Blockade between Anne and Carl

Anne was lying on her couch watching a TV program but apparently, her focus wasn't on the TV. Her mind was on Carl. She still hasn't sent Carl that apology text because she has been feeling nervous to do so. As days go by, she misses him hopelessly.

Thinking about Carl made her pick up her phone and decide to send Carl that risky text. She stared at her phone screen thinking of what to type and then she thought of calling him instead. Perhaps, calling him would be better than texting she thought because once she dialed his number, there would be no turning back.

Anne sat down erectly on the couch and took a deep breath. "Relax Anne, you can do this," she encouraged herself. If she successfully called Carl to apologize to him and tell him how she feels, Treasure would be proud of her and Dexter would no longer tease her of being a coward.

Anne reduced the volume of the TV to avoid any distractions and then she dialed Carl's number. As soon as she dialed the number, she felt a surge of nervous energy as she heard the rings on the other end of the line. Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for him to pick up. She's really doing this. Carl's phone is ringing.

The phone rang and rang, and just when Anne thought he wasn't going to answer, the call went to voicemail. The automated message said, 'The person you're trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.' Anne felt her stomach sink as the beep sounded in her ear.

'He's probably busy' She thought to herself.

Anne suddenly realized that it was Monday, a notoriously busy day for people in corporate jobs like Carl's. Carl wasn't just any employee, he was the president of the NYPD company. No wonder he didn't pick up. She felt a pang of guilt at her own situation. She didn't have work to do unless a customer placed an order.

Either way, Anne was still determined to apologize to Carl and tell him how she felt now that she had summoned the courage to do so. She felt like sending him a voicemail so that whenever Carl was less busy, he would receive her message. So, she took a deep breath and began recording a voicemail.

"Hey, Carl, it's Anne. I know I've been a total jerk lately, and I want to apologize for that. The truth is, I care about you so much, and I know I haven't always shown that. And ever since we separated for the past few days, I was hurting. I know it's my fault because I pushed you away and I truly, truly regret that.

I hope you can forgive me, and maybe we can try to patch things up. I totally get if you still want to give me space but I wanted to at least let you know how I feel. You mean a lot to me, and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to fix things between us. I honestly don't want to lose you, Carl. And I take full responsibility for my actions. I promise, if you give me another chance, I'll do everything I can to make it up to you,"

After the voicemail, Anne felt like a big rock had finally left her chest. She threw her head on the couch and let out a soft sigh. If she had known that voicing her feelings would bring her such a sense of relief, she would've done it ages ago. She felt lighter than air. She had been so caught up in her fears and uncertainties, but now that she had taken that leap, it was like a veil had been lifted. Now, all she had to do was wait for Carl's response.

Unfortunately, Carl wasn't able to pick up his phone because it was with Sasha in his office and Carl wasn't there to pick it up. While Carl was with Dexter, Sasha borrowed Carl's phone to field an urgent call from a high-profile client since her own phone battery was dead and Carl gave it to her. Besides, he trusted her with his phone.

Inside Carl's office, Sasha heard Carl's phone ringing so she checked it to see if it was an important call so she could give it to Carl since he was in the hallway near his office. But what got to her surprise was how Carl saved the name of the caller. It was saved as 'Cute Witch' with a red love emoji attached to it.

'What a weird way of saving a person's name' Sasha thought to herself.

Carl originally saved Anne's name as 'Witch' the first time he got her number from Richie. He gave her that name because of their first encounter when she acted so harshly towards him. But as they became closer, he learned that Anne was just a hot head so he changed her name on his phone to 'Cute Witch' with a red love emoji.

Sasha watched until Carl's phone stopped ringing in her hands. She was about to drop his phone on the office desk and then she saw a voicemail. She was torn between dropping the phone back on the desk and checking the voicemail but curiosity got the best of her. She desperately wanted to know the identity of the mysterious caller, especially since the person was calling Carl on the phone during working hours.

Sasha couldn't resist the urge to listen to the message. As the recording began to play, she heard Anne's voice, and her heart skipped a beat. Her brows furrowed with anger.

Sasha took her time to listen to the full voicemail and then she burst into a wicked laugh. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and she laughed in disbelief as she heard how pathetic Anne sounded. She had no idea that Carl and Anne were having a misunderstanding and that explained a lot why Carl rarely talks about his so-called queen of his heart.

However, from how sincere Anne sounded, Sasha was certain that Carl would forgive her. She knows Carl to be a very forgiving and softhearted person but this time, she would do anything in her power to keep Carl and Anne apart.

Sasha, feeling vindictive, quickly deleted the voicemail without hesitation. But she wasn't done yet. Fueled by her pettiness, she decided to use Carl's phone to send a scathing text to Anne, one that would undoubtedly drive a wedge between her and Carl for good. Her fingers flew across the keypad as she furiously typed out the venomous message.

..

Anne was still sitting on her couch waiting for Carl to call her anytime soon and then her phone vibrated. Her heart leaped as she heard her phone vibrate. She rushed to see the notification on her phone screen and then she saw a text from Carl.

