Anne and Carl eventually got to New York and they drove straight to the hospital Carlos was in.
"Mr. McAlester, you're here to see Mr. Gray am I right?" The doctor said to Carl.
"Yes doctor," Carl responded and the doctor took them to the ward Carlos was in and left them there.
Anne felt a chill as soon as she saw Carlos on the hospital bed on life support with bandages wrapped around his head, chest, and his arm.
"Carlos doesn't deserve this at all" Anne mumbled, feeling sad about Carlos's condition.
She turned to Carl to hug him to feel comforted and he immediately hugged her back.
"It's okay!" Carl muttered, gently patting her back to console her.
Anne was genuinely sad to see Carlos like that. They might not have ended their relationship on good terms but Anne wanted him to be okay.
After a while, she disengaged from the hug and Carl cleaned the tears that were under her eyes with his thumbs.
"He's going to be okay I promise" Carl whispered to her and she nodded.
Anne felt a lot better. She has also confirmed that hugging Carl is therapeutic to her. It's a warm and soothing feeling that makes her feel like everything is going to be okay.
Anne and Carl left the ward and immediately after they did, Carlos's index finger had a reflex.
"What happened to him? He looks so lifeless" Anne said to Carl as they were leaving the hospital.
"like I said, he got into a fatal car accident.. but it wasn't just an accident," Carl said.
"what do you mean?" Anne curiously asked.
"Someone wanted him dead but he has been arrested," he said
"Who? Who will want to kill him?" she asked with anxiety.
"He's a serial killer and popularly known as the drug lord," Carl replied.
"I have no idea who is that," Anne said shaking her head.
"…but I'm at least happy he's arrested… Carlos and I might've ended our relationship on the wrong foot but I still don't wish such to have happened to him"
"I understand," Carl said.
"you're going home right?" he asked and Anne nodded her head.
"Let me drop you off," he said and they both left the hospital.
..........
"The last time you were in my office what did say about your debts," the vice chancellor said to Treasure in a threatening voice.
Treasure was sitting opposite the vice-chancellor in his office. As usual, she was being asked the same question about her school debt.
The vice chancellor has always been polite to Treasure and also tried to reason with her since she couldn't meet up on her payments but this time he was fed up.
He had to be harsh on her because he felt that Treasure was misusing his niceness not to pay up her fees.
"umm, sir... I… I…" Treasure stammered with anxiety.
"I have had enough of this!" the vice chancellor hit his desk and the loud thud made Treasure gasp.
"Listen, Miss Reed, I don't want to hear any more excuses from you because I've been patient enough with you. If by Monday next week, you don't pay up all your debts, I'll be forced to withdraw you from this school not minding your good grades!" he warned and Treasure knew he meant it.
"yes, sir" Treasure whimpered and left the office.
Treasure walked through the hallway with her eyes welling up with tears. She's already tired of crying over and over again because of her school debts.
Nevertheless, her brother Kim has killed people for money, robbed banks, and done all the needful to sponsor her in the university and that was one of the major reasons he joined the black blade.
However, Treasure couldn't bear the torture of Kim running from the cops here and there and being a pickpocket. Although, Kim is nonchalant about it, In fact, he enjoys stealing whereas, Treasure hated it so much.
But how could she gather such money to clear all her debts in school from now till Monday, next week when it's already Wednesday?
It's either Kim does the needful or she uses what she has to get what she wants.
'Treasure, you just have to do this,' Treasure said in her head as she took a deep breath.
She brought out her phone and called Kim.
"what's up Tee?" Kim said on the phone immediately after he answered the call.
"Kim... I've accepted to be a nightclub singer" Treasure went straight to the point.
"What?" Kim exclaimed loudly on the phone.
"Are you sure?" he asked again for confirmation.
He was surprised at what he just heard. He didn't know that it'll be that easy for Treasure to agree to it. It was just because she didn't have a choice.
"yes, Kim!" Treasure responded and hung up.
****
Dexter came inside his house feeling exhausted from his work. He perceived a sweet aroma coming from the kitchen which made him sniff the air with his eyes shut enjoying the pleasant smell of freshly baked muffins if he wasn't mistaken.
"mmm only Anne's pastries smelled so good like this!" Dexter said silently.
"Anne!!" Dexter yelled as he rushed to the kitchen.
He was confident that Anne was around even though he hadn't seen her in more than three months. The scent of the freshly baked muffins made him strongly believe that Anne was in the kitchen.
