Curtis said in a soft voice, "The name 'Justus' means upright and just. I don't expect him to be perfect. All I'm hoping for is that he will be a man of integrity." As he spoke, he fixed his eyes on his son, his eyes full of affection.
Upon hearing that, Debbie gave him a thumbs-up. "Wow! You're such a good father. Most parents would put all their expectations on their children. They want the world for their children—high-paying jobs and being CEO of a company. But you're not like that."
As if Colleen had thought of something, she rolled her eyes and said, "Debbie, I actually wanted to name him 'Leonardo' after Leonardo DiCaprio since I'm a huge fan. But your uncle Curtis didn't want me to."
Debbie burst into laughter. "I can understand Uncle Curtis. He's so possessive of you."
While listening to their conversation, Curtis just smiled softly. He dismissed the waiter in the private booth so that they could talk freely. He poured the two women each a glass of juice.
Colleen held her son's hand and told him, "Jus, this beautiful girl is your cousin. This is Debbie."
Looking at Debbie with his round eyes, Justus called out in a small voice, "Debbie."
Debbie pinched his face and said playfully, "Jus, you're so handsome. I think I'm in love with you!"
Colleen guessed that Debbie wasn't used to holding babies so she took Justus over. "Jus, do you like Debbie? She's so pretty, huh?"
Debbie straightened Justus' clothes and said to Colleen, "Why did you take Jus? I still want to play with him. How about this? I'm available in a few days. Let me take care of him for a couple of days so that you and Uncle Curtis can have a few days just to yourselves."
Colleen answered with a smile, "Come on! You must be kidding. You don't know how to take care of babies."
Debbie's smile froze. It was not until then that she realized that she had told Curtis she had aborted her baby three years ago.
Colleen sensed that something was off—she was reminded of Debbie's abortion, so she apologized, "I'm so sorry, Debbie. I shouldn't—"
"No, no. It's not like that." Debbie held the glass tighter. She took a deep breath and said apologetically, "Uncle Curtis, Aunt Colleen, I'm sorry. I lied to you before. But I had no other choice back then. Actually, I didn't cheat on Carlos, I didn't abort the baby, and I didn't elope with another man."
Debbie believed that she had to clear her name, whether they would believe her or not.
This didn't come as a surprise to the couple. Curtis turned to his wife and said, "See? I told you. Debbie didn't do any of those things."
Colleen nodded, held Debbie's hand, and asked with concern, "Debbie, can you please tell us what had happened back then? Why did you take all the blame? And where is the baby?"
"The baby... is in Z Country now. It's a long story. Nevertheless, I came back to Y City this time for two reasons. The first is to get back with Carlos. The second is to take reprisals against James. He destroyed my marriage and ruined me. I must avenge myself."
As Debbie spoke of James, it was like she was suddenly a different girl. A cold aura seemed to sweep over her and her eyes had seemingly dimmed.
Curtis furrowed his eyebrows. 'James must have really hurt Debbie.'
"What?! I thought Uncle James was a nice man," Colleen said in confusion.
Maybe Debbie was the one who understood James the most. "He's just like Megan. They are all hypocrites. He looks like a loving father, but all he wants is control and he'll stop at nothing to get it. You know what? The thing I regret the most is not that I believed him when he said Carlos was dead, but that I interceded for him because of Valerie's call when Carlos was about to put him behind bars.".
If she hadn't interceded for James with Carlos, James would have been in jail and she wouldn't have to suffer these past three years.
Silence reigned in the room. Only the sound of Justus playing with his toy could be heard. Curtis was deep in thought—he was thinking how James used to be and how he hadn't expected James to be such a scheming man.
Then he realized that maybe his three friends were hostile to him because they'd already been deceived by James.
The major issue was Carlos personally believed in James and thought he was a good man.
"What are you planning to do?" Curtis asked.
"I must help Carlos get his memory back. And I have to find evidence that could tie James to the crimes. I'll put him behind bars and make sure that he spends the rest of his life there."
During the past three years, she had tried to get acquainted with various people, including detectives, lawyers, CEOs of large groups... She believed this would help her get her revenge. She had consulted a lawyer before, and he had told her that if she had proof that James committed the crimes, he had to spend the rest of his life in prison.
After a while, Colleen asked, "Since you didn't abort the baby, where is it now? Who is taking care of it? A boy or a girl? How is it?"
At the mention of Piggy, Debbie's eyes softened. She held Justus' hand and said, "It's a girl, and she's more than two years old. Her nickname is Piggy. A friend's mom is taking care of her for me. I cannot let Carlos know she exists. I will take her back to Y City after he gets his memory back."
"Piggy? Come on! She's a girl! How could you name her Piggy?" Colleen looked at Debbie in disbelief.
Debbie sighed helplessly, "She doesn't like meat. I started calling her Piggy because I wanted her to eat some meat and gain some weight. She still doesn't eat meat but the name stuck. Don't worry. Her real name's Evelyn Nian."
"Thank God. But why don't you tell Carlos about Piggy? Maybe he'll get back together with you if he knows you have a baby with him." Colleen thought it wasn't wise of Debbie to keep Piggy a secret from Carlos. Piggy was Carlos' daughter and he might get back together with Debbie for the sake of their child.
Debbie shook her head. "I don't think Carlos will want to get back together with me just because we have a child together. Besides, James is still in the picture. He'll try whatever he can to break us up. If Carlos and I fail to get back together and James gets a hold of Piggy, I'll never forgive myself. Piggy is my daughter. These past three years, I've leaned on Piggy for support and love. I can't afford to lose her."