"Oh yeah!" Debbie agreed promptly. She was desperately in need of cash these days. The more the better. So of course she was happy to have these advertising jobs. That way money could roll in faster. If she didn't work hard now, she wouldn't be able to raise her daughter, not to mention win Carlos back.
Ruby heaved a sigh of relief. She had been worried Debbie was so engrossed in pursuing her handsome ex that she even abandoned her career. "Okay, good. Then I'll call Mr. Wang back and tell him you're in," Ruby said.
"Okay."
At the general manager's office of ZL Group
Sitting in his chair, Carlos looked outside the window at the city skyline, deep in thought. He was holding his cellphone, open to the Weibo post from the official account of SG Law Offices. He had already seen all nine pictures they posted.
Shifting his gaze back to the office, he pulled out the drawer and took out the photos that James gave him. His father claimed these pics were evidence of Debbie's affair with another man three years ago. Carlos tapped each of the pictures on the post, and meticulously compared each of them with the photos in his hands. So Debbie wasn't lying to him. The photos of her sleeping in another man's arms were all doctored.
Even the interview with her supposed lover was fake news. He admitted someone bribed him to make up a story and frame Debbie.
And the man who left Y City with Debbie three years ago? Her bodyguard. The man already testified and produced his labor contract.
Not only that, Debbie had surveillance video to back up her story.
For example, if one rumor said that she secretly met and slept with another man, she'd have surveillance video with a time and date stamp to refute that rumor. And hard evidence was more convincing than any rumor. That was enough to quash all the rumors.
Why did the mastermind who framed her have pics of her sleeping? That was a question that had no answer. Debbie said honestly that she was still investigating it.
But what about the baby? And who engineered all this just to pry them apart? Debbie didn't give a clear answer yet. She was waiting for the opportune time.
The news article was a long one. It would take at least 20 to 30 minutes to go through it all and absorb the info.
At the end, there was also a link to a video. The video showed Debbie went to a temple and knelt in front of a statue of Buddha to make a serious oath. "I, Debbie Nian, swear to all gods in heaven that I never cheated on Carlos Huo. If I'm lying, then strike me dead! I still love him!"
The whole process was recorded from beginning to end.
The video shocked a lot of netizens. It was such a vicious oath. No cheater would wish that on themselves, and they knew that. Public opinion began to shift, and more positive comments appeared under her news stories.
Carlos browsed the news in silence.
After a long while, he called Frankie in. "I don't care about the news about Debbie Nian. Let the PR team handle it. But I don't want my name in the limelight. Take down all the news stories mentioning me."
"Yes, Mr. Huo!"
In a short time, every article about Carlos Huo had vanished from the internet.
In spite of solid evidence, there were still some media outlets that ran the fake news stories about Debbie. After all, it was scandal, and scandal meant clicks. So without warning, Xavier filed charges against them. Within two days, ten-odd companies openly apologized to Debbie on the internet and made arrangements to pay her for emotional damage, as well as damage to her reputation.
In the Han family's residence
Jared copied the link of the article and sent it to Damon. After reading the news, Damon clicked his tongue and sent a voice message to Jared. "She's as ballsy as she ever was. That's all I can say, dragging Carlos into her affairs again."
Jared wrote, "Did you even read it? You need to apologize, you jerk!"
Damon was baffled. 'No way!' "In your dreams," he replied to Jared.
Little did Debbie know that when Jared and Damon met up next, the two brothers fought over her once again.
It was a fair commute to shoot the commercials, but it was worth the money. When she finished up and came back, it was already three days later.
Without taking a break at home, she waited in front of the elevator on the sixth floor of Champs Bay Apartments.
At 8:10 p.m., the elevator doors opened. A well-dressed man stepped out of the elevator in an arrogant manner.
Seeing the woman leaning against the wall, he ignored her and continued walking towards his apartment.
Debbie called out to stop him, "Hey, you see the news? I didn't cheat on you! So you can fall in love with me again."
Carlos turned around and fixated his eyes on her. "Yeah, I saw it. It proves you didn't have an affair. But I'm still suspicious of your purpose of coming close to me." After all, she divorced him soon after he fell unconscious and even swore never to return to Y City.
But having Hayden's daughter was where he drew the line. How could she ask him to love her now? She was such an irresponsible mother to Piggy.
Debbie was shocked by his reply.
"Look, I've been nice to you, but quit bugging me now. Or I'll trot out the papers you signed three years ago."
Debbie wasn't intimidated. "No, you won't. I'm an artist signed to your company. You won't do that. You really wanna lose money? Don't think so."
Carlos sneered and answered coolly, "So I'll kill the label. I don't care."
Debbie was rendered speechless. 'Dammit! I'm so naive. I thought he'd come back to me after hearing my oath in the temple. It seems like all that was in vain, ' she thought to herself.
"Okay, I have better things to do. I wasted three years loving you!" And with that, Debbie turned and headed towards the elevator.
Carlos froze for a second, but then went on walking without saying anything. He went into his apartment and closed the door.
Debbie was angry and sad. 'He just left? He didn't stop me?
Okay, okay. He lost his memory. I can't expect to get him back so quick. Carlos, I swear I'm gonna bug the hell out of you when I have you with me again! Humph!' she thought angrily.
She was about to leave, but she wasn't going to go home empty-handed.
So she rang Carlos' doorbell.
No one responded. Debbie didn't give up and kept ringing it. She pushed the button again and again.
Finally, the man inside couldn't stand the noise anymore and opened the door. With a deadpan face, he glared at her.
Debbie grinned broadly. "Hi Mr. Handsome, I miss Millie and her puppies. Is Harley's family doing okay?"
She began trying to squeeze into his apartment.
Carlos pushed her outside. "No need to see them. They are doing quite well. Thank you very much."
As he pushed her out, Debbie took the chance to lock her arms around his. She didn't budge a little and confessed, "Okay, that was just an excuse. I really miss you!"
"How many men have you said that to?" Carlos scoffed. "Hayden? Ivan? Yates? Or Xavier?"
Expectation and excitement flashed in Debbie's eyes. "Jealous?"
Carlos sneered, "No. You disgust me!"
Debbie smiled embarrassedly. She jumped and pecked a kiss on his lips. "Bye, Mr. Handsome!"
Successfully stealing a kiss, Debbie quickly turned around and ran towards the elevator.
Carlos was still stunned by the sudden kiss.
Meanwhile, he felt his erection again, pushing against the fabric of his boxers. The woman must be a witch!
The news regarding Debbie finally died down, so did the uproar surrounding them, but soon enough, there was another scandal everyone was talking about. James, the present CEO of ZL Group, was having an affair.
With ZL Group involved, the news soon went viral. It popped in many users' news-feeds as it was shared again and again.
Of course, it was Debbie who was behind the story. She paid a lot of money to make sure this was the top trending topic. And she also paid for some gossip rags to spread the scandal.