Anne paused for a while feeling nervous to open Carl's text. Her heart was beating fast for what it might say. She had hoped for a phone call, something more personal and intimate, but the text was all she had. Anyway, what matters is that he responded.

Anne opened the text and saw a long paragraph of text and she began reading it.

'Anne, can you please leave me alone? I have moved on and as a matter of fact, I'm with someone else now so STOP BUGGING ME!'

Anne gasped and her heart skipped a beat as she read the first line of the text.

So Carl is really in a relationship with Cassandra, Anne concluded. She felt her heart shattered into pieces. There was more to the text and Anne swallowed her saliva hard and continued reading.

'I want you to stop calling me or texting me and focus on how to raise money from your petty business. Maybe that way, you'll finally see that we were never meant to be together because we're not in the same class…'

Anne felt a sharp stabbing pain in her chest and tears filled her eyes that they dropped on the screen of her phone. She couldn't believe what she just read. She checked the number that sent her the text and it showed 'Mr. McAlester'. How did he become so ruthless overnight? She tried to read the text in Carl's voice but she couldn't. It was impossible.

Perhaps, this was how he felt about her. Anne wanted to stop reading but she had to finish what she started even though her heart was aching.

With trembling hands, she cleaned the tears off her phone and scrolled up to see more.

'And one more thing you should know is that falling in love with you was the biggest mistake I ever made. I regret every single moment I spent with you. I have never been happier ever since we separated and I hope we never meet again. Goodbye Anastasia!'

Anne's phone dropped from her hands and fell on the soft rug. Her eyes were red from crying premium tears. She was in a state of shock and denial. She was confused and speechless. So this is what rejection felt like.

No one had ever hurt her pride like this and the last time she cried buckets was when she caught Carlos her ex-boyfriend cheating on her.

Anne buried her face in her palms, sobbing loudly like a child with her chest heaving up and down. She wanted to let all her emotions out so she might feel better but it was a total waste of time. She was deeply hurt.

How could Carl humiliate her like this?

She wasn't just crying because Carl rejected her in the most painful way, she was crying because she had lost Carl forever.

Meanwhile, Sasha had a malicious smirk on her face as she imagined how depressed Anne must've been feeling by now. She felt so fulfilled and satisfied in officially putting a blockade between Anne and Carl.

After Sasha had sent Anne that heartbreaking text, she deleted it from Carl's phone so Carl would never find out how cruel he was to her.

.....

"Prosecutor Carl, I have no reason to ignore you," Dexter said to Carl after Carl had given Sasha his phone.

"Okay, let's say you've been busy and that's why you skipped the meeting in my office but why are you ignoring my calls? Is there something going on that you're not telling me?" Carl asked.

Dexter shook his head. "No sir, everything is fine," He gave a straight answer.

Carl flashed Dexter a 'really??' look. He wasn't buying anything Dexter was saying because he knew something was going on in Dexter's head. Dexter usually gets all fired up and excited whenever he is with Carl because he sees him as his idol but recently, he has been acting distant.

"Listen, I don't want our friendship to get tangled up because things between me and your sister didn't work out. Believe me, I tried to patch things up but somethings are beyond us,"

"What did you try to do prosecutor Carl," Dexter said.

Carl paused for a while trying to understand what Dexter meant  by "what did he try to do?" Dexter of all people knew how devoted Carl was in trying to win Anne's heart.

"Sir, why Cassandra of all people? Why did you choose to go out on a date with your substitute secretary," Dexter said to Carl before he could say a word.

Carl was taken aback by Dexter's direct question.

So this was what he was upset about.

Dexter added. "Prosecutor Carl, I know it's not my place to interfere with your relationships, but it hurts me that you moved on from my sister so quickly. And with your secretary of all people! I mean…"

"…I didn't move on quickly just as you said" Carl cuts in.

"…And my relationship with my secretary is completely professional... We just had dinner once and it didn't play out well, do you know why? It's because your sister showed up and that's when I realized that my feelings for her never changed. I'm still attracted to her no matter what," He confessed.

Dexter breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Carl was really into Cassandra and it bothered him a lot. That was why he was keeping his distance from Carl. He was relieved that Carl still had feelings for Anne.

"Well, if you and my sister still have feelings for each other, why aren't you two together? I don't understand what's keeping you both apart"

"Anne has feelings for me??" Carl asked Dexter in a serious tone. This means that Anne meant exactly what she said to him when they were together in the storage room in the restaurant. She was honest about when she told him she wanted him.

"Of course! Every single day, Anne regrets why she pushed you away in the first place… Boss, I know my sister isn't perfect, and I'm aware of the mistakes she has made in the past. But she's really trying to make things right with you and she genuinely cares about you. You both deserve happiness, and it seems like you could be happy together. I'm not saying this because Anne is my sister, I'm saying it because it's the truth," Dexter said sincerely.

Carl had a soft smile on his face as he felt a rush of hope and excitement like a kid on Christmas morning. The thought of being with the love of his life again was almost too good to be true. His mind raced with possibilities, and his stomach fluttered with anticipation. He could feel himself falling for her all over again.

*****