I'm not doubting you I'm just jealous

Sasha let out a soft exhale. She looked at Anne, forcing a smile on her face that wasn't convincing and unnecessary. She has been rehearsing what she wants to say to Anne in her head but she was finding it very difficult to say those words to Anne's face. It really hurts her pride.

"Actually, I came here to…" Sasha inhaled sharply.

"…to apologize to you" she finally let out those strong words. It was like somebody should kill her, that was what she was feeling right now. If not for Carl, Sasha wouldn't be standing in front of Anne, let alone apologizing to her. She was only apologizing to save her friendship with Carl.

It was still shocking to her that Carl was willing to end his friendship with her just because she was proving stubborn to apologize to Anne. Actually, Carl felt that apologizing to Anne on Sasha's behalf wasn't enough. He wanted her to do it on her own.

"What for?" Anne acted clueless and Sasha nearly rolled her eyes in disgust

'This bitch intentionally wants me to humiliate myself in front of her. Pathetic!' Sasha said in her head.

"I shouldn't have made you feel like a loose woman and I did, my apologies. I should've known better" Sasha said in a low tone.

"It's okay. I'm glad we've put that behind us. We can as well be good friends," Anne gave a warm smile.

"Well, too bad I don't associate myself with people at your level," Sasha said mockingly, looking down at Anne.

"Hmm am I that expensive?" Anne grinned and Sasha could see the mockery in Anne's smile and it made her furious. Anne knew that Sasha was trying to insult her but she took it as a compliment. It seems that Sasha isn't a friendly type and Anne is ready to act unfriendly too.

From Carl's view, he could see Anne and Sasha talking to each other and the sweet smile on Anne's face made him believe that Sasha has apologized to Anne and they were probably getting along. That was what he wanted.

"Expensive?" Sasha scoffed.

"Do you have another job asides from being a baker? Sweetheart, you shouldn't think so highly of yourself. The only reason you managed to get invited to Mr. Ross's birthday party was because of Prosecutor Carl's influence. Think about it, how would you have succeeded in being in the same hall with wealthy CEOs, Mayors, brand ambassadors, and a woman like ME! ...No hard feelings though," Sasha said.

Anne mentally sighed. She got the feeling that this woman had something against her. She tried her best not to allow what Sasha said to get to her and remain confident but Sasha saw that Anne wasn't as bold as before which made her smirk.

"Oh and by the way, if Prosecutor Carl asks, tell him I've apologized to you," Sasha said, indirectly giving Anne a hint that she was only apologizing because of Carl.

Although, it wasn't a surprise to Anne. Anne knew from the start that Sasha was pretending to be sorry. Even her facial expression and body language show that she wasn't genuinely sorry. Anne just felt that it was unnecessary for Carl to ask Sasha to apologize.

"Sure, I'll tell him. And I might as well tell him that I might consider forgiving you… There's one thing in slut shaming a fellow woman and there's another thing in making a woman feel like a whore after almost getting raped. I don't know why you dislike me and I don't care. I just pray that what happened to me tonight, shouldn't happen to your sister if you have one." Anne said out of pain.

Sasha laughed "Sadly, I don't have a sister and if I did, I'll make sure she'll know how to dress in public," Sasha said.

Anne swallowed hard, she wondered why this mean woman was friends with a nice person like Carl. And speaking of Carl, Anne tilted her head in Carl's direction and she saw him from a distance staring at her. His hands were in his trousers' pockets with his chest out making him look like a sexy male model.

The word 'hot' is an understatement for describing Carl. His manly physique could make any lady wish to have him even if it was just for a night. The way Carl appeared to be so handsome was like Anne was seeing him for the first time.

Carl winked at Anne and Anne smiled. She had totally forgotten that she was standing in front of Sasha. Sasha might have succeeded in making Anne feel less than but staring at Carl has made her remember that she's a queen, she's worth anything.

Sasha traced Anne's eyes and saw that she was staring at Carl who also couldn't take his eyes off her. It seemed as if the both of them were flirting with their eyes. Sasha clenched her jaw, she saw nothing but love in Carl's eyes which made her envious of Anne. She desperately wants to have what Anne has. She wants Carl for herself.

"Anastasia?" Sasha said alerting Anne who fixed her eyes back at her. "It seems our conversation is done here," she said, leaving. Reaching where Carl was, Sasha voiced out to Carl "Have a good night prosecutor Carl, I enjoyed our dance together" She winked at Carl and smirked at Anne, leaving with a little bit of satisfaction.

Carl felt awkward at what Sasha just said. She didn't just say it to him, she said it out loud but mostly for Anne to hear it. She said it like they had been flirting and having a good time during their dance, whereas, Carl wasn't even in his right mind when he was dancing with Sasha.

Anne now understood that Sasha had a thing for Carl. The way Sasha had been giving her hateful looks but smiling sweetly in front of Carl like they were besties made Anne realize that Sasha has feelings for Carl.

'So he danced with her but made me feel bad when I danced with Angelo' Anne thought to herself. She had a nonchalant look on her face like she wasn't bothered at all yet she felt hurt on the inside.

Carl walked to where Anne was and held her hand. He was just about to say something when Anne cuts in.

"I didn't know you and Sasha had a good time," Anne said, letting go of her hand. She felt a little jealous that Sasha and Carl danced together.

