The Cinderella Bride (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 Unedited, please excuse the mistakes.

Carter never came up to bed last night, I know that because I could barely sleep, well that and the fact that I heard noises downstairs. At first I thought we were getting robbed but I heard Carter’s groans and glass bottles clanking against each other and I realized what was happening.

Carter was drinking.

Part of me wanted to go down and ask him what’s got him so pissed off he needed to drink and some part of me was telling me he might have feelings for me but that voice died as soon as morning came.

I packed my stuff and I found Carter asleep on the couch, I asked Anita after I went in, what was the matter and she told me she didn’t know, she found Carter in the same position I did, drunk off his ass on the couch surrounded by glass alcohol bottles. He was half-awake then, probably hung over, he looked like he was having a pounding headache.

“I’m going now, Carter. I’m sorry for all the trouble.” I tell him, part of me just holding on to the hope that he would look at me and tell me to stay.

But he doesn’t, he just waves his hand as if telling me to go, “Yeah, bye.” He says, not lifting his gaze to look at me.

I take a deep breath, “Goodbye, Carter.” My voice comes out a little shaky but I excuse myself before I start tearing up then and there.

This is for the best, Ava. I tell myself as I walk towards Caleb who’s waiting for me outside, his back leaning on the limo.

The driver leaves the front seat and helps me put my bags in the bonnet. I say my goodbyes to Anita who’s a little teary eyed when she sees me leave, “Mr.Carter is stupid for letting you leave.” she says. I told Anita that Carter and I had a fight and I don’t think I can stay with him anymore.

Even till the end I keep up this charade. Heh. How stupid can I get? I give her one last hug, “If only he knew that.”


“I’ll call Carter later when we’ve settled in and draw up the divorce papers.” he says after we get into the backseat of the limo.

I peer my eyes away from the house and look at Caleb,”Oh, right. I almost forgot you were a lawyer.”

He smiles, “I know it’s hard, love and I feel like an arse for doing this but-”

I raise my hand to stop him, “I understand why you gave me the choice you did and I think it’s better this way, though I love him, he doesn’t feel the same way.” I laugh humorlessly, “And what’s the point of chasing after someone who might never feel the same way.”

He smiles but it looks like a pained smile and looks away.

Even though he told me to go, again, I hoped somehow he would show up before Caleb’s private plane took off and confess his love for me like in the romance movies I would watch but he didn’t and proving to me once more, life, especially mine, isn’t a romance movie.

“We’ll be stopping by Rome for a day or two before we get to England.” Caleb says when he see’s me immersed in a book I got from a mini bookshelf he had in the plane.

I look up, “What for?”

“My father just texted me, he asked me to talk to a client he has that lives in Rome to take care of a few things.”

I suppress the memories that are emerging when he mentions Rome and nod slowly,”Okay, then.” I say smiling, desperate to turn my attention back to the book I’m reading. I don’t want to think of anything right now, I want to immerse myself in this book, I don’t want to think.

Because if I let myself think, I’m letting myself think of only one person--Carter.


                                                        *        *        *

“That would be four euro’s for the pastry and the coffee’s.” Says the cashier.

I hand her the the money and carry the tray towards the table of the Cafe Caleb and I decided to stop by.

When I reach the table, I see Caleb speaking to someone, a guy. He’s got strong features and a chiseled jaw, his blonde hair is the colour of the sun and his green eyes look breathtakingly beautiful.

Damn

I set the tray on the table and the guy turns his attention to me, “Who’s this?” the guy asks.

Caleb glances at me and smiles, “This is Ava.”

The guy stretches out his hand to shake mind, “Hello there, Ava. The name’s Nolan.”

Nolan? My mind is searching my memories for where I’ve heard that name before, it sounds so familiar, “Nolan? As in the Elisa, ‘Nolan’”? I blurt out.

He looks a little ticked off when he hears Elisa’s name, “Yes.” He says, his body tenses up.

My curiosity gets the better of me as soon as he says yes, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but why did you and Elisa break up? I mean, I heard that Elisa ran left her groom to run off with you.”

Nolan quirks his eyebrow amused, he grabs a chair from an empty table and pulls it towards the table Caleb and I are sitting at, he takes a seat and leans towards me, “And why are you asking me this? How do you know all these things?”

I look at Caleb for some kind of help, “She knows Carter, they’ve been friends for a while. The Elisa topic was never something Carter liked talking about, well, that and she’s returned to the states.”

Nolan clearly looks irritated when he hears she’s returned, he clenches and unclenches his jaw, “That bitch.” he mutters.

My eyes widen and something inside me decides to probe further, “So, what happened?”

He sighs and turns to look at me, “Elisa is a gold digger. Plain and simple.” he states matter-of-factly.

I raise an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story, basically, I’ve had feelings for Elisa for quite a while, even before Carter and her started dating but on her wedding day, she told me that she’s always had feelings for me and that this wedding was arranged by her parents and she didn’t want to marry Carter. That’s how she managed to persuade me to run off with her.”