"surprised?" Anne said and gave Dexter a cute wink.
She was wearing an apron and her hair was a little messy. It seemed she had been in the house for some time now.
"of course, I... I wasn't expecting you at all" he sputtered still feeling astonished
"Bring it in Dexter" she laughed spreading her arms wide and Dexter rushed to give her a tight hug.
"it's obvious you really miss your big sister," she said as they both disengaged from the hug.
"Duh! and I know you miss me too" Dexter replied as he hastily shove the muffins Anne baked into his mouth. That was his favorite snack and Anne baked a lot for him as she got home.
"that's true, I miss you too" she laughed.
"And that is why I came back," she said as she removes the apron she was wearing.
She left the kitchen to the living room and Dexter followed.
"…and I also confirmed Carlos to be in a coma," she said sitting down on the couch.
"yeah and the drug lord who was responsible for that is in jail," Dexter said.
"It's just weird that he wanted to kill Carlos. I mean, I wonder why. What business did they have?" Dexter said.
Anne sighed. "either way, I hope he recovers," she said.
"Are you still in love with him?" he asked.
"you want my honest answer?" she said and Dexter nodded.
"Not anymore... Carlos was the major reason I went to Alabama so I could stay far from him and move on. Cause, if I had stayed, I might've gone back to him" Anne said.
"even after he cheated? Why?" Dexter asked.
"You know how Carlos can be, he's very manipulative. Once he noticed that I'm still into him, he'll look for a way to get in my head" she sighed.
Anne said nothing but the truth. She could still remember when she had a heated argument with Carlos a few months ago. She was mad at him for being rude to her most consistent customer.
Carlos apologized to her but Anne who wouldn't stop running her mouth made Carlos shut her up with a deep kiss. Anne was still upset but she kissed him back despite that and that's how they moved on from the argument.
He was her weakness and she finds it hard to resist him.
Carlos knew how much Anne loves him and he uses that as an advantage. He is always certain that he'll win her back no matter what.
"Right now, I only feel sorry for him seeing him in a coma. Even though he had hurt me in the past, I still want him to recover." Anne said.
"me too," Dexter said.
"So Dexter, after I warned you not to tell anyone and I mean anyone where I was, you still went ahead and told Carl," she said in a husky tone, throwing Dexter a cushion.
Meanwhile, Dexter quickly dodged it before it landed on his face.
"Anastasia!!" Dexter groaned picking up the cushion.
"I thought you must've forgotten about that" Dexter said.
"What if I told you that Prosecutor Carl was willing to give me any amount of money so I could tell him where you were?" he said.
"what? Are you serious?" Anne was stunned.
"Yep! But instead of collecting the money, I asked for something better... I made him employ me to be a detective at NYPD" Dexter smiled.
"Carl employed you just for you to tell him where I was?" Anne said, looking at Dexter in disbelief.
"Yes sis, You're looking at the latest detective in town." Dexter chuckled.
What Dexter said about Carl, 'willing to give him any amount just so he could know where Anne was,' was still on Anne's head.
'Does he like me that much?' she thought to herself because who does that?
Anyways, she didn't want to conclude yet.
"How's Victoria and Clara doing at Alabama," Dexter asked.
"Oh they're cool, they're doing great," Anne said.
"Did you know that Carl renovated their house? He really did a good job in transforming Victoria's house," she added.
"Whoa! Actually, I'm not surprised. Mr. McAlester has a big heart and only a dumb woman will reject his undying love" Dexter said rolling his eyes.
"Are you talking about me?" Anne pointed to herself sneering at Dexter.
"I didn't say your name geez," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I know you're talking about me. Look, Carl and I are just friends and we'll stay friends. I have no room for love in my heart, I can't be stupid twice..." Anne said with a straight face.
"…But one mistake from that psychopath doesn't mean all men are the same. You have to let go of the hate you feel about men and give love another chance in your..."
"blah blah blah" Anne yelled, interrupting Dexter. Her palms were on her ears so she wouldn't hear any of Dexter's lovey-dovey speech.
"You know what?? You should go back to Alabama!!" Dexter yelled and threw Anne the cushion.
Anne gasped immediately and it landed on her face.
"Ow! Dexter! I'm going to kill you!" she yelled back, chasing Dexter with the cushion.
Meanwhile, Dexter was laughing and having fun as he was running away from her.