She guessed it was because she danced with Angelo so Carl had to dance with Sasha because he was pissed with her. Even at that, it still hurt her feelings.

Carl sighed. He wondered what was the point of Sasha announcing that they danced together. Their dance wasn't a big deal to him because he was absent-minded throughout the dance. Although, he felt happy inside him that Anne was bothered about it and he dared not to show it on his face.

"The only good time I had at this birthday party was when I got to show off that you're the queen of my heart," Carl said.

"Queen of your heart? pff," Anne scoffed like Carl was preaching lies.

"Are you doubting me?" he asked.

"No, I'm not doubting you I'm just…"

"…Jealous?" Carl helped Anne to complete her sentence.

Anne gasped. "Jeh… jealous?" she stuttered nervously. Anne would never admit that she was jealous.

"Why would I be jealous? Ugh!" Anne denied. She couldn't even maintain eye contact with Carl to convince him that she wasn't jealous. Meanwhile, Carl laughed, knowing fully well that Anne was jealous but was too proud to admit it. Her being jealousy proved that she feels something for Carl even though it's not that deep but it made Carl feel happy and hopeful.

"Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?" Anne crossed her arms rolling her eyes. She was supposed to look upset but she looked so adorable as she did that.

Carl took Anne's hands in a way that she wouldn't break free from him. The both of them had no clue that they were now the only ones in the hall. Everyone had gone home.

"You know, there's absolutely nothing wrong in feeling a little jealous... But you shouldn't be, Sasha and I are just friends and I'll never look at her the same way I look at you. After all, she's a married woman, there's no way I'll..."

"...She's a married woman?" Anne interrupted feeling surprised.

"Ye.. Yeah, she's a married woman" Carl replied.

"You seem surprised," he said but Anne didn't respond.

'I guess I was probably mistaken, that mean lady acts too sophisticated to have feelings for Carl while she's married. Maybe she was only looking out for Carl as a friend' Anne thought.

She had the urge to tell Carl that he shouldn't have told Sasha to apologize to her because it changes nothing if she wasn't willing to do so.

"Look, I didn't wanna dance with her. As a matter of fact, all I could think about was you even while I was dancing with her. Anne, please don't forget that you're the only woman I love and want to be with. You always run through my mind like I'm under a spell" Carl confessed. He's still patiently waiting for the day Anne would finally accept to be his girlfriend. That'll definitely make Carl the happiest man on earth.

However, Anne tried as much as possible not to blush but her face was already turning red. Good thing the lights were dim so it wasn't that obvious. Carl walked closer to Anne and it made Anne's heart race. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. She watched the way Carl slowly bit down his bottom lip like he was trying to seduce her.

"Stop it" Anne muttered, referring to how he bites his lips in a sexy manner. It was turning her on and she hated it.

"Stop what?" he asked with a mischievous smirk.

Anne ignored his question and placed her hands on his broad shoulders "I want you to dance with me," she said.

Carl raised his eyebrows at what she just said feeling surprised.

"Do you want to dance with me or not?" she said.

Carl nodded his head "Of course" he looked around and realized it was just him and Anne in the big, wide hall.

He was still surprised why Anne wants to dance with him all of a sudden but anyways he didn't want to miss this golden opportunity.

"I know we didn't dance together at the party which was unfair because we came together but right now, I really feel like dancing with you," Anne said.

"and uh… since there's no music, I guess it's going to be a mess," she said and Carl chuckled.

"I have a better idea," he brought out his phone and played the song 'boyfriend by Dove Cameron'.

He increased the volume of the music to 50 percent which was not too high or too low. He dropped his phone on a table not too far from them meanwhile, Anne was looking at him, smiling at how he was trying his best to make their dance seem perfect.

Carl stretched forth his right hand to Anne "Shall we?" he said with an alluring smile on his face.

Anne took his hand and they danced to the music. They both flowed with the music as they danced in an amatory manner like it was a fairytale romance story just like Cinderella and Prince Charming.

They weren't dancing in front of a crowd or under a spotlight yet it felt good, it was so peaceful and relaxing.

They ended their ball dance staring into each other's eyes, smiling. Carl gently wrapped his both hands around Anne's neck, intently staring into her silver eyes. He stared at her glossy red lips with a strong desire to kiss her.

Carl slowly tilted his head closer to her face to kiss her but he resisted all of a sudden. He immediately recalled what happened the last time he tried to kiss Anne on his balcony. They argued because of that and she angrily left his house. The second time he tried to kiss her was in his room, she pushed him away from her. Since then, he has been scared to make the first move on Anne.

No matter how tempting it was to steal a kiss from her, he resisted. He didn't want to do anything that'll mess up their relationship. He enjoyed how cool they were without any fights and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Let's call it a night," Carl said under his breath with his face still very close to her.

Anne could almost taste Carl's fresh breath in her mouth and she felt extremely disappointed because she was seriously expecting a kiss from Carl. There was no doubt this time that she would've kissed him back.

"Let's call it a night," Carl said under his breath with his face still very close to her.

Anne could almost taste Carl's fresh breath in her mouth and she felt disappointed because she was seriously expecting a kiss from Carl. There was no doubt this time that she would've kissed him back.