You sent me a voicemail?

Carl was in his BMW which was parked on the side of the road. He was in the driver's seat while Anne sat beside him in the passenger seat. It wasn't easy for him to convince Anne to get inside his car since she was still angry at him but her feelings for him made it easier.

Those cute puppy-dog eyes made Anne give in to him and if Carl kept doing that, Anne would do anything for him because she couldn't resist it. As much as she tried to stay mad at Carl, there was this soft spot she had for him. Carl was simply her weakness.

Moreover, Carl wanted to ensure that his queen was okay, so he brought her to his car. He intended to drive her to the hospital for a proper checkup, but Anne firmly refused. Aside from the fact that she hadn't forgiven him for the harsh text message that Carl never sent, she hated hospitals. Fortunately, there were some painkillers in the car so he offered her the drugs along with a bottle of water to help ease her pain.

Anne's body ached all over, but her legs were the worst that was why she was limping. The jump she made out of the window at Dr. Ken's mansion wasn't easy for her because of her slim figure.

Carl checked the glove compartment for a cream to apply to the red marks around her wrists, and he found it at last. He had bought the cream for his grandmother after she had gotten hurt in a fall.

Carl's touch was soft and gentle as he carefully applied the cream to Anne's wrists where the red mark was. His fingertips brushed against her skin, and she could feel the warmth of his hands as he massaged the ointment into her skin. He was literally treating her like an egg, afraid that any wrong move would cause her to break.

Carl was so careful not to cause her any pain. He knew she was delicate and vulnerable, and he wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her by accident. He was completely focused on her as if she was the only person in the world who mattered.

As Carl continued to massage her wrists, Anne couldn't help but watch him. Her gaze was fixed on his face instead of staring at her slightly bruised wrist that was being massaged. She watched as Carl focused on his task and the next thing, he took her hand close to his mouth and blew on it to cool off the ointment.

Anne felt a tingle run up her arm as he blew on her wrist. Her heart was pounding in her chest like a young teenager who just met her crush. Carl's features seemed even more handsome than usual, and she felt like she was seeing him in a new light.

Carl looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers, and she felt a rush of emotion that she couldn't explain. "I'm just cooling the balm so it feels a bit more comfortable on your skin," He explained as he blew gently on her hand.

Anne felt the heat of his breath, and she blushed slightly at the close contact. She looked down at her hand, and noticed that the balm had lost its fiery heat and now felt cool and soothing.

'What's wrong with me?' Anne thought to herself. 'Why am I still having these feelings for him, even after the horrible text he sent me?' She couldn't make sense of her conflicting emotions.

"Enough!" She said in a high-pitched voice, pulling her hand away from Carl.

Carl was taken aback by Anne's abrupt action, not understanding what had just happened. He looked at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What's wrong?" he asked concernedly but Anne sat there in silence, unable to speak.

Anne's reaction was due to the way her heart had begun to race when Carl touched her wrist. She did not expect to feel so vulnerable in that moment, and it had startled her. Was she that vulnerable by his touch?

"Give me the ointment. I wanna apply it by myself," she said firmly, stretching forth her hand to Carl.

"Please, let me do it," Carl said softly, refusing to give her the tube. "I don't want you to strain yourself."

"I already look like a mess," she said, gesturing to her disheveled appearance.

"you're still beautiful regardless," he said, gazing at her with sincerity in his eyes.

"Can you stop acting nice to me already?" Anne said and looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with him. Carl was just too charming for his own good, and it was driving her crazy. She was frustrated with the fact that her feelings for him were getting the best of her.

"I'm not acting, this is who I really am. This is how I feel about you," he said truthfully.

Anne's eyes narrowed as she fixed her gaze on Carl. "oh really?" she snapped.

"if you really cared about me then why did you kiss your employee? Why did you take her out on a date? Why did you send me that horrible text?" she showered him with questions. She was determined to get to the bottom of this, to understand what was really going on in his head.

"first of all, I didn't kiss Cassandra..."

"…how dare you lie to my face" Anne interrupted glaring at Carl.

