Now that Debbie had had her revenge on Gail, nothing else mattered. As for the man in the picture online, she declared, "That's not Carlos Huo. That's my boyfriend." She believed that making her relationship with Carlos public would only bring herself more trouble.
Hearing her words, her friends thought to themselves, 'Come on! That is Carlos Huo.'
The girl who had come to ask for Carlos' contact information left the classroom with doubts of her own.
Debbie took out her phone and complained to Carlos, "Mr. Huo, your fans are totally crazy. If they want your contact information, why didn't they just ask you in person while you had classes at school? Now that they know I know you, they keep coming to me for all kinds of information. Not even half a day has passed and crazy fan number 33 found me in the classroom. This is madness!"
She didn't get any reply for a while. Half an hour later, her phone buzzed. "You should get used to it because I might make your identity as Mrs. Huo public anytime."
If he did that, more girls would try to find her. And this time, they would be pissed off that Mr Huo was off the market! She shivered at the thought of their reaction to the news. "Mr. Huo, please have some mercy on me. Let's keep this low-key. Just like how it was three years ago," she pleaded.
Carlos smiled at the other end of the phone. "Deb, it's too late for that now," he replied.
'The moment I lost my heart to you, I knew that you were the one. You are mine and you are not going anywhere. I want you by my side for the rest of our lives and I can't wait to tell the whole world that you are my wife, ' he thought to himself.
Debbie, on the other hand, was terrified by what would happen once everybody knew she was Carlos Huo's wife. She totally freaked out when another one of Carlos' fans ran excitedly towards her.
'Argghh! I can't stand this anymore. It's driving me crazy! Whoever wants to be Mrs. Huo, please be my guest. I'm more than willing to give the title away.'
But then she pictured another woman dining with Carlos, traveling along with him, having fun with him, sleeping in his arms... Just imagining those scenes was enough to upset her immensely!
That crushing feeling completely cleared her head. She knew what she wanted now. She shoved Carlos' enthusiastic fan aside and whispered to Jared, "I need money. Get me a job in some other bar. I need to sing."
Jared stared at her for a moment and then shook his head. "You know what? You're insane!
Your husband is generously rich. If this were some other woman, she would be busy enjoying her comfortable life. But you? You want to work part-time! What are you thinking?"
Debbie was frustrated. "There's something that I want to buy. It will be more meaningful if I buy it with my own money," she explained.
She only had around $20, 000 left from the money she had made by drinking. It was enough to buy the thing that she wanted, but she could only afford the lesser version for that money, which wouldn't do. She only wanted the best for Carlos.
She liked Carlos. There was no more doubting that truth. There was no hesitation in her. Since that was crystal clear in her heart now, she decided to show him how she felt about him before it was too late.
She couldn't stand the thought of losing him.
"Okay, I'll find another job for you. But no drinking. Can you promise me that?" The risk was too high for Jared. Carlos would probably skin him alive if he found out that Debbie got drunk again.
"Yes! Cross my heart!" Debbie promised, patting her chest.
Carlos picked her up after school. They went to a hotel for dinner. That evening, she was unusually sweet to him. During dinner, she asked him about his day and showed concern about the recovery of his wound. She picked up his food for him, and she even massaged Carlos' back diligently even though he told her there was no need for it.
When they both finally sat down to eat, Carlos put some boneless fish on her plate and said, "There's no use sucking up to me. I still remember that you were late for class today."
She squirmed in her seat. That really brought her spirits down.
Head bowed, Debbie poked the fish with her chopsticks with a frown on her face. Then she said with a sigh, "No horror movies and no martyrs' cemetery, okay?"
"Okay," Carlos agreed readily.
His response came as a pleasant surprise to Debbie. She was thrilled. But before she could swallow the next bite of her delicious fish, he said, "I'm taking you to watch a live show—a person making out with a snake."
"N-N-N-No!" she objected desperately, her eyes wide open and filled with horror. She had seen that horrendous scene before. There was no way in hell that Carlos would let her go with just making her watch the show. Her legs started trembling as memories of the previous incident emerged in her head.
Once, she had gone to Thailand on a holiday with her friends. "Human and snake kissing" was one of the shows on the itinerary. Disgusted and terrified by the show, she had hidden behind a column and played with her phone during the duration of the entire show. When she raised her head towards the end of the show, she saw Jared making out with the snake. She was so frightened that her phone was tossed away when she jumped out of her seat. After they had returned from the trip, she avoided Jared for half a month.
At this point, Debbie already knew that Carlos made sure that every one of his punishments was harsh and effective to the people who angered him.
Even Debbie, his own wife, wouldn't be spared. He was a cold man.
All of a sudden, the tender, flavorful fish tasted incredibly bland. "Is there any way that you would let this one go?"
Carlos gave her a glance as he picked out the fish bones for her. "That depends on your performance."
After she heard his words, an idea dawned on her. She stood up from her chair abruptly and locked her arms around his neck. She then looked him in the eye and
slammed her lips on his. Three times!
That would definitely help her get through, she thought. However, the man's face darkened and frowned. "Debbie Nian, did you wipe your mouth after eating?
" Debbie bit her lips and looked elsewhere. That hadn't occurred to her.
An innocent mistake. But it was not too late for her. She could still make up for it. She quickly drew a tissue and was about to wipe her mouth when it hit her that it might be wiser to wipe the tyrant's mouth first.
So, she gently wiped her husband's mouth with a grin and then her own.
After throwing the tissue into the bin, she wrapped his neck from behind and asked, "Mr. Handsome, do I get an A for my performance?"
"I didn't feel much sincerity. Perfunctory kisses don't satisfy me."
Frustrated, Debbie buried her face in his neck, and rubbed it back and forth; her breath drifted lightly against his skin. Carlos' hand stopped in midair. 'This woman is doing it intentionally, ' he thought.
He slowly put down the chopsticks and wiped his mouth and hands clean with a wet napkin.
The next second, Debbie was pulled into his arms and seated on his lap. She looked at the door nervously, her face red. But they were in a private booth, so no one would come and interrupt them.
Carlos took her hand in his and then pulled her in for a deep kiss on the lips. His tongue was restless in her mouth; his breathing became heavier and heavier.
He whispered to her in a husky voice, "Let's go home, shall we?"
"Yes," came her swift answer. She was aware of what he meant.
Compared with making out with a snake, kissing Carlos sounded like a much better choice. So she had agreed to it without thinking when he had suggested that they go home.
Carlos didn't even wait for her to finish her dinner before dragging her out of the hotel and heading home.
What would happen after they got home was way too exciting for Debbie. Too embarrassed to look at Carlos, she kept her head down and pretended to play with her phone, flushing as she thought about the impending scene.
When they were about to arrive at the villa, Carlos' phone rang suddenly. Debbie raised her head and saw the caller ID on the LED screen of the vehicle backup camera—Megan.
Carlos answered the call immediately, "Hi, Megan."
Megan sounded scared and anxious as she blurted out, "Uncle Carlos, there are some men at the gate of my housing community. They seem to be looking for something or someone. I've been waiting for them to leave for half an hour, but they are still here. What should I do?"
Carlos' face turned dark in worry and fury. He steered the wheel while saying, "Go to the security guards' room and wait for me. I'm on my way."
"Okay, but hurry," Megan urged.
"Okay."
By the time the call ended, the excitement and sweetness in Debbie's heart had died away.
"It must be those men from last time. We're going to Megan's place to pick her up," Carlos said in a hurry.