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He heard the murmur of voices agreeing with her. Zahara gave a little smile before she opened the paper and began to read the contents. He could tell that the importance of the letter was making her emotional, as her hands began to shake.
“Oh Carter.” She looked at him above the letter, her eyes dark with emotion.
“What! What is in the letter? Read it aloud.”
She began crying, and Carter pulled her into his arms. “The piece of paper says that when she has graduated, she has a three-year internship with Havier Cosmetics Inc., and then, if she wants to run her own company after that, I have bought her a piece of land to build her own facility.”
“That’s too much Carter, I—” she cried and hiccupped.
“You are the mother of my child, and I will do whatever it takes to give you the world,” he said huskily before kissing her on her lips.
“Carter, that is so sweet and thoughtful.” Elizabeth came over and wrapped both of them in her arms.
“Well, that was an amazing surprise, so I guess you decided not to pop the question and went with the land instead,” Michael joked from the corner of the couch, where he had been sitting and unwrapping his gifts.
Zahara froze in Carter’s arms and pulled away. He and his mother turned and glared at the offending brother.
“What ring?” As Carter turned his gaze back to hers, Zahara searched his eyes, her own widening as he sighed and pulled out the ring that was in his pants pocket and got down on one knee.
“Zahara Lily Jones, you have given me the precious gift of making me a father.” He reached out and touched her belly reverently, and he felt her quiver under his touch. He was confident that she would not say no, knowing that he would take care of her and their child and that she would want for nothing, as he had shown her with the gift of land and the mentorship job. He continued, “Will you do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband and marry me?”
He watched as Zahara licked her lips and gazed around the room. He knew that everyone was waiting in anticipation, as the room was completely silent. Not even breathing could be heard. Her eyes flashed back to his.
“Do you love me?”
It was his turn to freeze, and a feeling of coldness swept through him. He had hoped that she was starting to accept the fact that love was not a factor in them being together. Carter had accepted the fact that she was going to be his wife and the mother of his children and was beginning to grow fond of her. He found that he wanted to make her happy, but love...no.
“Carter?”
He considered lying to her for a second, but then, he was not that type of person, and his family would call him out on it. “No. But—”
“Then no. I will not marry you. We do not need to be husband and wife to raise a child together. We can live separate lives and still be there for our child. I am tired and think I need to go and lie down,” Zahara said, suddenly looking very tired when she had been so happy minutes earlier. She could not bring herself to look at him and got off the couch, making her way around him. He reached for her arm.
“Zahara. You cannot say no. You need me to look after you and be there in case, in case, anything should happen to you,” he beseeched her, but she pulled her arm away and kept walking. He got up to go after her.
“You should be grateful that I even want to put a ring on your finger, especially after I gave you the present of your dreams.” His voice was cold with fury and embarrassment. He had never had to beg a woman to do anything, and she had turned him down in front of his family and friends. That stung his pride, and he lashed out.
Zahara stiffened for a minute and then dropped the paper on one of the side tables before continuing.
He moved to follow her; their discussion was not over, and they needed privacy.
“Son, let her leave and get some rest. You need to cool down. Let’s go outside for a minute.” His father stepped into his path. Carter stared at his father coldly.
“Move, Dad.”
“No, son, we need to talk. Come with me now.” His father’s expression said Carter had to come with him or else.
Frustration and anger worked through him, and he clenched his fist. “Please son, let’s go and get some air, okay?”
Carter looked around the room and saw Ambra and Diamond trying to look busy with gathering up the unwrapped paper that lay littered around the floor. Neither one wanted to make eye contact with him, but he could tell from their faces that they were uncomfortable being in the room.
His mother had disappeared, and he assumed she left to go and check on Zahara. His brothers were standing up from the couch and looked like they were ready to block him if he should try to go and talk to Zahara. They regarded him with disgust.
“Son.”
Carter nodded and moved to the coat rack to grab his winter coat and boots while his dad did the same thing. They walked outside in silence and began to aimlessly amble towards a cluster of trees and rocks that had a beautiful view of one of the many mountains in Switzerland.
They stood that way in silence, Carter’s thoughts racing and shame filling him as he reflected on how he had just treated Zahara.