She was angry and hurt and Carl could see it in her eyes. He was just about to say that it was Cassandra who kissed him by force and not the other way around but she didn't want to hear him out. How is he going to explain to her that he loves her and Cassandra means nothing to him? He didn't know how to convince her of his sincerity.

"I'm sorry I…" Carl wanted to apologize for hurting her even though it was unintentional but Anne cut him off.

"…No! I don't want to hear any apologies or excuses. You already made it clear to me that you don't want me anymore and that text you sent me was just a bonus," Anne said, her voice filled with rage.

"What text? Why do you keep mentioning a text? I never sent you any text messages!" Carl protested. He was completely baffled with no idea what she was talking about.

Anne couldn't contain her anger any longer and it was spilling out in waves. How could he lie to her face and pretend not to have sent her any text? What did he take her for? His silly act was making her more upset.

"you know what, I'm sick and tired of all your lies and your pretense. I'm out!" Anne said coarsely. As she reached for the door handle, Carl's hand reached for the car's controls. She heard a beep and felt the door lock beneath her fingers, preventing her from opening it.

"unlock the car door, I need to get the hell out of here," she yelled.

"Not until I put some ointment on your ankles," Carl said with a straight face. He was assertive and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

Anne could tell he wasn't going to back down, and her heart was racing in her chest. She couldn't help but wonder if she had been wrong all along. Maybe it wasn't Carl who sent the text after all. Maybe it was someone else, someone who wanted to cause trouble between them.

Besides, the text didn't sound like Carl. The fact that he was being so insistent about helping her made her doubt that he knew anything about the text. Anne didn't know what to think anymore. She was confused.

Carl moved to lift her leg, his hand hovering above her ankle. But as soon as he made contact with her skin, she pulled away, out of his reach. Anne's senses were on high alert, and Carl's touch was like a bolt of lightning, sending a shiver down her spine. She couldn't let him touch her like that. She was getting turned on as Carl was massaging her wrist and now her ankles. Not a chance!

"What? Does my touch make you nervous?" Carl jokingly asked her with a sly smile.

"No, it doesn't," Anne snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. It was as if Carl was reading her body language because she was really getting nervous.

"I'm just not letting you touch me, that's all," she said.

"Why not? What's the big deal?" he asked.

Anne sighed, not wanting to get into this with him. But she knew she had to say something.

"Well, since you said you never sent me any text message, how about you show me our last text conversation... Just to be clear" she said.

"Of course, I'd love to," he said, pulling out his phone. "I've got nothing to hide."

Anne held out her hand, waiting for him to hand over the phone. His confidence was enough to make her doubt herself that she never got any text from Carl.

As Carl unlocked his phone, he saw a dozen missed calls from Noah and two from Dexter. He knew something serious must've happened at work, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All he could think about was proving to Anne that he didn't send her a text message. He just wants to convince her that he is telling the truth.

He swiped through his message history, looking for the conversation with Anne and he finally found it. The last message he had sent was 'Goodnight, goddess.' and it was more than two weeks ago he had sent her that text.

Ever since their space, he hadn't sent her a text message but as each day passed, he hoped to see a text from Anne.

"here's our last text," Carl said, holding out the phone to her.

Anne took the phone and her jaw dropped in astonishment. The text she received from Carl earlier today has been cleared.

"What?" she exclaimed silently, scrolling through their chat but she couldn't find anything. She checked the call log, only to find out that the voicemail she had left for him was also gone.

"What's going on?" Anne whispered to herself. "Did you delete my voicemail?" she asked Carl staring at him with confusion and disbelief.

"You sent me a voicemail?" Carl asked with a puzzled look. Little did he know that everything had been erased. Both her voicemail and the text Sasha sent with Carl's phone.

Anne closed her eyes and rested her head against the seat, massaging her temples with her fingers. Carl's face was a picture of confusion, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was telling the truth. He looked genuinely baffled by her accusation, and she couldn't ignore the voice in her head telling her to trust him. But if it wasn't him, then who had sent the text with Carl's phone? And why?

The only person Anne could think of was Cassandra. She's the only one in Carl's office who she suspects to have used Carl's phone to send her that heartbreaking text. Cassandra likes Carl too, and she wouldn't want to see Anne with Carl. She thought.