Without giving anyone a chance to retort, Curtis pushed his glasses up and echoed gently, "Is that so? Debbie, you may leave now since the truth is out. We'll take care of the issue."
His words triggered the crowd to look at him, stunned.
On the other hand, Debbie turned to Curtis and hesitantly whispered, "Mr. Lu..."
She was aware that the whole thing had started because of her. Thus, she felt responsible.
Just then, Damon's phone rang. He looked at the screen and muttered, "Why is Carlos calling now?"
Hearing Carlos' name turned everyone's attention to Damon's phone.
Then as expected, Damon answered the call. "Hi, Carlos."
No one knew what Carlos said on the other end, but they saw Damon wave his hand while saying, "There's no need to send Wesley for such a trifle. It will be fixed right away. On the other side are daughters of the Mi family, the Qin family, the Yan family... Wait. What? Wesley is already on his way? Okay then."
Damon gazed at Curtis after hanging the phone up and said, "Carlos asked Wesley to send some special force here. They're on their way."
Carlos' name alone was frightening enough. More so, knowing that Wesley was rushing here with some special force... Gosh! No one dared to stand up for their daughter again.
The air inside the room was suddenly heavy with fear. Discarding the questions in his head, Sebastian told Debbie, "Debbie, Gail was wrong earlier. I apologize for what she did. I'm taking her home now."
Warmth filled Debbie's heart as she shook her head. "Uncle, I'm sorry for troubling you."
"Debbie, come home for dinner sometime," intervened Lucinda as she patted Debbie's hands tenderly. It was now clear to her that Debbie's husband was not Hayden. But she was sure Debbie was connected with Carlos somehow.
Afraid of Carlos, many parents thought that it was wise to get out of that place before the situation got uglier. They followed Sebastian's example and apologized to Debbie for their daughters.
However, Blanche was an exception.
She looked at her son and said with a sullen face, "Let's go home, Hayden."
Then she gave Debbie a resentful glare and thought, 'This girl was unlikable two years ago. I can't believe that she still is! So many parents were on the brink of irritating Damon and Curtis because of her.
Wesley and Carlos Huo may come down on us like a ton of bricks if we stay here any longer.'
"Mom, I have something to deal with. You and Portia go home first," refused Hayden, with his hands in his pockets.
Feeling that it would be very inconvenient to say anything more before these people, Blanche took Portia and left. Her face was livid as she walked away. Her rage was evident with how loud her heels were making tapping sounds against the floor.
A relieved sigh escaped Debbie's chest upon seeing the last pair of parent and daughter had left that place. She muttered, "Thank you, Mr. Lu and Damon."
As a reaction, Curtis cast a meaningful look at her and then gazed at Hayden. He then looked back at Debbie and said, "No problem. Go home early."
"Okay," she replied obediently.
Damon waved at Debbie. He then started walking towards the door while dragging Jared by the ear. "I'm going home, Debbie. Call me if you need me."
After a short confusion, Debbie nodded and answered, "Oh, okay. Thank you, Damon."
It was then that Jared suddenly kicked Damon's leg without any warning as he screamed, "Goodness, Debbie! What did you thank him for? Get your hand off me, Damon!"
Getting fired up, Damon began kicking back against his brother.
The brothers were still fighting like little kids when they left,
leaving Emmett, Debbie, and Hayden at the party venue.
Despite all the drama, Debbie remembered how Hayden stood behind her amidst the trouble.
On the other hand, Emmett knew his place so well that he turned to Debbie and said, "Mrs. Huo, I'll wait for you outside."
Debbie hated to hear what Emmet said. Nonetheless, she remained quiet. She didn't want to be left alone with Hayden.
Hayden's eyebrows furrowed as he watched Emmett leave. He wondered, 'Psh! What kind of husband would leave his wife alone with another man?'
"See you." It was Debbie's voice that cut through Hayden's thoughts. She then turned away as she had nothing to say to Hayden anyway.
She was already about to leave when Hayden suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the hotel door.
"Hayden, what are you doing? Let me go!"
shouted Debbie. However, Hayden just completely ignored her protest and kept on. Mr. Zhu, who was seeing the guests off at the door of the hotel, just watched them with a subtle look in his eyes and then said his farewell to them. He knew better than to get involved in those influential people's personal affairs.
Hayden found an empty spot at the parking lot where no one was around. It was only then that he released her. D
ebbie was already on the brink of losing her temper when Hayden embraced her tightly without any further ado.
She struggled to get off his hold, but the man had been firm on holding her close. Despite her pushes and kicks, Hayden said painfully, "Deb, don't reject me. I know you're married. I'm sorry for coming back too late. Do you even have any clue of how much I missed you in the past two years?
Debbie was stunned upon hearing how broken his voice was with emotions. The pain in his voice instantly rendered her powerless. Her hands involuntarily stopped pushing him away.
"I know my mistake. Really. There wasn't a single day that I didn't regret treating you badly. Deb, can you forgive me?" confessed Hayden affectionately. He then swiftly scooped her cheeks with his warm hands. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was now, even more beautiful than before.
Debbie's eyes turned a little red as she tried to hold her emotions. A faint smile cracked her beautiful lips before she said, "Too little too late." She had already fallen in love with Carlos and couldn't even consider anyone else other than that bossy and tender man himself.
However, Hayden was unwilling to take her answer and shook his head. "Divorce your husband and then marry me. If you divorce him tomorrow, I'll marry your the day after tomorrow."
"Impossible! We cannot and will never go back, Hayden! I have moved on. Just..."
She wasn't able to finish her word when Hayden suddenly grab the back of her head and kissed her.
As soon as his lips touched hers, Debbie instantly wrenched herself free and gave the man a crisp smack.
Hayden's head turned because of the forceful slap. Through the way her finger ached, she could imagine how hard it impacted his cheek. Disgusted, Debbie wiped her lips hard with the back of her hand. 'How dare he kiss me! How am I going to face Carlos?' she thought angrily.
Taking a deep breath, she said firmly, "I'm married. I'll hate you for the rest of my life if you do this again!"
Then she turned around and left.
"Debbie, I won't give up!" Hayden shouted behind her.
His miserable voice echoed throughout the parking lot, but Debbie wouldn't give much care about it anymore. She just paused for a second and walked on.
It was Emmett who drove the car on their way back. Debbie rested her aching head against the car window the whole time. The view outside was just like merging colours as they were passing by. She was too rejected to enjoy it.
She missed Carlos so much.
Sensing that something was wrong, Emmett kept silent as he thought that she might need a moment alone. He called Carlos as soon as they reached the villa. "Mr. Huo, Mrs. Huo is back home," he reported.
"Good," Carlos responded shortly.
Debbie felt queasy at the thought of that kiss. She brushed her teeth repeatedly inside the bathroom.
She couldn't stop. Her gum bleeding but she just kept on.
It was only when her phone rang that she put the toothbrush down and gargled quickly. Mixed feelings surge inside her the second she saw the caller ID on the phone screen. "Hi." Her voice came out sweet as she answered the phone.
"Hi, what are you doing?" asked the tender voice from the other end.