His eyes looks like he’s recalling a very bitter memory, “I don’t know how she found out but she had this strange idea in her head that I would take all of the money I was supposed to inherit from my parents.” He looks at Caleb when he says this, “Now you know I’ve never liked depending on my parents so I gave most of what I was supposed to have to my younger brother, I only kept a quarter of the money so I could start a business on my own. Elisa was pretty angry and she told me it was over.” He then looks back at me, “I later found out, Elisa is a product of her mother’s affair that happened during her parent’s first years of marriage, when her father found out about this, he refused to let her have a penny of the money he had, he gave everything she was supposed to get to her two younger twin siblings which were actually his. Elisa had always been used to the wealthy lifestyle she’d been living in till the truth was exposed by her mother itself to her father. At twenty, she was sent to live away from them without a penny, that’s when she reconnected with Estelle and from then, she decided that if she couldn’t keep her parent’s money, she would marry rich.”

“Okay, then but why didn’t she stay with Carter, I mean, he’s rich too.”

He nods slowly, “Yes but she thought I was richer and you know her, bigger is always better.”

I ball my hands into a fist, “I want to kill her.” I mutter under my breath. That’s why she was so desperate for his attention! She wanted to get back together so she can get his money! I am so pissed right now, ugh.

Nolan runs his hand through his blonde hair, “So yeah, I really regret what I did to Carter but I think that if I never agreed to her stupid plan, she would be married to Carter now and in a way I feel like I saved him a hell of alot of trouble and heartbreak.”

“Didn’t you apologise to Carter and tell him the truth?”

He shakes his head no, his clear green eyes became a mossy green, “No. I tried calling Carter and even tried to meet him at his father’s office but Carter never stayed near me long enough to listen to my explanation. I feel like a total asshole and I just want to apologise to my friend. I feel like it’s my fault he’s been through all the shit he’s been through.”

I look at him and smile, “Don’t worry about Carter, he’s alright and like you said you saved him a hell of a lot of trouble and besides, the person who should be sorry here isn’t you. It’s Elisa.”

Nolan rubs the back of his neck nervously, “Nevertheless, I wish I had a chance to apologise to the guy, we used to be such good friends.”

After that, we differed from the subject of Elisa and Carter and what happened that fateful day. At the change of subject, Nolan’s tenseness dissipated and he seemed more at ease. Caleb and him were busy conversing about something I didn’t pay too much attention to.

All my thoughts were occupied by the revelation made not ten minutes before. I curse inwardly. I let her be the reason I left Carter and now if somehow Carter and her reconnect and get back together, I would have condemned him to a life with Elisa which doesn’t seem like such a good idea.

Nolan soon left and Caleb told me to take a cab home since he needed to hurry to his meeting, he told me to be careful because he knows about what happened the last time I was here and I assured him that I would be fine.

Though I promised Caleb I would return to the hotel after he left, I didn’t. I knew that if I left to return to the hotel, I would be left alone with my own thoughts and right now I didn’t want that. I wanted my mind to think of small mindless things.

Things that didn’t involve Carter.

Somehow though, I found myself standing in front of the Trevi fountain. There had been many different versions of the legend of the fontana di amore, one coin would ensure a trip back (I came back without even throwing a coin), two coins would bring you new love and three would guarantee marriage.

I usually don’t believe in silly superstitions like these but something in me decided to reach into my jeans pocket and grab two coins. I turn my back towards the fountain, close my eyes and send a quick prayer for me to find happiness soon. I know I’m not really doing as the legend says but I don’t care, I think the roman gods won’t condemn me just because I didn’t do exactly as a silly legend tells me.

Once the coins have been tossed and I hear the sound you hear when you throw stuff in water, I turn back around and see my coins among the others at the bottom of the fountain. “Let’s hope this works.” I whisper to myself.

I turn back around to head back to the hotel when something enters my line of sight that shocks me so much that I’m standing there wide-eyed with my mouth hanging open. My heart is beating at an unnatural speed but at the same time it’s swelling with happiness.

His beautiful blue eyes are staring at mine, there’s a heart warming smile on his face, He walks slowly towards me and hugs me tightly, “I am so sorry. I’m such an ass, Ava. I should have never let you go.”

I pull away and continue staring at him wide-eyed. I touch his arm, the same arm that was hold mine not a minute ago, “Y-You’re real?”

He chuckles that same rich and happy chuckle, “Of course I am.”

I look at him confused, “But..But..How did you even find me?” I ask.

“I told you, I have a tracking device fitted into your phone.”
I facepalm myself internally, “I completely forgot about that.”

He smiles, “It was better for me, I suppose, it would have been a nightmare trying to find you without it.”

I take a step back from him and raise my hand, “Wait. First off, what the hell are you doing here?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously, “The last time we spoke, you just told me to leave.”

He takes a step forward, “I’m a fucking idiot. I know that and I’m so sorry.” he says wrapping his arms around me and hugging me.

