When Douglas first put forward a proposal to marry Debbie to Carlos. Artie, who had heard of Carlos before, agreed to the proposal without hesitation.
Debbie had just broken up with Hayden back then. And she couldn't bear to turn down her father, who was terminally ill. She had been so mad at Hayden that she had agreed to marry Carlos in a fit of pique. Their marriage certificate had been issued on her birthday that year.
The reason why Carlos had agreed to marry Debbie was that he respected his grandfather's advice. From Carlos' childhood, Douglas had dedicated his time and money to his grandson's education.
When weak, frail and advanced in age Douglas sat Carlos down and recommended Debbie for a wife, it made sense.
At that time, Carlos was a workaholic with virtually no time for anything else.
Shortly after, Douglas had been hospitalized, in a coma, before he could let anyone in on his grandson's marriage. It didn't help that Carlos was overextended in time. So much that he hurtled from meeting to meeting, place to place, the world over for business. Until gradually, he had completely forgotten about his wife.
Debbie didn't know the story behind this. She and Carlos had been married for three years, yet had barely known each other until several months ago.
"Your grandpa is still in a coma. When your dad gets to know this, I'm pretty sure he'll throw a tantrum," said Tabitha in a worried voice. That was a real source of concern for her. If there was one thing that Tabitha didn't like in James, it was his quick temper. Over the years, she had learnt to wisely avoid unnecessary strife with her husband. But it wasn't lost on her that if triggered, he could be unreasonable.
And there was no way to tell how he'd receive his son's marriage to Debbie.
Sensing that his mom was worried, Carlos stood up from his seat, walked up to Tabitha and assured in a calm tone, "Mom, just leave it to me. There's no need to fret."
He didn't want her to be blamed for the decision. If anything, his grandpa's word was enough. The only problem was that chances of Douglas ever making it safely at the hospital were infinitesimal.
Eventually, Tabitha agreed to stay her calm, and hoped that James would be rational enough not to throw a hissy fit when Carlos finally got to introduce Debbie as his wife.
"Well, then, when are you going to take Debbie to see the rest of our family?" Tabitha asked. A couple of years back, the Huo and Li families had all moved abroad, which meant Carlos would need good planning of his otherwise busy schedule to take Debbie for introductions.
"I think it won't take long. It's time to visit Grandpa and Grandma," answered Carlos. It had been three months since he had last visited them. And the Spring Festival was drawing near. Carlos planned to take Debbie to see his family to celebrate the Spring Festival together this year.
"All right. Carlos, don't stay up late. I just saw Debbie doing yoga in her bedroom. She must be bored. Why not keep her company? I really hope you two can have a baby. I'd be glad to babysit my own grandchild."
Both the mother and the son beamed with delight at the mention of a baby.
The Huo family usually had a rather impersonal, business-like atmosphere. Tabitha hoped that a baby would make things less uptight.
Carlos curled his lips and said, "Debbie and I hope so too."
"Great. Oh, by the way, Megan..." Even though Carlos was an adult, Tabitha didn't think he was handling his relationship with Megan properly. Yes, she liked Megan very much and treated her as her own daughter. But of course Debbie was Carlos' wife. "You see, Megan and you are not related by blood. Now that you have Debbie, you'll need to set boundaries in the way you relate to Megan. In all, your wife should be number one on your mind."
Images from earlier in the day flashed back in Carlos' mind. Had Debbie gotten angry at Megan? "Mom, you are overreacting. I've told Debbie before that I treat Megan as my niece. Debbie is a sensible girl, and she perfectly understands."
"Okay..." Tabitha was not convinced, but she could do nothing. All she could do was pray and hope that her son would learn to give priority to his wife.
After a little bit of small talk, Tabitha went back to her room, while Carlos assigned his remaining work to some of his staff and left the study.
In the bedroom, Debbie was still doing yoga. The downward-facing dog posture she was in when Carlos walked into the room instantly turned him on.
At the sound of the door closing, she turned her head and asked, "Are you done with work?"
'Hoo...I'm ready to drop.
Since he's done, I'd better take a shower and go to sleep, ' she thought.
