The manager of the bar freaked out. He signaled the bodyguards and said to Jared apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Han, but I wouldn't dare to offend the person seated upstairs even if I had ten lives to gamble with. I'm afraid you will have to let Miss Nian go."
Receiving the signal, the bodyguards walked towards Jared and tried to force Debbie away from him. Jared wasn't as good at martial arts as Debbie was. Moreover, Debbie was drunk. Desperate to find a way to protect Debbie, he shouted as the bodyguards approached, "I'm going to find out who the hell this man is!" With that, he held Debbie's hand and began climbing the stairs.
The others made way for them. When he got to the private booth upstairs, Jared kicked the door open and yelled, "Who the hell is stopping my fri... M... Mr... Huo?"
One single sight of Carlos' face, Jared almost fell to his knees out of fright. He spun around to look at the drunk person behind him, darted outside the room, and slammed the door shut hastily.
"Tomboy, run! Run for your life! It is Carlos Huo inside!" he whispered in a trembling voice as his fingers shivered to find balance. By this point, Debbie was too drunk to stand straight, but Jared's last remark alerted her.
She stared at Jared with gaping eyes and nodded. Then, hand in hand, they dashed downstairs like a crazy couple running to save their lives.
Carlos had recognized who were outside when the door of the room had been kicked open. Also he noticed that Debbie wasn't fully standing erect indicating that she was drunk. He opened the door and stepped outside the booth.
"Stop them!" he ordered in the hallway.
Unaware of the cause, the manager quickly followed Carlos' orders and told the bodyguards to stop the two people running away.
"Move! Move!" Having grabbed her by the wrist, Jared led the way for Debbie.
However, the bar was so crowded Debbie couldn't run fast although her physique enabled her to. As soon as they reached downstairs, they were barred by the bodyguards.
But she hadn't forgotten to resist. She knocked down the first bodyguard that tried to lay his hand on her.
And then the second, and then the third... When she was going to handle the seventh, the bar suddenly became eerily quiet. Debbie had an ominous feeling when a chill crept up her spine. Jared, who was standing opposite Debbie, saw the man behind her. His face twisted with fear. 'Should I flee for my life? Debbie is his wife. Maybe he wouldn't harm her even if I left her alone here.'
After knocking the last bodyguard to the ground, Debbie pretended not to sense the person standing behind her and strode towards the entrance of the bar.
"Stop!" came the cold command in a stern voice. Upon hearing Carlos' voice, Debbie felt her limbs go numb.
The other customers all stepped back from the scene, mostly because they all wanted to keep a safe distance from Carlos, the man with an intimidating presence.
"What should we do?" Debbie whispered to Jared who was standing beside her.
'I wish I knew, ' Jared wailed inwardly. "How about I run and you go appease your husband? You're his wife after all. I suppose he won't be too hard on you."
"No way! Are you ditching me?" Debbie pinched his arm hard. Jared let out a painful scream and jumped in agony with one hand covering the pinched spot.
"Debbie Nian, this man is your husband. He will let you pass after you play cute and sweet. Trust me, men are the same. I'm a man and I know it."
'Play cute and sweet? Me? Kill me, kill me right now, ' Debbie cursed internally. She felt that this would be the most difficult thing she ever had to do.
While they were whispering, Carlos came down the stairs. "Hurry. Your husband is arriving. Our lives depend on you now, buddy," Jared told Debbie, tugging at her sleeve, nervous as ever.
Debbie closed her eyes. 'Okay, I'll do it. For my friend and myself. Just this once. It shouldn't be too difficult.' After calming herself down, she raised her head and turned around abruptly. She threw herself at Carlos, buried her face in his chest and said, "Mr. Handsome, I feel so dizzy. Who am I? Why am I here? What is this place?"
The onlookers all watched in shock. 'Ugh...is this playing cute or dumb?' Jared cried inside, feeling his end was near. 'What's happening?' Carlos wondered.
