Love That Slipped Away

Eric carried me in his arms and lowered his head to bury it in my shoulder as he spoke sweet nothings to me.

"I'll carry you like this even when you're old. You're the only one for me."

He looked at me with love in his eyes. He smiled adoringly at me.

I closed my eyes and told him in my heart that we would not be getting old together.

As he hugged me in his arms, I fell deeply asleep.

Before we left the house, I was putting on my outfit for the day to meet my parents. Our housekeeper looked at me with pleasant surprise.

"Ms. Summers, Mr. Carter picked out hundreds of outfits and all of them look great on you. They're so beautiful. It's difficult to pick one out."

I forced a smile and turned to look at Eric.

Eric was fiddling with his phone with great interest. He could not hide the lust in his eyes.

That look could only be found on his face when he was moving on top of Willow's body.

Eric's expression changed right away when he looked up at me. He looked apologetic as he quickly hugged me to talk to me in a rushed tone.

"Whitney, I need to attend an emergency board meeting at the office. I'm sorry I can't accompany you for dinner with your parents.”

"We're going to be a family soon, anyway. We'll have lots of time for dinner later. Be good."

He turned to leave before I agreed. He let me alone as I stared at my reflection in the window to face everything alone.

Our housekeeper had no idea what to say.

"Ms. Summers, Mr. Carter… He…"

I smiled relaxed and said, "It's fine."

There would not be another chance for him to do this.

I entered the private room and was about to explain to my parents about Eric's absence.

That was when I received a video clip from Willow.

She was leaning on the bed in a black, transparent, lacey outfit while staring at the camera with a glazed look in her eyes. Willow kept twisting about seductively in the video.

"Where are you, Hubby? I can't wait any longer…"

The video was quickly deleted after it was marked as being read.

"That was for my boyfriend, Whitney! I sent it to you by accident. Please don't be mad. I love you, Sis!"

I gripped my cell hard and turned the screen off. It felt like a million needles were piercing into my heart.

The pain came in waves, and it hurt me to the bones.

My eyes turned red as I explained the situation to my parents. They were very understanding of Eric.

"Well, it's good that he's kept busy. You should be forgiving about this, Whitney."

"Willow can't make it tonight too. Let's schedule this for another time."

I nodded without showing any emotion and left the private room without eating.

It was late at night when I heard Eric open the door. He came home at the same time Willow sent me a message.

"Hey, Honey. Our meeting ended early today and I came home right away!"

Before Eric could finish, he stopped in surprise when he did not see me waiting in the living room.

I always waited for Eric in the living room when he came home late.

However, I did not feel like talking to him today.

I put away my cell and crawled under the covers as my tears fell silently.

"Hubby, I had to kick you out because you just wouldn't stop taking me in bed. I'm so exhausted by all those positions you had me in. I'll be mad if you do that again next time!"

Eric held me in his arms after he was done washing up. He started humming my favorite song. I could feel how carefree he felt.

When he touched my cold, teary cheek, he suddenly stiffened and turned on the lights.

"What's wrong, Honey? Why are you crying?"

I touched my face. I had no idea it was covered in tears.

All I could do was look up at him with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream. I dreamt that I died in the arms of the person I loved most."

Eric felt his chest tighten. He hugged me even closer and patted my back gently.

"Please don't say that, Honey. You'll always be by my side. You'll live longer than any of us."

I said nothing and let him continue hugging me.

"Since I didn't manage to have dinner with your parents last night, I booked the best restaurant in town to make up for it. I'll drive you there personally to eat with your parents."

I agreed with a bitter smile and stayed in Eric's arms with my eyes open until morning came.

There was a knock on the door, and the housekeeper's voice was heard.

"Mr. Carter, Ms. Summers, the car is ready to take you over to the Summers' residence. You can leave any time."

Eric woke up when he heard the housekeeper. He had always been physically strong and would be filled with energy even if he only had a few hours' sleep.

He turned to get out of bed and carried me out of the room.

Eric noticed something was wrong with me.

"How about if I take you shopping today to make up for yesterday, Honey? Let's go shopping for your favorite luxury brands."

He picked out my clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and makeup style. After that, he patiently fed me breakfast and carried me into the car.

Eric felt guilty about the day before, and he bought every luxury item in the building.

The staff working there looked at me enviously.

"Mr. Carter treats you so well, Ms. Summers. The last time he was here, he bought enough gifts for you to fill up five cars! It hasn't been long and he's here with you to shop again."

"All it takes is for Ms. Summers to say the word and Mr. Carter will go as far as to pluck the stars down from the sky for you."

"That's right! Whoever who is half as lucky as Ms. Summers should count their lucky stars."

I smiled while looking at them but said nothing.

The person who received five cars worth of gifts was not me.

Besides, it was Willow who loved luxury items, not me.

Eric called out to me while standing outside the changing room. His back was facing the light, and it made him look God-like.

When I turned to look at Eric, I realized how different he was from the seventeen-year-old in my memory.

"Let's go, Honey. We've got everything packed.”