HIS CONTRACTUAL MISTRESS

"Hush, now, Ivy… Stop crying now. You are not fully recovered yet." With a gentle voice, John comforted his sister-in-law. Ivy was clinging around him while she wailed loudly. He led her to a chair and helped her sit down.

"John… Jay is gone."

Ivy was also on the yacht, but she only got minor injuries. She was in the other room when the collision happened. A crew helped her get out of the burning room after some explosion. And according to the hospital, Ivy was two months pregnant.

"It is not good for your health. Think about the condition of your baby. So you need to calm down."

Upon hearing John, Ivy lifted her head and looked at John. She asked, "What am I going to do now, John?"

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright. I promised to take care of you and your child."

Ivy welled up once again after she heard John's promise. After she learned Jay had died, she did not stop begging her family to bring her to Australia to see Jay's remains one last time.

"John, I'm scared."

John lifted both of his arms and dried the tears in Ivy's eyes. His heart is wrenching with pain to see Ivy in a helpless state. He pulled her into an embrace and did not stop comforting her with promises.

Meanwhile, it was painful for Carmen to witness such scenes. However, she was still John's girlfriend. As long as he needs her, she wants to stay by his side.

Carmen loosened her clenched palms that formed into a ball. She straightens up her back and clears her throat, swallowing the lump blocking in her air passageway.

"Miss Carmen, the water you've requested." A servant approached Carmen, holding a wooden tray with a clean glass and unopened bottled water.

Carmen picked up the bottled water, twisted the cap, and poured the content on the crystal glass.

"Give me the tray and take the empty bottle. I'll bring the water myself." Carmen told the servant.

"Okay, Miss." The servant smiled at Carmen. In the past few days that Carmen stood like the madam host of the house, they got to like her because of her gentle temperament. Every servant in the villa actually liked her and wished that their young boss would marry her someday. They believe Carmen is the perfect wife for John.

Carmen approached John and Ivy with the tray in her hand. She coughed to get John's attention. Carmen then said, "Ivy, have some water."

John and Ivy separated after they heard a voice speak up in front of them. Ivy stared at Carmen as she didn't know her.

"Ivy, this is Carmen." John looks at Carmen with a meaningful stare when he introduces her to Ivy. He picked up the glass with a slight smile on his lips and muttered. "Thank you, Carmen."

John handed the glass to Carmen, offering the water. He persuaded her to calm down and take a rest. "You've traveled a long way. I will order the servant to clean Jay's bedroom for you to get some rest."

Carmen had a pang in her heart listening to John coaxing another woman. She bit her lower lip to help conceal the emotion that clouded her eyes.

"Let me take care of it, John! I'll ask for some help to clean the room." She volunteered. Carmen knew she was crazy. But she had to do it so that she had an excuse to leave this room and breathe some air.

John raised his head and met Carmen's eyes. She smiled at John sweetly to show him that it was totally alright.

"Thank you." John pursed his lips into a small smile. Carmen nodded at him, then left.

Carmen was actually leaving the hall with hurried steps. She walked straight to Jay's room and locked herself in the bathroom.

Carmen cried in silence to relieve the leaden in her chest. After she calms down, she looks at her reflection in the mirror and smiles pitifully at herself. But then, she let the tears flow to her eyes, traveling down her cheeks once again.

"You are crazy in love with him, so you have to bear it," Carmen muttered to herself.

She reached for the faucet and opened it for the water to flow freely. She was in a trance for a moment, staring at the water after having some thought.

Carmen shook her head and cleared up her mind. She bent her body and washed her face. After then, Carmen requested the servant, who quickly got on her feet to clean Jay's room.

The servant changes the curtain after they vacuum the entire room. Carmen changes the beddings herself and arranges the pillows on the headboard.

"Miss Carmen, here are the flowers you requested."

Carmen saw a blooming garden of roses in the back. She asked one servant to cut plenty of them, as she planned to put them in Jay's room to put some life in her.

"Can you bring me two flower vases?"

"I will get them right away, Miss."

"Thank you." Carmen smiled at the leaving servant.

When the servant was gone at the door, the smile on her face disappeared. She hurls a long breath and pushes back the tears that threaten to escape her eyes.

It pained her every time she remembered how gentle John was with Ivy. The soft gaze in his eyes belonged only to her until now. The thought that she could make John fall in love with her and completely forget Ivy as she was married to his twin brother—her hopes suddenly shattered after a tragedy occurred.

Ivy is now a widow, and John did his best to comfort her.

"Ouch."

"Are you okay, Miss Carmen?" asked the servant who helped Carmen arrange the roses on the flower vase.

"I'm fine." She lowered her gaze and remained to stare at her finger. "The thorn only pricked me."

'This pain is nothing compared to how my heart ached.' Carmen mused inwardly.

"Miss… Are you not going to treat your wound?"

'I wish I could teach my heart to stop loving him so that my heart comes to its end from wounding.'

"Miss! The blood did not stop oozing from your fingers!"

Carmen was snapped back to her senses after the servant stressed out. She just realized that her fingers were drenched in blood.

"Oh. I will wash them in the bathroom." Carmen covered her wounded finger with her other hand and ran to the bathroom.

Carmen let the water wash the blood away from her hand. A knock on the door, then a servant is peeking inside.

"Miss Carmen, I have the medicine kit. Let me tend your wound."

Carmen turned her head to the door. She nodded at the servant and replied to her, "Okay. Thank you."

Carmen turned off the faucet and strode toward an accent chair inside that bathroom. The servant placed the medicine kit on top of the dresser and tended to Carmen's wound.

After the servant plastered her wound with a bigger Band-Aid, Carmen continued arranging the roses, and this time, she was careful about cutting the thorns.

They had just finished cleaning up the room, and Carmen sat down on a single couch when John and Ivy appeared at the door. Since Ivy twisted her ankle after running from the burning suite, John has to carry her around.

Carmen watched John gently put down Ivy on the bed. Jealousy ate up her heart, but she would look like a bitch if she behaved childishly by asking John to let someone else carry Ivy next time.

Carmen grabbed her dress as her palm clenched into fists. She constantly reminds herself that she has nothing to be jealous about. After all, it was Ivy who John was in love with until now.

Ivy is John's childhood friend. John does not even introduce her to Ivy as his girlfriend. What is her match against her then?

Carmen turned around and headed to the door. She heard John telling Ivy to eat something before she slept.

"You must not starve yourself now that a baby is growing in your womb."

Carmen stops in her tracks.

'Ivy is pregnant?'

She glanced over her shoulder and looked at the two people who were intimate on the bed.

'Are you willing to be the father of her child, John?' Carmen could not help muttering this inside her head.

Carmen was about to resume walking when she heard John calling out her name.

"Carmen, could you make Ivy a chicken soup? I heard from Vincent. It was what his mom cooked for Hailee."

'I'm not her mother, dammit!' Carmen cursed inwardly. The reality was too painful. She could only throw a fret inside her mind because even though her heart was breaking, all she could show was the fake smile on her face.

"Alright. Please, wait a little while. I have to boil the chicken first."

Ivy looked at Carmen with an embarrassed look on her face. She smiled timidly and uttered, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Carmen."

Carmen shook her head as she replied, "Not really! John is right to say that you need not starve yourself. You need nutritious food so I will make you chicken soup. Then, I will excuse myself."

After saying this, Carmen rushed outside and made long strides toward the stairs. She isn't sure how long she can bear the pain in her chest. She hoped that she could numb her heart soon…

But first, she must not cry no matter what because she is insane to decide she would not give up.