For a few minutes, Jake had been crying outside. But it was hard for Debbie to leave the kid in the
austere weather anymore. Ignoring Carlos' caveat, she opened the gate to the villa and walked over to
the little boy, whose nose was red from the biting cold.
Heaving a sigh, she squatted to whisper in the boy's ear, "Jake, I'll take you inside, but you have to
promise me to stop crying, okay?"
To Debbie's surprise, the imp pushed her hard without a word. Caught off guard, she slumped on the
cold, snowy ground.
"You ungrateful, spoiled brat!" Debbie roared, boiling with rage as
Carlos stepped forward to help her to her feet. The grim look on his face as he helped her up was
enough to stop the boy crying.
When everyone thought that was it, Carlos released Debbie, clutched the boy and spanked him so
hard that
his palm hurt.
The kid burst out crying again. This time he was so loud you'd fear he was going to have a seizure.
Scared out of wits, Megan dashed over and intervened by pulling Carlos aside. Standing between him
and the kid, she implored, "Uncle Carlos, Jake's mom is stuck in a traffic jam, but she should be here in
about an hour. Can I get him out of here, please?"
"No, you can't!" Carlos growled coldly. "If you are worried about him, you can stay here and wait with
him!"
Never had Carlos been so angry at Megan. Today, he had easily snapped at her time and again that
she wondered what was wrong with him. Looking back, she recalled how just the other day he had also
embarrassed her by standing her up at the party. She had been taunted by so many people. At the
mere thought of it, anger consumed her eyes. But there was not much she could do, considering he
held power over her. In disappointment, her mouth opened and closed involuntarily, as if she was going
to say something but words failed her.
By now, the boy had cried so much that he was panting for breath. With a ferocious eye, Carlos looked
at him and demanded, "Shut the hell up and apologize to my wife!"
A terrified Jake scampered for cover behind Megan, at his cold, menacing roar.
Irritated by the little brat's impenitence once again, Carlos pulled him out and roared, "I'll say this one
more time. Apologize to my wife!"
Resignedly, the kid turned to Debbie and stammered between sobs, "I'm s-sorry. Boo...hoo... Mommy. I
want mommy!"
After he had apologized, Carlos tucked him into Megan's arms and warned, "I don't ever want to see
him again!"
Frightened, Megan held Jake tight and nodded with a pale face.
If she had known the boy would anger Carlos, she would never have brought him along.
Tabitha, who had been silently watching, walked over to check Debbie. "Debbie, let me have a look.
Are you hurt?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Thank you, Mom. The ground is covered in snow, so I'm fine. Don't worry," answered Debbie shaking
her head.
Learning that she was fine, Tabitha was relieved.
When they were about to head back into the villa, a BMW pulled in beside Megan's Mercedes. A short,
plump woman in a green down jacket threw herself out of the car hurriedly.
She was wearing lots of jewelry, which she seemed to proudly flaunt. Obviously one hell of a flashy
woman who just couldn't resist the urge to show off wherever she turned up.
Instead of checking on her son, she trotted over to Carlos and said, "Hi, Mr. Huo. I'm Jake's mom."
Seeing his mom there, Jake thought he had backup, so he cried, "Mommy, mommy, help me! This man
is bad. He hit me! And they too. They all bullied me! Boo...hoo..."
'My son got hit?' Her heart ached at the word, but she couldn't bring herself to confront Carlos. All she
did was hug Jake tightly and console him.
"Mr. Huo, I'm sorry I'm late. Awful traffic," she said to Carlos apologetically.
Carlos looked at her indifferently and demanded with a stern face, "Apologize to my wife!"
'Huh? When did Mr. Huo get married?' Jake's mom wondered. She looked at the woman next to Carlos
and thought, 'Is this Mrs. Huo? Why did Megan never mention her?'
Carlos didn't even care enough to explain the situation to her. Megan came to her and said, "Jake
messed up his wife's cosmetics, which were worth tens of thousands of dollars."
Megan left out the rest of the story. Jake's mom was stunned to hear that the whole thing was just
about some cosmetics. She was angry but she restrained herself. "Mrs. Huo, my son is crying his heart
out just because of some cosmetics?"
Debbie threw a stare at Megan who had left out the most important part of the truth, and was about to
say something, when the housemaid that had been with the boy all the time responded, "Lady, Mr. Huo
doesn't care about the money of course. Your son was rude to Mrs. Huo. He not only messed up Mrs.
Huo's cosmetics but also hit her with a jar of face cream. And when Mrs. Huo tried to calm him down
while he was throwing his tantrum, he pushed her down to the ground. Don't you think what your son
did is wrong?"
The way the maid referred to Mrs. Huo again and again made Megan frown in disgust.
Meanwhile, the respectful manner of the housemaid towards Debbie and the grave look on Carlos' face
awoke Jake's mom to the seriousness of the situation. After all, Carlos Huo was a man with vast
influence across the city. That was not the kind of person she could afford to offend, for her own
business and political interests in the city.
Gripping Jake's hand, she walked over to Carlos. "Mr. Huo, I'm so, so sorry. I've failed as a mother,"
she apologized, with her head bowed. Likewise she turned to Debbie. "Mrs. Huo, I'm sorry. I'll teach
him a lesson when we get home. Again, sorry for everything."
Standing there, Carlos didn't respond. His mind was hard to read. Debbie had to stand with him.
To make up for the mess, Jake's mom called someone on the phone and had a few sets of the most
expensive cosmetics at Shining International Plaza delivered to the villa. After hanging up the phone,
she asked the bossy-looking man cautiously, "Mr. Huo, is it okay now?"
Carlos responded with a frown, "Is this how you're teaching your son?"
At first, Jake's mom was confused, but soon she realized what he meant. She pulled her son out of her
arms and said to him, "Jake, what you did is wrong. Now, apologize to Mr. Huo and his wife. Come on."
"No, I won't!" the boy shouted as he pried his mom's hand away and ran towards the car. "I want to go
home. I want Daddy! I hate all of you! You are all bad! You should be eaten by a monster!" he
continued shouting.
His mom stood there, watching him climb into the car, terribly embarrassed.
"He... I... Mr. Huo..."
Without a word, Carlos looked at her coldly before turning around to go back to the villa with Debbie.
In the villa, Tabitha was giving instructions to Julie on what she wanted on menu for dinner. When she
saw them coming in, she dismissed Julie and stood up. "How did it go?" she asked.
Since Debbie looked at Carlos, indicating that he answered, Carlos said casually, "Whoever touches
my wife will face my wrath, and Jake is not an exception. It does not matter whether he is only a child
or not."
Moved by his words, Debbie took his hand and said quietly, "It's over now. Jake's mom apologized, so
don't be mad anymore, okay?"
"No!" he protested.
Debbie lowered her head and smiled at his stubbornness. When she looked up again, her eyes were
full of affection. "Jake is only five years old, dear. You have to get over it, or you may begin to sound
petty. Do you think that is good for a man of your reputation?" she asked tenderly.
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