"Debbie Nian, what do you mean?" At that moment, a man's stern voice came from outside the office.
Then, James appeared and entered.
Pointing at Debbie, he gloated, "You can do whatever you want, Miss Nian, but get this from me. Stephanie will be my daughter-in-law, and there are no two ways about it. Three years ago, Carlos had spent his whole fortune on you. Yet you left him while he was in a coma. Now that he is recovered, you can't wait to get back together with him. I know what you are after. Just admit it."
He was implying that Debbie was after Carlos' money.
Taking advantage of James' support, Stephanie looked at Debbie and exclaimed, "Miss Nian, how shameless you are! How about this? Since you are Carlos' ex-wife, I'll give you five million dollars. Just leave with the money and never come back to pester him, will you?"
'Five million?' Debbie snorted, "Wow, you are indeed a generous woman, Miss Li."
Stephanie didn't get the mockery in her tone and flashed a proud smile. She even believed that she and Carlos were made for each other as their families were of equal social rank.
However, what Debbie said next made her smile freeze. "But if Carlos comes back to me, I'll have countless five million dollars. Do you think I'll give a damn about a mere five million?"
Stephanie, James and Carlos were dumbstruck.
"How about this? Since you think that money is all there is to relationships, I also have an idea. I'll give you fifty million dollars, on condition that you quit this fight, leave Carlos alone and move on," Debbie offered with a scornful smile.
Stephanie's face changed. She suppressed her anger and snapped back, "Do you think Carlos is up for auction to the highest bidder?"
"That's exactly what I should ask you. Miss Li, is Carlos an item? You want to pay me five million to ask me to leave him. What do you take him for? A commodity on sale? A rent boy?" Debbie asked, without the slightest fear that her words would offend him.
"Debbie Nian!" Carlos shouted, his face sullen.
James' face twisted as well. He pointed at Frankie and scolded, "Why did you allow this woman in here?" Then he pulled out his phone and called the security. "Bitch, I won't allow you to hurt my son again," he threatened. "Hello. Is that security station? Someone is stirring up trouble in the general manager's office. Hurry up. Dispatch a team to sort this out quickest."
No one tried to stop James from calling the security.
Unconvinced, Debbie looked at Carlos and asked, "Are you that cruel to watch as the security guards throw me out?"
Carlos answered in a cold voice, "Debbie Nian, I won't spoil you anymore."
Debbie's heart broke at his words. She took a deep breath and turned to James. "James Huo, you old son of a bitch! I tell you what, I'll get back together with Carlos. No matter how many tricks you play, you won't stop me!"
Hearing the words, James trembled with anger. With his shaking hand, he pointed at Debbie and yelled, "Bitch! You are just as shameless as ever."
Unable to stand Debbie's humiliation of his father, Carlos stood up from his seat, strode towards her and caught hold of her wrist, dragging her to the door.
Debbie struggled to break herself free, but to no avail. She cradled his neck, jumped up and kissed him on the lips. Ignoring his long face, she turned to Stephanie and said proudly, "You know what? Whether it was three years ago or now, we— Mmmph..." She wanted to tell Stephanie that she and Carlos had kissed a few times recently, but he covered her mouth with his palm.
Before she could say anything, he threw her out of his office.
"Ouch!" Debbie cried in pain as she lost balance and hit the floor.
Only then did Carlos stop, but then he shut the door without even sparing a single glance for her.
The employees couldn't help but giggle at her awkward position.
'Oh my goodness! Isn't this embarrassing?' Debbie thought.
Picking herself up, she pulled down the hat over her eyes, covered her face and rushed to one of the elevators.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, the doors of the other elevator opened, letting out a group of security guards heading to the general manager's office.
Alone in the elevator, Debbie blankly stared at her reflection in the shiny wall, her mind drifting off into a daze. The look on her face told a sad story. It seemed like all her efforts were futile.
At a high-class housing estate in the downtown area
Staring at Jared's collar, Sasha pointed to the gates and yelled, "Get out! Now!"
Jared scratched his hair and said impatiently, "I told you many times. I didn't cheat on you. I helped her to her feet, smudging her lipstick onto my collar accidentally."
Sasha said with a sneer, "Jared Han, stop lying! Do you think I'm such a fool to believe your lame excuse?" Sasha was a not-so-famous star. But she worked very hard to get more opportunities and always had to fly to different cities.
Today, she had just gotten back home after a week-long trip. As if they worked on a synchronized clock, Jared arrived only a few minutes later, with lipstick print on his collar.
"Please calm down, Sasha, and stop being so unreasonable!"
"I'm unreasonable?" In frustration, Sasha closed her eyes and shouted, "We're done! Just find another woman who is reasonable." Then she opened her eyes and angrily pushed Jared towards the door.
Peeved about her attitude, Jared retorted, "Fine! We're over! If I ever come back again, I'd be your grandson!"
Unknown to him, Sasha had thought Jared would keep begging and pleading. But he didn't even apologize and try to sweet-talk her as a gentleman. It broke her heart. "Fine! Just leave!" she said feebly, her eyes red, on the brink of tears."
Goodbye!" Jared loosened his tie roughly and stormed out in a huff.
Silence reigned in the apartment again. Crouching on the floor, Sasha covered her face with both hands and broke into tears, weeping uncontrollably. 'Is he really breaking up with me?'
Panic gripped her heart.
She didn't know how long she had been crying when the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Who is this?" she asked while wiping off her tears.
"Sasha, it's me, Debbie." Debbie's voice came from outside the door.
Earlier on, she had seen Sasha's post in WeChat Moments. "I can finally go back home today!" read part of the post, in which Jared was mentioned.
Sasha immediately sprang to her feet, but she staggered as her legs were numb. She opened the door, and forced a smile.
"Hi Deb!" she greeted, putting in an effort to sound cheerful.
Debbie bent over to pick up the plastic bags on the floor, which contained different kinds of fruits. "Hi Sasha. Am I interrupting your romantic moment?" She hadn't planned to visit Sasha at the beginning. But Curtis and Colleen had taken Piggy and Justus out. To kill the boredom, especially after her drama-filled day at the ZL Group offices, she came to visit Sasha.
Sasha shook her head and took over the fruits. "Not at all. I'm glad to have you here." However, her voice was a bit different, which caught Debbie's attention.
She took a closer look and then noticed that Sasha's eyes were red and puffy.
Debbie closed the door and asked with concern, "Why did you cry? What happened? Where's Jared?" She looked around, but Jared was nowhere to be found.