Three years ago, when Debbie left Y City, she sent Jared a text message, saying that she was going to start a new life, telling him not to go looking for her.
Jared rushed to the airport after he got the message. He thought maybe he could catch up to her, at the very least say a proper goodbye, but she was already gone.
Kasie, on the other hand, had almost moved on from the miserable pain of losing Emmett. She was way more conciliatory, and she knew what kind of dark pain a loss could cause, the desire for isolation. She held Debbie's hands and said, "I'm sorry, Deb. You were pregnant back then, and you suffered a lot. I wasn't there for you..."
Debbie shook her head and said in a choked voice, "It's me who should be apologizing. I'd been gone for three years, incommunicado..." She regretted having left her best friends behind. Even though she had to leave Y City, she shouldn't have given up on those who loved her most.
The three of them held each other and cried for a long time. Sebastian finally separated them, and offered, "Time to eat. Your aunt Lucinda slaved all day over the stove."
It turned out that Sasha had plans to move back to Y City after graduation and find a job.
Jared was now working in his family business—the Han Group. His father, Jasper, made him director of the company administration department, overseeing employees and implementing company directives laid out by the president. He also was involved in the hiring and firing process. All in all, he did well.
Kasie was a purchasing agent for Johnston.
According to the others, Dixon was still studying in America, going for his PhD. He had only come back to Y City twice in the past three years, and he was able to talk to them on WeChat.
Speaking of Carlos, Sebastian told Debbie, "James lied to you. Carlos is still alive."
While Carlos was still in a coma, James took over ZL Group and usurped his place in the company and in Y City.
Jared nodded and echoed, "I haven't talked to Damon once in the past three years. You know what? He grabbed Megan and brought her back from A Country."
Since news of Debbie's scandals reached his ears, Damon swore he'd kill Debbie for Carlos' sake. Jared stopped him and they'd actually come to blows over the incident. This time, the two hadn't made nice with each other. Damon and his wife moved out of the Han family's house. He and Jared were now more like strangers than brothers.
"Do you know where Carlos lives?" Debbie asked with a hopeful expression.
Kasie shook her head. She hadn't seen Carlos in three years.
Jared shook his head too. After what happened three years ago, James used his resources to delete all news posts regarding Carlos. There was little news about him on the Internet. And what little could be found was unsubstantiated rumor. And sometimes those disappeared quickly as well. Jared didn't know Carlos was even still alive until he returned to ZL Group.
Damon never told him Carlos was still alive. He had to learn about it second hand through his position in his own company. So he confronted Damon over this.
Damon let him know that Debbie cheated on Carlos, and James knew about it the whole time. So James lied to her and told her Carlos was dead. It was a test of her integrity, but she failed. She ran off with her lover before the body had time to turn cold. He hadn't expected her to fail his test so brazenly. He couldn't have known that she'd be such an ungrateful bitch.
Why didn't Damon let Jared know about Carlos? Because he knew Jared would take Debbie's side. Predictably, Jared became enraged at Damon's words. If Adriana hadn't been there, the two brothers would have been at each other's throats.
Debbie had a headache now. No one knew where Carlos lived. 'What can I do?
Go to the ZL Group's offices to find him? I guess that's my only option, ' she thought.
Jared reminded her, "You need to avoid Wesley and my brother. I don't know why, but they all hate you."
'Wesley and Damon? Impressive, James, you old bastard!' Debbie cursed inwardly.
James was such a skilled and practiced liar. He managed to fool everyone.
He ruined her and ruined her chance of a happy life with Carlos.
'Don't break out the bubbly yet, James Huo! I'm back with a vengeance!
I'll make sure Carlos remembers me. I will avenge myself, win Carlos back, and get our happy life back, ' she swore to herself.
The next day, Debbie covered her face with sunglasses, a baseball cap and a mask before setting out for the ZL Group. She disguised herself for two reasons. One was that others might chase her down and beat her after recognizing her. The second was if James knew she was back, he would try something.
She had parked her car opposite the office building and had been waiting in it for the whole day. But she didn't see Carlos.
Instead, she saw Lewis. He must have been hired back. He was surrounded by several of his co-workers, laughing and joking with him as they walked to his car.
The employees didn't return to the building until Lewis got in his car and left.
It was pretty normal for Lewis to have gotten hired back. After all, he was James' biological son. James didn't want to see him suffer.
The third day, Debbie got a phone call from Jared. He was beside himself with excitement, his speech rapid-fire. "Tomboy! Tomboy! Carlos lives in Building 2, Champs Bay Apartments. But..." He paused, not knowing whether he should go on.
"But what?"
"He... lives with his girlfriend."
Debbie's heart ached at his words. "You sure? Damon told you that?"
"Damon wouldn't tell me a thing about Carlos. I found out myself. I asked Mr. Lu for Carlos' address. He gave me the address, but nothing else. I went there this morning to check on it for you. I saw Carlos and Stephanie leave the house together."
'Really? They live together?' Debbie was lost for words.
Just imagining another woman in Carlos' arms made Debbie's heart break. She felt as if someone had ripped out her soul.
"I won't give up no matter what. I was forced to sign those papers three years ago. I must win Carlos back now, whatever the cost," she said firmly.
Jared didn't know what to say to make her feel better. So he just said, "Good luck. Call Mr. Lu if you need something."
"He knew I was back?"
"Uh... Slip of the tongue." Jared scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
Actually, it was Curtis who dragged it out of him.
Debbie swallowed and asked, "Does he hate me, too?"
"Don't worry, Tomboy. Mr. Lu is on your side. But he and Carlos fell out over something. Haven't hung out for a while. If you want, you can discuss your next steps with Mr. Lu."
"Okay. Thanks, Jared."
"Come on! We're friends. Don't thank me! I do what I do because I care about you," Jared complained from the other end of the line.
Debbie giggled and felt much relieved. "Sorry, man. It's my fault. Won't happen again."
"Uh-huh. Sure. Just don't take it for granted."
Debbie sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. Well, I'm going to let you go. I'm off to look for my love."
"I think he still loves you. He just lost all his memories. You need to remind him of the good times. Go for it! I have faith in you."
"Jared, you just made my day! Bye!"
"Bye!"
After hanging up on Jared, Debbie opened her app drawer, searched for the Champs Bay Apartments on Google Maps and drove there using the directions provided by the recently unblocked app.