The thick stench of alcohol from Debbie made him wince in disgust. He shot a grim glance at Jared, who almost lowered his head to the floor, and demanded, "What's going on? Why is she like this?"
Jared didn't dare to lie to Carlos. He looked up and was going to tell him about Bernard, but when he looked around, he noticed that Bernard was long gone. 'Shit!' Jared cursed.
"Um, nothing. Tomboy just drank a little. Right, Tomboy?" Jared stressed on her name as a cue for her to respond something.
Taking the hint, Debbie nodded immediately and said, "Yes, yes, I... alas, my head, my head is spinning so fast. Mr. Handsome, can you take me home?"
Carlos didn't expose her trick. His face was as gloomy as ever. When he carried the woman in his arms, the crowd exclaimed in shock. "Who is that woman?" one man asked.
"Who knows? Why is Mr. Huo carrying her?" another responded.
When he passed by Jared, Carlos kicked him in the sheen and said, "How dare you to let her drink so much! And on your watch!"
Jared howled in pain and blurted, "I couldn't stop her—" And then came another kick, this one more excruciating than the previous one. "Ouch! I'll stop! I'll stop talking! Just stop kicking. Gosh! It hurts."
While Jared was jabbering, Carlos gave him a stern look and he shut up so quickly as if there were an OFF button on his mouth which had just been pressed. 'Damn it, ' Jared cursed in his heart. He had never been in such a humiliating situation. The entire set of onlookers stared at him with pity.
When Carlos was carrying her out of the bar, Debbie slightly raised her head from Carlos' shoulder and mouthed, "Sorry," to Jared.
The boy snorted and turned his head away. He didn't seem to care anymore. 'It's all because of her. I told her not to drink. Ow, my leg. Ow, my groin. It damn hurts. Even my old man has never kicked me this hard.
Carlos Huo, if I ever get a chance to hold you in the palm of my hand, I'll make you grovel and call me grandpa. Mind you! Hahaha, that would be fantastic!'
As Jared was immersed in his fantasy, Carlos suddenly turned and looked at him suspiciously. The smirk on the boy's face disappeared instantly and he ran away like a deer escaping a lion in one piece.
Tristan had been waiting for Carlos by the car outside the bar all the while. When he saw him coming out of the bar with a woman in his arms, he was surprised. But after a careful stare, he opened the door of the backseat respectfully.
Debbie started pretending to be asleep the moment she was carried into the car, but after a while, she actually dozed off. The car got filled with the stink of liquor. It didn't take a genius to figure out how much Debbie had drunk.
Debbie was so deep asleep she didn't even realize when they arrived at the villa. Suddenly, she was frozen to her core. She woke up to find herself in the tub and cold water was being sprayed on her body. She shuddered.
"Carlos Huo, this is so uncalled for!" she shouted angrily.
"Awake?" Carlos tried to contain his anger with great difficulty.
Debbie wiped the remaining drops of water off her face. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that there were tens of dollars scattered on the floor. She felt disgusted seeing hard-earned money being dumped. Carlos might not care but she did. She stood up and walked out of the tub in her drenched clothes.
It might not be a lot of money, but it meant something to her. Especially, considering the murderous glares Carlos had been shooting at her repeatedly, it wouldn't be exaggerated to say that she had earned that money with her life.
Watching her pick up the notes one by one, Carlos didn't stop her. When she was done, he said, "Go get changed."
"Hun?"
"We're going somewhere."
Debbie tried to deduce something from the man's face, but frustrated at his poker face, she had to nod.
When she got dressed and walked out of her bedroom, Carlos was already waiting downstairs.
Once she hoped in, the car drove away from the house slowly. Debbie was fidgety. When she looked out the window, the memories from the last time when Carlos had taken her to the martyrs' park all came flooding back. "Where're we going?" she asked warily.
"Shinning International Plaza."
Debbie was relieved to hear that soothing response. But why was he taking her there at this late hour?
The car finally came to a halt. Debbie staggered out and followed Carlos into the elevator. Only after the elevator has stopped on the top floor did she realize what his real intentions were.