Chapter 7: The One I’d Haunt

Hearing this, Carter’s jaw tightened and he walked over with a serious face. There’s a reason Carter has that ice prince reputation. When he gets stern, he’s untouchable.

“Sorry, I overheard your conversation. I apologize.”

The two girls, caught, blushed and waved their hands in panic.

“No... it’s okay.”

Unexpectedly, Carter changed the topic.

“But, it’s rude to talk about others in private. I hope you’ll apologize.”

“Sorry.” The two girls lowered their heads, looking mortified.

“Carter...” I tugged his sleeve, trying to remind him about his image. After all, being misquoted could hurt him. Carter just patted my hand and told the girls:

“The one who deserves an apology is not me.”

He said it with the kind of seriousness that made you want to stand up straighter.

“I don’t want anyone judging my wife’s worth. To me, she’s the best.”

Wife? Was he talking about me?

My heart pounded. This wasn’t the first time Carter had moved me, but this time, it wiped away every fear I’d ever had about us.

No wonder promises are so precious. In every relationship, someone is the weaker party. In front of Carter, I was definitely the weak one—passive, pessimistic, always following his lead. But his love was so passionate and pure, it could melt anything, even someone as slow to fall as me. So why not just go for it?

All I had to do was take a step onto the bridge he built, and who knows how long he’d been waiting. I reached out and scratched his palm with my pinky.

“Carter, I like you.”

My first confession. No regrets.

“Wow!” the two girls gasped. This was the most exciting day of their lives—caught gossiping, forced to apologize, then witnessing a real confession. Before today, if someone said I was using Carter to climb up, they might have believed it. But after seeing this, they’d fight anyone who insulted me online. Pure love warriors, ready for battle.

The vibe on “Let’s Fall in Love” was way more peaceful than anyone expected. After Liam and Bella left, Savannah Lane and Dr. Ethan Grant joined as new guests. Ethan’s a physician, met Savannah overseas. Besides being the Lane Group’s daughter, Savannah’s an Oscar winner with tons of admirers.

“When Savannah said she was bringing me on the show, I was really surprised.”

Ethan looked at Savannah with obvious affection. Compared to Carter’s coolness and Ryan’s occasional CEO energy, Ethan was the gentle, attentive husband type. At meals, he’d avoid ginger and cilantro for Savannah, peel shrimp and crab for her, even take the bitter membrane off grapefruit. She’d get the best bites, always.

Ryan teased him endlessly:

“Bootlicker!”

Once, after Ethan got a “good morning kiss” on camera for taking care of Savannah, Ryan tried to copy him, clumsily imitating for Tessa. Unsurprisingly, Tessa kicked him out.

The chat went wild:

“Help! I’m laughing so hard! Ryan, can you use your brain before copying? Ethan picks flowers, so you go to the garden. Is that a garden? Are those flowers?”

“Giving green onion flowers as real flowers to Tessa—didn’t you feel the burn?”

“Stop, stop! Our Ryan is just a veggie idiot who can’t tell crops apart!”

Ryan trended for three days for mistaking green onion flowers for real ones. Carter, Tessa, the staff—everyone laughed at him. Even his own employees. Ryan was famous for his stupidity.

The harmony from the new guests made people think we were the most compatible three couples in “Let’s Fall in Love” history. Even with me and Savannah as supposed “love rivals,” we got along. Savannah was warm and generous, always lighting up the room. She was the kind of woman everyone liked. But for some reason, I never felt close to her. Not just not close—there was this vague sense of unease. It bugged me. Soon, reality proved my gut was right.

One night, rushing to an urgent notice, I ran into Ethan heading home. It was late and I couldn’t drive, so he offered me a ride. Since we both had to return to the set, I didn’t think much of it. But Ethan drove farther and farther, the scenery got unfamiliar, and only then did I realize something was off. My vision blurred, and I tried to call Carter. But before I could say a word, I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a hotel room. My clothes were a mess, and Ethan was lying beside me.

Bang! Carter and Savannah burst in. Carter looked furious. Savannah trailed behind. Before I could speak, a hat was thrown on me.

“Marissa, I really regret calling you a friend. How could you do this? How could you face me, or CJ?”

