Chapter 74

"That's all and everything," Martin said. "So I think you can go home now. Think carefully about it before you accept or reject."

"Alright, Martin." Carly nodded. "Thank you, Martin."

Martin nodded and she left. As she left the building, she took a cab to the apartment she shared with Jasmine. Getting there, she realized that Jasmine wasn't around but thankfully, she had a spare key. She began to search her pocket and purse for the key and she eventually found it.

Carly breathed a sigh of relief when she found the key. Who knew what would have happened if she had misplaced it? She knew that she hadn't been herself of late. The weight of everything happening to her felt like she was an ant lifting an anvil.

It was really surprising and heartbreaking to her that her life turned upside down in the blink of an eye. She had lost her job leaving her with no source of income and just as toppings to that the man she loved barely even wants to set his eyes on her. Her world was crumbling and there was no one to comfort her.

Now she was left alone in the apartment she shared with her best friend. She had lots of thoughts going through her head and it felt as though her head would explode any moment from now. Carly soon began to pace about the room, lost in thought, not knowing what to do next. She would occasionally pause and stand with her hands akimbo.

After a while, she sat. After sitting for a while, she got up again and resumed her pacing. No posture seemed to be comfortable for her and she really needed to think, yet that seemed to be the one thing she could not do at that point.

Finally, she sat down and took the contract out of her bag. She placed it on the table and stared at it. She remembered the things that Martin had shown her in the agency. She wasn't all that bothered by the excessive missions she would be going on. But it was the fact that she would not have any freedom.

That wouldn't have been her problem too. It was the fact that the man she was to give up everything for didn't care about her anymore. He didn't care about her at all. Landon had fired her ruthlessly and sent her away from his mansion with no care in the world.

Yet it was still the same man that she was supposed to give up every of her freedom for. It wasn't that Landon wasn't worth it. She knew that if it came to a matter of life and death, Landon was more than worth it. But due to the heartbreak he had given her, she couldn't just give up everything for him.

Carly knew deep down she still cared for him but that did not seem to matter anymore. Landon did not care about her either. If he did, should he not have bothered to find her at all? It has been hours and yet, he did not search for her. He did not reach out to her at all.

Why did it even matter so much and require so much to become an agent? She took the document out and began to read it.

"Must be required to not have a life outside the agency, unless it's certain to not affect the agency in any way."

"Must be required to keep silent about it and value the agency and missions higher than all forms of relationship. This is why it is advised for relationships to be formed within the agency and not outside."

"Must ensure that... Crap. I can't do this." She said, shaking her head. She felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and quickly took it out to check if maybe, somehow, perhaps, Landon had contacted her.

To her surprise, it was just a notification of a new message from the company. She wondered why hadn't been removed from the group yet.

Carly wished there was someone she could open up to, about her predicament. At least, Jasmine would be of good help. Jasmine was not just her best friend but also a lawyer. She could help her properly assess the contract to see if it could get worse than selling her entire freedom to the agency.

Carly's gaze rested on her pen that sat pretty on the desk. "Can I?"

"48 hours." She repeated. "I cannot do this."

"If only Landon cared about me even a teeny little bit, I wouldn't mind signing this contract to protect his life. If he cared about me one bit, I wouldn't mind at all." Carly complained.

"Landon, why don't you love me?" Carly whispered. "If you made me fall for you, why didn't you fall for me as well?"

Her phone soon vibrated and she quickly answered the call, hoping to lacing her voice. "Hello?"

"Carly? What the heck, you said you'd get back to me! Where are you? It's fucken late at night!" Jasmine ranted.

Carly sighed in despair. "I'm at home."

"You're at home? You got home and you didn't tell me?" Jasmine argued. "Well, that's good anyway. I think I left my keys inside. Could you come and open the door for me?"

Carly got up instantly. "Sure, I'm on my way."

She had totally forgotten the contract and all the documents she left on the table. As she opened the door, Jasmine pulled her cheeks to the light, staring at her eyes to see if she had been crying.

"Were you crying?" Jasmine asked suspicion in her eyes.

"What? No!" Carly said, willing her voice to be strong. "I wasn't crying at all."

"Good. Because if you cry anymore, you will refund me for the ice cream I treated you to." Jasmine said. "Double."

"Ah." Carly chuckled. "Oh well, I hope that Tristan didn't give you a hard time."

"Neh, I'm stronger than he is," Jasmine said. As soon as they arrived in the sitting room, Carly's eyes fell on the documents on the table and she instantly realized that she was supposed to hide it from everyone.