Debbie shut her mouth immediately. As the saying goes, "He who talks much errs much." She wondered whether she had said something wrong that caused Valerie's fury. But she didn't say anything wrong.
"Debbie Nian! You are so rude! Didn't your parents teach you about self-esteem and self-respect?" Valerie's words cut Debbie's pride like a sharp knife.
Her face was hot as she felt both sad and humiliated.
"Grandma, Deb—"
Before Carlos could finish, Debbie interrupted him. 'Carlos has been yelled at by his family this whole time because of me. I should do something, ' she thought. Looking Valerie in the eye, she flashed a smile and said, "Grandma, I don't think it's a big deal to leave self-esteem and self-respect behind to be happy."
Carlos had done a lot for her, and she should repay him. And this was the best way she knew how. By carefully choosing words that they couldn't argue over, maybe she could stop them from fighting. Maybe she'd even win one for Carlos. Who knew? But it was important that she stood up for herself and for Carlos, not to mention for their marriage.
Carlos' eyes lit up when he heard this. Meanwhile, his heart ached as Debbie had to fight against three elders.
James knew he was in the wrong, so he had to find another excuse to yell at her. "Debbie Nian! Who do you think you are? We're older than you. Show some respect!"
Debbie blinked and sighed with resignation. "I wanted to respect you, but respect is a two-way street. You haven't shown me any respect at all."
No one had ever dared to talk to James like that before. His face twitched as he said through gritted teeth, "Fine! You have guts! Aren't you afraid that I'll drive you out of the Huo family's house?"
Upon hearing that, Debbie held Carlos' arm and said playfully, "Honey, your father wants to throw me out of the house. Protect me?"
"Hahaha..." Wade burst into laughter at Debbie's reaction.
The tension in the study was eased a little by Wade's laughter. However, Valerie and James still wore long faces. It would take more than just that to change their minds.
Carlos pulled Debbie into his arms and said to his family, "I hope you'll be nice to my wife from now on. If someone dares hurt her while I'm away, Grandma, Dad, Uncle..." He left it there, an unspoken threat. More menacing than anything he could have said.
After that, he took Debbie's hand and left the study.
"Ungrateful retard!" James roared behind Carlos' back, but Carlos paid no attention to him.
When Carlos and Debbie went back to their room, she shut the door behind them and rested her head against his chest. "Honey, I just pissed off your whole family," she grumbled pouting her lips.
Carlos kissed her forehead and said, "That was awesome. You should get a medal."
"Will you be serious? This isn't funny. When you were in the study, I made Megan cry. Mom looked unhappy too. And I even talked to your grandma, dad, and uncle like that. Did I go too far?" For some reason, she regretted what she had said in the study. After all, they were Carlos' family.
"I know you were trying to protect our marriage. You didn't say anything wrong. Deb, you did a great job." When James lost his temper, Carlos wanted to leave the study. But Tabitha had urged him not to argue with James, for he had been taking blood pressure medicine these days.
'What?! Is this really happening? He just praised me for fighting against his family!' Debbie thought to herself. "If Dad heard this, he would throw another book at you," she remarked.
Carlos took her to the bedside and took off her down jacket. "Why are you wearing this? Aren't you hot?" he asked in confusion. The central heating in the villa worked very well. Debbie wiped her forehead, which had grown damp.
"Of course I'm hot. But I was trying to be respectful by dressing decently," said Debbie. She was wearing a short knit T-shirt and jeans inside the down jacket.
Carlos' heart broke. His dad wanted to drive Debbie out of the Huo family's house, while she wanted to show respect to his family. Stroking her smooth face, he said softly, "I know it's a holiday, but I still have to go to the branch office here for work. Are you going to be okay here? Don't hesitate to call me if anyone tries something. No one's going to harass you if I have anything to say about it."
"Sure. Don't worry. I don't think they'll harass me. They didn't call me into the study, did they? You're overreacting."
Carlos shook his head, smiling. 'Deb is so simple-minded.' He changed the topic. "So what happened between you and Megan?"
"She came to my room and tried to piss me off. Then she left, crying. I don't know why she cried." Debbie looked at Carlos carefully, wondering whose side he would take.
Carlos stroked her hair and asked casually, "What did she say?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Can we go for a walk now? I'm not tired yet." Although it was already midnight, it was still daytime in Y City. She was still suffering from jet lag.
"Me neither." Carlos flashed a grin.
Debbie thought he agreed to go for a walk; she was thrilled and cradled his neck asking, "Where are we going? To the beach?"
"Beach? No problem. We'll go there tomorrow," said Carlos with a dirty smile. His thoughts were not about going anywhere, though he could take her to the privately-owned beach and have wild sex with her there. His family owned that beach and didn't let just anyone go out there. But it was winter now. He didn't want her to catch a cold.
"Tomorrow? Then where are we going now?"
"Now... we're going to...bed."
Hardly had his words faded when he pressed her against the bed and kissed her lips.
Meanwhile, a picture posted on Weibo had caused a flurry of rumors in Y City.
A paparazzo had taken a picture of Carlos and his wife waiting for their flight in a VIP lounge. Megan was there as well.
Debbie's face was blurred and indistinct. No one liked that, least of all the netizens.
According to the news, Carlos had taken his wife to New York to meet his family and celebrate the New Year. He had also taken Megan with them. People believed that Megan was the apple of Carlos' eye.
By the time Kasie saw the post, there were already hundreds of thousands of comments. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Debbie, so she left a comment. "Poor Mrs. Huo. There's always a third wheel between her and Mr. Huo. Miss Lan, why were you looking at your uncle like that? Like you have a thing for him. I heard Miss Lan always pestered her uncle even if Mrs. Huo was there. Miss Lan, you are not a little girl anymore. And the winter vacation started a long time ago. Can you please fly to New York alone next time? Mr. Huo is busy, and I'm sure he wants some alone time with his wife."
Debbie had complained to Kasie before that she felt there was something wrong with Megan's feelings towards Carlos.
Kasie had also warned Debbie not to let Carlos and Megan stay with each other alone. After all, Carlos and Megan weren't related by blood—it was perfectly normal if she had a thing for him.