Page 17 of Secret Baby With My Brother's Best Friend

I took a seat beside her on the bed, leaving some distance between us. "I will. I will sort this out very soon. I just need you to relax and not act out so things don't get out of hand," I explained gently. Harper was being too erratic right now, and I just needed her to calm down. "If you get too hasty, you could worsen the entire situation, and I know that is not what you want, so let us be smart about this," I reasoned with her, and Harper seemed convinced by my words.

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine. Like I said. I do understand how you feel. Believe I do not like this any more than you do," I said, glancing at the newspaper. "Just leave it to me. I will handle it."

"How? What will you do about it?" she quizzed, swirling her head in my direction.

"I'm not sure yet, but I will take it up with Carl. He has more experience with this kind of thing, and I'm sure he will know what to do about this rumor. He will handle it."

"That sounds good to me," Harper nodded, sounding more convinced. She got to her feet. "Well, I guess I will go back to my room now. You should talk to him soon and get back to me."

"Yeah, I will. I'll come to see you after I speak to him," I stood up, following her to the door.

Harper nodded. "I'll see you later."

After Harper left, I changed my clothes and went to Carl's room to see him. I knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer, so I decided to call him instead. The phone rang for a long time, and I had almost given up hope of him answering the call when he picked up.

"Yo! What's up," Carl's voice rang through the other line.

"Where are you?" I asked, straight to the point.

"Uh! I went out to grab a bite," he replied vaguely. "Why? What's up?"

"We kind of have a situation here, and I need you right now. It's important."

"Can this wait?" he asked, and I could hear the vigor leave his voice.

"Not exactly. How soon can you return?" I quizzed.

"Two hours tops. Will that do?" Carl questioned.

"Sure. I can work with that. I'll see you then. Bye." I hung up and returned to my room to wait for Carl.

The knock at the door sometime later woke me. I groaned, realizing I had fallen asleep on the couch while waiting. I heard the knock on the door again, this time more insistent. I hurried to my feet and went to answer it. I opened the door, and there stood Carl, looking rather displeased. I stepped aside, ushering him in.

"So what is it that was so important that you had to interrupt my afternoon?" he whined as he walked in, his voice laced with annoyance. I motioned to the newspaper on the bed, indicating that the answer was right there.

Carl reached for it, his hand moving swiftly as he took a quick glance at the gossip page. His expression didn't change much, but his displeasure was instantly replaced with a grin that played across his lips. "Wow! You guys look good together," he complimented sweetly, his voice filled with amusement.

"You don't look surprised. Did you know about it?" I asked, my voice tinged with curiosity.

Carl nodded, his grin widening. "I saw it earlier today."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" I cocked my head to one side, a mix of surprise and annoyance evident in my tone.

"I knew you were going to see it sooner or later, and I had things to do," he replied casually, looking down at the newspaper again and smiling impressively. "I always knew something was going on between you two," he added, his words carrying a hint of mischief.

"There is nothing going on between us," I declared, snatching the newspaper from him and tossing it onto the couch, my frustration mounting.

"That's not what the media is saying right now," Carl gave me a funny look and laughed. He seemed rather pleased with the situation.

"I know. It looks like there has been some misunderstanding caused by whoever took that photo, and I need you to clear it up for me."

"Sorry?" Carl raised an eyebrow, his expression one of disbelief. "You want to clear the rumor?"

"Yes," I said firmly.

"You can't be serious right now," Carl sighed.

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