When she was about to stand up, Carlos stopped her. "Don't move!"
"What? But why?"
"In your current posture, we can..."
He stopped in mid-sentence. Debbie struggled to her feet. "Stay away from me, you goat!" she said, blushing like a teenager.
This afternoon, Carlos hadn't been satisfied in the study. Now that he had been turned on by her alluring posture, he would by no means let her go.
Despite Debbie's slight unwillingness at the beginning, she gave in to his desires in the end.
In that split second, when he stroked her, every nerve in her body was electrified with the anticipation of being together. Twisting with the surge of power through her whole system, she pulled his shirt over his head. In quick response, he pushed her hard onto the bed, his hands coming up to her neck as he cupped her head into his palms while passionately kissing her lips. She tried to pull away, but he grabbed her hungrily and held her back in the same position.
A few moments later, he flipped her over forcefully, Debbie burying her head into his neck, while his hands caressed her all over the body. Their breaths by now came in gusts, fast and furious.
When his hand rolled up to her bra, he violently grabbed it in the middle and yanked the thing off, without even trying to undo the strap. A crazy night of love, unlike any they had ever had.
Carlos finally let her go after the wild sex. Still tightly wrapped in his arms, Debbie mumbled teasingly, "Carlos Huo, if you act like this again, I will run away from you."
"Do you dare?" Carlos kissed her hair affectionately, his voice soft.
Debbie shook her head first and then nodded. Pouting her lips, she complained, "You always threaten me..."
But apparently she was still dazed from the rigor of the night. Mid-sentence, she then dozed off.
The next day, Carlos went to his company for work. Since he was not in the villa, Megan also bid goodbye to Tabitha and went back home. On their part, Debbie and Tabitha went shopping at Shining International Plaza. They had much to talk, and got along so well.
At noon, they had lunch on the fifth floor of Alioth Building, and Carlos joined them.
When Carlos didn't come home early due to a backlog of work, Tabitha invited Debbie to her room for a heart-to-heart talk.
Looking at the pretty girl, Tabitha said sincerely, "Debbie, I'm going back home tomorrow morning. I've completely enjoyed our time together, for these few days. Before I came here, I was always worried about Carlos' lack of a social life. You know, he's not an outgoing man. I didn't expect that he would find an adorable angel like you for a wife. I feel much relieved now. Hopefully, you can be strong enough to put up with his odd character and bad temper. I know it's not fair to say so, and you may feel wronged. But I really pray that you and Carlos will live happily together. Couples need to learn to give and take, right?" Debbie could
Debbie could understand Tabitha. She held her hands and answered, "Mom, rest assured please. Carlos treats me well. I'm living a happy life with him. Please don't worry about us." Debbie swore to herself that she would start to be nicer to Carlos.
"Thank you so much, Debbie. Now I can rest assured. I've urged Carlos to take you to meet our family as soon as possible. You're a good girl, and I believe other family members will be fond of you as well."
"Mom..." Moved by the motherly compassion and unable to hold her emotions anymore, Debbie threw herself into Tabitha's arms.
Tabitha was so caring, Debbie felt lucky to have a mother-in-law like her. 'Maybe my own mother wouldn't have been nicer to me than Tabitha if she hadn't been taken away from me, ' she thought to herself.
When Carlos finally came back home, it was almost midnight.
Debbie was ashamed of sleeping in when Tabitha was here. So she had gotten up very early this morning and gone for a run. After a shopping spree with Tabitha, she then went to meet her friends. She was exhausted and went to bed early this evening.
By the time Carlos came back, she was dead asleep. Quietly, he entered the bedroom, careful not to rudely awake her. He approached her stealthily and kissed her on the forehead before he went to the bathroom.
When he walked out of the bathroom, Debbie was sitting on the bed, wrapped by the quilt, playing on her phone. On seeing him, she put the phone away, spread her arms, and invited him with a sweet smile, "Honey, give me a hug."
Although he had come in worn out, the bright smile on her face instantly revived him.
He strode towards her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her affectionately on the lips. After a moment, he let go of her and asked in a hoarse voice, "Did I wake you up?"