Ethan must have drugged me—I couldn’t speak. My clothes were everywhere, and I could only clutch the blanket, watching him act.

“Savannah, it’s my fault. Ethan and I just lost control for a moment. Please give me another chance.”

Their act together sealed my fate. Carter looked devastated. I looked up at him, desperate, trying to sign the truth. I hoped he’d believe me. But after something like this, who could? And Ethan and Savannah kept slandering me. At this point, Ethan was nothing like the gentle guy on the show. He called me “slut,” “seductress.” Why else would I ride with a man at night?

Carter snapped and punched Ethan. Carter was a national taekwondo champ—Ethan was toast. If Carter hadn’t held back, Ethan might not have survived. Carter’s eyes were wild, his rage scaring Savannah into hiding. Carter... Carter, calm down. I couldn’t speak, so I jumped down and hugged his arm. He was shaking. I knew Carter was afraid. Of what, I didn’t know. I didn’t have time to think—my vision went black, and I passed out.

I had a long, long dream.

In the dream, Carter wasn’t Carter, but Carter Whitmore, the ninth son of the Whitmore dynasty in Gilded Age New York. His mom was a foreign dancer, and Carter was born with heterochromia—one blue eye, one brown. In the Whitmore family, that was bad luck, a sign of disaster. Because of it, Carter was bullied by siblings—even the staff treated him like dirt.

The first time I saw Carter Whitmore, he was pinned to the ground for a sandwich by the mayor’s son, being ridden like a dog. Before I became the family’s fortune-teller, I was just a street kid who hated those arrogant elites. Carter was a diamond in the rough. So I found a way to ask the old patriarch to let Carter be my apprentice, supposedly to “bless the family.”

Before Carter, plenty of sons wanted to be my apprentice, to study at the Whitmore library and prep for the family business. But none of those spoiled heirs lasted long. The record was nine months before they quit.

When I took Carter as an apprentice, I made it clear: if he couldn’t stand the hardship, I’d help him fake his death and escape. The mansion was a cage—better to be free. He didn’t answer, just nodded.

Carter was a genius. What took me and my mentor ten years to master in business and strategy, he nailed in three. The Whitmore fortune was crumbling, the empire fading. Droughts, economic crashes, corrupt managers, empty vaults. The old patriarch obsessed over spiritualists, ignored the people, and only wanted immortality, building towers and raising rents.

I once did a tarot reading for Carter. It said he was “a great leader who unites the city.” If nothing went wrong, Carter would be a savior. Born from hardship, he understood suffering. I couldn’t teach him kingly tactics, but there were reclusive scholars in the south who could.

Carter fought for ten years and rebuilt the family business. Ten years can change everything. But with me, Carter was always the boy who loved cupcakes and hated bitterness. After board meetings, he liked to ride his chestnut horse and take me through Central Park. Back then, he was full of life and ambition.

As things got better, the board got restless, pushing Carter to marry and have heirs. Letters piled up, Carter ignored them, finally burning them all. The board complained to the matriarch, even begged me. Tired of the drama, I faked illness and left.

But Carter and I both knew I left not just for that, but because I sensed his feelings for me. But a mentor-student romance was taboo.

Three years later, Carter got seriously ill. The doctors were helpless. A letter was found saying Savannah Lane was a reincarnated angel, her light a blessing. The matriarch made Savannah the bride. The night she was made bride, Carter recovered. But I knew it was a setup by the matriarch and Mayor Lane. Carter wasn’t sick, but poisoned. With Savannah as bride, they could have a child, then seize power when Carter was down.

But Savannah secretly reported the plot and stopped the matriarch. The illness was just a trap. Afterward, Carter gave Savannah the title “Lady Lane,” letting her marry as she wished.

After that, Savannah and Carter often visited my office. The three of us became close. I thought that was the end, but it was just the start of tragedy.

One sunny afternoon, Savannah brought me tea. After drinking, I blacked out. When I woke, my innocence was gone. The board said I lost my virtue, disgraced the family, and urged Carter to fire me.