My face is laying on his chest and my mind is going, What the frick? what’s happening? Damn, that fountain worked fast. I might throw a coin in there and wish for a lottery win. Damn.

He holds me tighter, “I was so confused, I was so afraid of having feelings for you and when Ella came back, my feelings and my mind was in a clutter, I hated the person I was around you when Ella came back. I was so angry at myself, my words were assy. I was the biggest asshole on earth to you and I am so sorry, Ava. I am so sorry.”

I pull away and look back at him, “What are you trying to say?”

He brings his face closer to mine, “I love you, Ava.” those blue eyes are filled with such sincerity that my heart swells in happiness and I can’t help but think this is a dream.

“This is a dream, isn’t it?” I blurt.

He smiles and kisses me. The same electricity that goes through me when we kiss plays it’s part, my stomach starts releasing itself from the knots it’s been in since I turned and saw him. My heart flutters and I kiss back.

I feel him smile through the kiss, he then pulls away and smirks, amused, “Does that feel real yet?”

I shake my head, “No. Say that last word again.”

“Feel real yet?”

I shake my head no, “Before that.”

He feigns a thinking expression, “Hmmm, I wonder what you mean.”

I hit his shoulder playfully, “I’m serious.”

He chuckles and continues, “I love you.” He smiles and wraps his arms around me, lifting my waist as he speaks, “I love you, Ava Montgomery.” He slowly lowers me to the ground, “Happy yet?”

I smile and lean in for a quick kiss, “I’ve never been happier, Cart.”

“Good, now,” He says taking my hand in his, “Will you forgive me for being an asshole to you yesterday and return with me back home?” he asks.

“I promised Caleb.” I say.

“Don’t worry about him, I called him when I landed here and he told me it was about time I came to my senses.”

Caleb was serious when he told me he loved me, I could see it in his eyes yet he encouraged the man he knew I loved to come after me and I’m happy he did but I also feel so bad, like what kind of girl runs off to her happily ever after without a word of thanks to her fairy godmother (In my case, is Caleb).

“Give me a sec, Cart.” I say, taking my phone out of my pocket, I’m surprised when I see a message, I open the message and read it:

FROM: Caleb

Hey, Ava. Prince Charming called me a while ago, he’s coming for you. I know I promised that I would bring you to England with me but who am I to stop you when the idiot finally realized what he’s failed to realize all along?. Carter loves you. I know he does, he’s just really stupid and doesn’t understand feelings like I do (Damn, I sound like a pussy right about now.). Anyway, hopefully by the time you read this, Carter would have already found you and told you how he feels. If not, then damn, tell Carter I apologise for ruining his grand confession he had probably been writing in his head for five minutes. I love you, Ava but I can see Carter makes you happier than I ever could and now you will go with him or my efforts in trying to be your fairy godmother or father, cause I am a dude will look embarrassing. I’ll probably be back soon from England but not too soon, I need some time to get over you. Hopefully by the time I’m back, I have a hotter and better girlfriend than you and if not, at least I tried right?

xoxo gossip girl

Actually, no. I’m not gossip girl.

-Caleb

Caleb’s message leaves a wide smile on my face, I chuckle a little. I type in a reply.

Thank you.

Within a minute there’s a reply.

Anytime, love. Anytime.

I smile and put the phone back in my pocket, “Caleb give you his okay yet or not?” Carter teases.

“He’s a good guy, Cart.”

“Carter slings his arm around me, “I know, Ava and I hope he’s finds the kind of happiness I feel when I’m with you.”

I elbow him, “Took you long enough, do you know how much shit you put me through?”.

He smiles and leans in and kisses me slowly, he then pulls away, “And for that, I’m sorry but  I have a whole lifetime to make up for it and I promise I will.”

Life isn’t a romance movie but with the right person, life is much better than a romance movie. Though it took the idiot a long time to realize it, I’m glad he did and now, I’ll be able to be happy because I finally heard the man I love tell me he feels the same way about me as I do about him.

And it makes me happy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE


Anyone else going, WELL ABOUT TIME? Cause I know I am. Anyways. This chappie is 3.1k and I'm only 4k more words till my nano goal of 50k words is almost complete. So, I can tell you that there's around 5-6 more chapters till the end.

*Tears up* I don't think I can let this book go just yet but yes, it's almost the end.

Anyways, YOU MY READER ARE AMAZING? WANT TO KNOW WHY?

3.2K AND #117 IN CHICKLIT AND #842 IN ROMANCE. LIKE IM FREAKING OUT LIKE THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR VOTING AND COMMENTING AND HELPING ME GET THIS RANK. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Vote+Comment if you liked this chapter and comment below if you shipped Carter and Ava or Caleb and Ava or your thoughts. Whatever they may be, I just want to hear from you wonderful readers.

P.S chappie dedicated to Noel cause she accompanied me while I was writing and listen to the song to the side, It is amazing <3