Curtis' concern opened the floodgates for Debbie's tears. Compared to Carlos' cold tone, Curtis' sounded so warm. Debbie embraced Colleen, who was standing next to him and was equally worried. "Finally, someone cares about me. Mr. Lu, Colleen, please take me with you. Can't stay here anymore. My husband loves another woman. He won't let me eat and talks to me coldly all the time,"
she sobbed.
Curtis rarely got mad. But upon hearing what Debbie had said, he turned to Carlos with a sullen face and demanded, "Carlos, is this true? Don't you know she just had a near-fatal experience?"
Carlos glanced at Debbie and said, "It's all bullshit and you know it."
Not having the heart to watch his boss make a bigger mistake, Emmett walked to Carlos and reminded him in a whisper, "Mr. Huo, with all due respect, don't say anything you'll regret."
Carlos glared at Emmett. The dutiful secretary's voice trailed off.
Assuming the couple were fighting, Colleen rolled her eyes at Carlos. "Debbie, don't cry. Gregory's not busy. So if your husband can't take care of you, I'll call my brother and ask him to come and look after you," she said, trying to comfort Debbie.
Recently, Colleen learned her brother had a crush on Debbie—Carlos' wife. She knew that Gregory stood no chance and that it would go nowhere. She felt sorry for her brother.
Now that there was an opportunity for Gregory to show how much he cared, Colleen grabbed it for him.
And with both her and Curtis around, she believed Carlos wouldn't be tough on her brother.
Colleen took out her phone and was about to dial the number, when Carlos observed. "Colleen, you're a bride-to-be. Don't you have a wedding to plan?"
His tone was full of warning.
Colleen stared at him and put her phone away. After twitching her lips unhappily, she commented, "Debbie just had a serious accident. Why do you have to be so mean? Couldn't this wait until she's well? You're so rude. Honestly, I don't know how Debbie puts up with you."
Then Curtis took the tray out of Emmett's hands and put it beside the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up a bowl of congee. Gently, he spooned some food out of it and placed it to her mouth. "Here, eat something. We'll get you to another hospital."
"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Lu," Debbie said sweetly.
Carlos watched and listened.
Just as Debbie was about to take a bite, the proud man who had just been criticized by everyone else in the ward snatched the bowl and spoon away from Curtis and snapped, "She's my wife, Mr. Lu. Now, go away!"
Curtis was simply pushed off the bed. Looking at the overbearing man, he shook his head. 'This man's ego sometimes makes him lose his head. But at least, now the reverse psychology is working. If he won't take care of her, we'll make a show of it. Then, he'll be forced by his jealousy to act, even if he wants to punish her instead of cherishing her.'
"Open your mouth!" Carlos ordered bluntly.
Debbie snorted, "Since you're so gallant, I guess I'll have to open my mouth." A spoon of warm congee was put into her mouth.
"Shut your mouth!"
"One minute, you ask me to open my mouth, and the next, you ask me to shut my mouth. You're so high-maintenance. Mr. Huo, if I shut my mouth, how will you feed me?" asked Debbie, blinking.
The man of few words was again rendered speechless, while Colleen and Emmett burst into laughter. This was too good. She was giving as good as she got.
Another group of visitors came sauntering into the ward while Debbie ate. They were Jared, Damon, and Damon's wife Adriana.
Damon walked beside Adriana protectively. This was the first time Debbie had met Adriana. She hoped she was good for him. Jared had made some questionable choices when it came to girlfriends. But then again, Damon was not Jared.
This woman was almost nine months along.
Thanks to the pregnancy, her face was round and chubby. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and beautiful. A smile lingered around her lips.
She wore a simple orange designer down jacket and soft flats.
Her long hair was tied back casually. Debbie's first impression of her was that she was a high-flier.
Their eyes met. When Adriana saw Carlos himself feeding Debbie, she was very curious about the woman in the hospital bed.
Jared saw the gauze around Debbie's forehead. Before anyone could say anything, he dropped everything and sprinted towards Debbie. "How ya feeling, Tomboy? I was worried to death when I heard about the accident. I couldn't sleep. I even lost my appetite. How are you? Let me have a look—"
He approached Debbie to hug her, but Carlos pulled him away by the sleeve, putting the boy at a distance from Debbie.
'I haven't even gotten to hug my wife yet today. You? Back off!'
Everyone was stunned by Carlos' possessiveness.
With his hands around Adriana's waist, Damon kicked Jared in the leg and berated him, "Behave yourself around Mrs. Huo. Otherwise, next time if Carlos gets pissed and throws you into space, I won't help you."
Jared scratched his newly dyed yellow hair and explained, "Mr. Huo, I was just worried about Tomboy. Don't get me wrong."
Carlos only threw him a cold glance and continued to feed Debbie.
With one arm around Adriana's waist, Damon moved closer to the bed and said, "Debbie, let me introduce my wife, Adriana Mu, CEO of ZL Group, New Zealand branch. Sweetie, this is Carlos' wife, Debbie Nian, a student from Curtis' university."
Debbie swallowed the food in her mouth and exclaimed, "CEO? Wow! You're a successful woman. Hi, Adriana. Nice to meet you."
Adriana walked over and shook hands with her. "What successful woman? I only got this position because your husband felt bad for me. But you, you even melted Carlos, the Iceberg. That's impressive."
"No..." Debbie wanted to ridicule Carlos. On second thought, it seemed to be inappropriate on such an occasion, so she said instead, "Me too. I got the title of 'Mrs. Huo' only because Mr. Huo felt sorry for me."
The others hooted, but Carlos' face darkened. He picked up a cookie and put it into Debbie's mouth to shut her up.
Damon nodded his head. "Mrs. Huo, you're my heroine. Few people dare to talk about Carlos like that."
Carlos cast Damon a cold look.
Damon wrapped his arms around his pregnant wife protectively and took one step back. Pretending to be afraid, he said, "I'm warning you. Don't be a smart-ass. Your wife is here today." All of Carlos' good friends felt bullied by him all the time. Today, they all wanted to see how weak he was in front of Debbie. It was a sight for sore eyes, and they enjoyed every minute of it. She was the only one who could really mess with him and not get hit for it. Anyone else, well, they knew better.
Colleen smiled at Emmett and said, "Emmett, if Carlos gets angry at you guys again, call Debbie. She knows how to calm him down."
Emmett gave Colleen a thumbs-up and whispered, "Works like a charm." He had tried many times. It never let him down. By word of mouth, "Call Mrs. Huo for help when Mr. Huo is mad," had become a well-known secret in the offices. Debbie, actually, wanted to say, "No use calling me. Call Megan." But in the end, she swallowed those words and simply smiled awkwardly.