Hayden stood still with a calm face and swirled the red wine gently in his glass.
As Debbie was hesitating to leave, a man swiftly walked on to the stage, a microphone in his hand. He started, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to take up more of your shopping time..."
Carlos' voice boomed through the microphone. Again, it proved how influential he was in the city. As soon as he had started speaking, the noisy crowd turned pin-drop silent, with their eyes glued to him.
With his eyes fixed on a certain individual, Carlos flashed a smile and continued, "I would like to take this opportunity to pick a unique wristwatch for my wife, as an apology to her..."
This time, the hall erupted in an uproar. Finally, it was time to meet the mysterious Mrs. Huo! The crowd cheered and exclaimed as they scanned the hall to look for a lady who would most likely be Mrs. Huo.
Debbie's heart skipped a beat. She clutched her wine glass tightly, holding her breath.
'What in the world... is he trying to do?' she wondered, nervously.
She shifted her gaze towards the stage, only to find that he had been looking at her all this time. Their eyes met. The affection in his eyes was so evident; Debbie was completely mesmerized.
But she was nervous and worried. 'Why did he mention me all of a sudden? Is he planning to really apologize to me in front of so many people? He is a CEO! Doesn't he care about his self-esteem? Isn't this going to be a disgrace for him?' she wondered with a frown.
"Tomboy, Tomboy! Mr. Huo is going to profess his love for you in public!" Kasie exclaimed excitedly as she shook Debbie's shoulders. However, Debbie didn't take in any of her words; she wondered what Carlos was up to.
Ignoring the commotion among the guests, Carlos spoke again. "But... my wife has..." he paused and smirked before continuing, "a very short temper. I'm afraid she won't forgive me even if I give her all the priceless valuables here."
The guests grew restless. More and more spectators began to whisper to each other. Inevitably, Debbie heard the people next to her talking. "Oh, my God! Who on earth is his wife? She's so daring that she would show her anger towards Mr. Huo," a guest wondered loudly.
"Is Mrs. Huo that tough?"
"I was wondering the same. If I were his wife, I would try my best to make him happy around the clock. How could I possibly get angry at him?"
The chatter continued fervently.
As Carlos' eyes were fixed on Debbie the whole time, some people began to crane their necks and look in the direction where he was looking.
On the stage, Carlos continued, "So...I want to give my wife a small gift today, which I hope, will please her. And it would be great if you guys could do me a favor and put in a good word for me."
The hall erupted in laughter and screams at his romantic words. "Aargh! Mr. Huo, I am sure she will be utterly pleased! You're so romantic. Even I can't resist your charm..."
"My goodness! Who on earth is this Mrs. Huo? She's so lucky to be loved so deeply by this stoic man!"
"Mrs. Huo, where are you? Come on! Show yourself please!"
"Jesus! I'm dying to see her now!"
Debbie felt her heart jump to her throat as she listened to the crazy screams around her.
Wearing a pair of white gloves, Emmett climbed on to the stage with a brocade box and passed it to Carlos.
As he carefully picked up the luxury watch from the box, the big screen on the stage began to display the high-resolution pictures and details of the watch in his hand.
The watch was mechanical, collaborated by 101 outstanding designers of the ZL Group.
It contained a total of 520* dazzling VVS diamonds, and it was equipped with an epicyclic gear system timer.
(*TN: The number 520 sounds like "I love you" in Chinese.) The watch featured a classic track-type dial. A capsule containing a Martian meteorite fragment sat upon the brass dial. The date was shown in a window at the three o'clock sub-dial and a moon phase indicator was displayed at the aperture of the dial. Most importantly, this watch was unique and was the only one available in the whole world.
To the guests' exclamation and cheers, Carlos descended the stage with the watch in his hand.
As he walked through the crowd, everyone spontaneously moved aside and made way for him to pass through uninterrupted. As they witnessed, Carlos stopped in front of a woman.
But to everyone's shock, this woman was neither Portia nor Olga. At that very moment, the two women widened their eyes in disbelief as they watched Carlos walk up to Debbie, the woman they despised so much. At this point, the two shocked women had become a laughingstock in the crowd's eyes.
Debbie was wearing a blue evening dress with a fluffy bottom. It was embroidered with baby blue floral patterns. A layer of thin blue chiffon was draped from her shoulders to her ankles. From a distance, she looked like a fairy in a blue gauze dress.
Her black hair shone with a little brownish color under the light. It was tied back in a simple style. She had put on some light make-up with a red shade on her plump lips.
She looked lovelier than ever with her big eyes popped out in shock.
Although she was dressed in a simple, low-key manner, she was charming enough to attract people's attention. Carlos found it hard to take his eyes off her.
Portia was stunned and muttered in a shaky voice, "Why? Why her? How? Wasn't she married to Emmett?"
Portia and her mother had been so excited when Carlos' assistant had contacted Portia, inviting her to attend the event with him. They had even celebrated, hoping that she would be Mrs. Huo in the near future.
But now, her blood was boiling with jealousy. Recalling the scenes where she had deliberately taunted Debbie made Portia blush out of embarrassment.
She balled up her fists, and gritted her teeth in rage. She seemed ugly as she turned green with envy.
'Debbie Nian, that annoying woman! Why can't she just go to hell? Why is she married to Mr. Huo? And moreover, Mr. Huo spoils her so much. My brother had dumped her in the past; how did she become Mrs. Huo now?
Why? Why?! This is so absurd!!'
Portia cursed in her mind, unconvinced by the sudden turn of events.
As everyone watched on, Carlos pulled Debbie into his arms and kissed her gently.
This caused a rumble of excitement in the hall. A round of thunderous applause, screams and whistles arose from among the guests.
Carlos broke his embrace and looked at the stunned woman. With a thin smile, he grabbed her left hand and put the watch on her wrist as he apologized, "Honey, I'm sorry. Forgive me, please?"
The watch fit Debbie's wrist perfectly because Carlos knew her size already.
Kasie pinched Debbie's arm to remind her excitedly, "Debbie, wake up! Forgive him! Come on!"
Jared had already been squeezed a few meters away from them by the cheering crowd. But thanks to his height, he was still able to see everything clearly. He exclaimed, "Debbie, forgive him! Say you love him!"
Hayden clenched his fist tightly and snapped, "What are you so excited for? She's not your wife."
"Hey!" Jared yelled angrily. He really wanted to pop Hayden in the face, but seeing the happy couple amidst the crowd, he suddenly understood why Hayden was so pissed. Jared grinned. He casually rested his arm on Hayden's shoulder and mocked, "Pal, you're only playing a walk-on part in Debbie's love story. Quit being jealous."
Hayden responded with silence.
The dumbstruck Debbie finally came back to her senses after being pinched by Kasie several times. She lowered her head to look at the watch on her wrist. It was beautiful and dazzling.