Anne to the balcony of his house where they could see the whole city and the beautiful shining stars. It was a beautiful night and Anne felt like she could touch the full moon from where she stood.
She went closer to the edge of the balcony and looked down feeling overwhelmed by how beautiful the city was from her view. Anne had a huge smile on her face.
"wow… I've lived here in New York for so long and I never knew it's such a beautiful city" she laughed facing him.
"This beautiful view made me buy this house," Carl said
"hmm …money makes one get whatever they want," she said.
"I don't think so," He said leaning against a table "I can afford to buy an entire county but I'm still not satisfied"
"well, human wants are insatiable no matter what. It doesn't matter how wealthy a person gets. My mom used to tell me that when she was alive" she said
"when she was alive?" Carl curiously asked and then he noticed the sudden change in Anne's facial expression. She looked a bit sad.
"I'm sorry, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, " Carl said, already regretting why he asked her that question.
"my parents died in a fatal car accident three years ago… sadly, It was on my birthday when just turned 20…" Anne said.
Anne inhaled sharply at the thought of that. The death of her parents still hurts her like it happened yesterday.
She could still remember vividly when she was waiting for her parents to surprise her with a birthday gift. She was with her brother and a few friends, all partying and enjoying themselves when an elderly man who was her neighbor broke the sad news to her.
That day her happiness turned into sadness and ever since that unfortunate day, Anne has hated and despised her birthdays.
Carl now understood why he has never seen or heard anything about her parents. He just knows about her late grandfather and her brother, Dexter.
"I'm truly truly sorry, It must have been hard for you," Carl said in a soft tone.
"It's okay, …my mom taught me how to bake and almost everything I know. It's been tough surviving without my parents but my granddad was always there to comfort me… but now,...." Anne took a deep breath. She just remembered that her grandfather was also dead.
"…but now, he's in a better place… I'm just truly grateful for having my younger brother Dexter" she said in a broken tone.
Carl felt really sad for her, he felt his heart ache for her but he still made sure not to show her to make her feel pity.
"Despite everything, you're still a strong and incredible woman. Anyone is lucky to have met you." he smiled trying to encourage her and Anne gave a tight smile.
"you know, I lost my dad barely two years ago," Carl exhaled deeply.
"I'm so sorry Carl," Anne said.
She walked closer to Carl and gently pat his shoulders to comfort him. She knows the pain of losing a parent so she could tell that Carl was hurt even though his face wasn't showing it.
"He was actually murdered, he was shot by his mistress." He said.
"oh my God," Anne whispered with a sorry look on her face.
"That's right, …when my mom found out about my dad's affair with his young lover, she was devastated.
And as if that wasn't enough, my father's mistress who was young enough to be his daughter killed him. She killed my dad just because he chose his family and not her." Carl sighed softly.
"Is that why you became a prosecutor?" Anne asked.
"yes, that's why. So I can lock her behind bars myself" Carl said firmly.
"…have you done that?" she asked.
Carl slowly shook his head negatively.
"I haven't done that…yet. Unfortunately, I wasn't in New York when it happened. I have thoroughly investigated her but I still have no clues of her whereabouts to date.
I don't even know who the hell she is because my dad was smart enough to hide everything about his mistress
…but luckily, my mom got to find out. She knows the face of my dad's murderer and that's enough reason for me to believe I'm going to catch her someday." Carl said.
"I trust that you're going to catch her eventually, I'm sure of it. After all, you're very good at your job" Anne smiled at him and he nodded staring at her.
"What's the one thing you'll like to have that'll make you feel happy?" Carl asked her
"Hum… right now, I just wanna own a bakery. A bakery that I literally own, big enough for me to employ workers and also teach people how to bake. I've always fantasized about that because my landlord has been a pain in the neck." Anne laughed at her last sentence.
"how about you? What do you want?" she asked him and Carl paused for a while.
"Hmm… what do I want? Actually, I have no idea… I just don't want to get hurt or sad again. I don't want to be heartbroken anymore" He said.
"it's only going to be possible if your heart was made of stone," Anne said.
"do you know I've wished for that?" Carl said in a serious tone.
"huh? Why?" Anne asked feeling surprised. "have you ever been heartbroken?"
"yeah" Carl muttered. "as a matter of fact, my last heartbreak experience made me swear never to fall in love again." He said.
"you must've been really hurt to have made a such vow," Anne said
"Hurt is an understatement, I was broken and traumatized ...and because of that, I feel insecure about myself. I feel like I'm never enough for anybody" Carl said.
"That's not true…" she shook her head "but who could've made you feel that way?"
"…my ex-girlfriend, her name was Aurora. I loved her so much and I thought she loved me too" he sighed. "after four years of relationship, I found out that she had been secretly cheating on me and was pregnant for somebody else."
"That's terrible! How could she have betrayed you like that." Anne scoffed.
"I know, it fucking hurts but you know what hurts me more, she died because of me," Carl said with a sad look on his face and Anne was shocked by what he just confessed.
"One day she visited me and I confronted her for cheating on me and getting pregnant for somebody else. We had a crazy argument and I broke up with her. I told her I wished I had never met her in the first place. I told her I never wanna ever see her again." Carl swallowed hard.
"That same day she left my house, she had an accident and lost her life..." Carl looked down. He felt so remorseful at the thought of that and Anne couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"I blamed myself for her death and the death of her unborn child. If only I had never said those harsh things to her, or if I had forgiven her, she might still be alive. Everything was entirely my fault" he said in a sad tone that sounded like he was hurting on the inside.
His eyes were red and welling up with tears because he got so emotional thinking about his past. He blamed himself for the death of his ex-girlfriend and at the same time, her betrayal made Carl feel insecure about himself.
Carl shut his eyes tight not to tear up. He didn't want to get too emotional in front of Anne.
"No, no no… don't ever say that. It wasn't your fault. Don't ever think that she died because of you" Anne said firmly.
"of course, it's my fault, Anne, I've tried not to blame myself for her death but I still feel guilty." He said, looking back at her and Anne saw nothing but sadness in his eyes.
"Do you still love her?" she asked him
"…No, I've gotten over her and I promised myself I was never going to fall in love again but ever since I met....." Carl gulped. He couldn't finish his sentence. He just realized he almost confessed his feelings to Anne.
"ever since you met who? You're now in love with someone?" Anne curiously asked.
Carl gave Anne a searching look. He was confused at the moment. He wasn't sure if he could just tell her it was that he was in love with her.