Carter lost it and beat a board member with his cane. Blood on the conference table. But it couldn’t stop the rumors about us. They said our relationship was immoral. I didn’t get it—I was the victim, so why blame me? But I knew, people’s ignorance needed Carter to fix. If I didn’t leave, his reputation would be ruined. If I didn’t leave, resentment would grow. If I didn’t leave, rumors wouldn’t stop. One sacrifice for a better future—why not?

The day I left was a bright spring day. I took the pocket watch Carter gave me and left Savannah a note.

“Carter, my apprentice: If you see this letter, be well and happy. After I’m gone, I wish to see a thriving city. When the family is safe, that is when we meet again.”

I knew he’d remember my wish and make it happen. After I left, Carter kept building the company. My boy never let me down, but he never smiled again.

We always seemed fated to meet, but never for long. Savannah’s fate was to win men’s hearts for her “system.” Maybe that’s why she always ended up a rich heiress. Carter and I already had little fate, and with so many obstacles, our endings were always tragic. But after nine lifetimes, this time, our meeting was smooth.

When I woke in the hospital, Carter was lying by my bed. The nurse changing my bandages whispered how jealous she was—Carter hadn’t slept for two days to care for me. The man before me overlapped with the pained figure in the snow. I leaned closer. Before, whenever I realized my feelings for Carter, my downfall was near. But this life was different. Nine lifetimes had made him stronger.

I watched Carter in a daze, but he opened his eyes.

“Marissa, you’re awake?”

“Carter Whitmore, you did well.”

Carter stared, then buried his head in my arms, sounding like a kid who’d finally been forgiven.

“No, not well at all. Without you, it’s not good at all. Mentor, don’t leave me again.”

“Okay, never again.”

Carter answered softly. He didn’t look up, but I could feel the tears on my arm. For this day, he’d spent countless sleepless nights. These tears were worth it.

There are always people who look respectable but do awful things. Ethan was a master at that. Because he was caught smuggling prescription drugs, Ethan lost his medical license. Carter also found out he’d used his doctor status to deceive, molest, and even assault women. Carter hired the best lawyer in town. Faced with the facts, Ethan had no defense. He got fifteen years. Before going in, I heard he had a rough time in prison. I can only imagine how that went for him.

Savannah’s messy overseas life came out, ruining her reputation and getting her booted from the Lane Group. As for her “system,” it bailed. Not just abandoned her—vanished.

The director of “Let’s Fall in Love” had a unique vision, and the show ended in pure chaos. But my relationship with Carter just kept getting better. Ryan often FaceTimed Carter at midnight to mess with him. The second the call connected, it was Ryan’s grumpy face: “If I can’t have a nightlife, no one can.” Carter got even by sending him animal documentaries. Told him to watch them in spring. Honestly, those two are ridiculous.

After being with Carter, he worried about accidents and we always lived in our own world. One day, Ryan brought his three-year-old daughter, Mia, to visit. He wanted to show off, but Carter’s looks charmed all ages. As soon as she saw Carter, Mia ran over, tossed down a black credit card:

“CJ, here’s my card, let me kiss you.”

Ryan’s face turned black.

“CJ’s kiss? You can’t afford it.” Carter pinched Mia’s cheek.

“Even daddy can’t afford it?”

Ryan’s playful, but he’s top of the rich list. Mia was confident in his wealth. Carter shook his head.

Next time, Mia accidentally saw me and Carter kissing. She curiously asked me:

“Sis can kiss CJ! Is sis the richest?”

“No.”

“Then why can’t the richest, but sis can?”

“Because sis is the one I long for day and night, would cross mountains and rivers just to see!”

Ryan, watching and getting shown up, was finished. A few months later, after an argument, Ryan took Mia and ran away from home. He couldn’t stand my lovey-dovey with Carter, so he brought Mia to mess things up.

“Sis, I know lots of big brothers—don’t be with CJ, okay?”

The four-year-old clung to my leg, pouting. Carter tugged my sleeve, looking pitiful. Across from us, Ryan grinned.

I pinched Mia’s cheek and refused.

“No.”

“Why?” Mia and Ryan asked together.

“Because CJ is someone I wouldn’t hurt even if I died and became a ghost.”

Amid the wails, Ryan was kicked out by Carter. Carter knelt before me, took my hand.

“This life, I have no other wish, only to be with you forever.”

“Me too.”

(The End)