Debbie even doubted that she had mistaken him for someone else. She never knew that Decker had such a brave, strong side. 'Is he really my brother?'
Niles was rendered speechless. He then turned to Carlos and asked, "Did you give him anesthesia?"
Carlos shook his head.
Shocked, Niles stared at Decker, his mouth agape. He gave him a thumbs-up and without wasting any more time, he continued to stitch the wound.
After washing his hands, Carlos asked Debbie, "Is dinner ready?"
"Hmm, on the table." Debbie absent-mindedly raised her arm and pointed to the direction of the dining table.
Carlos grabbed hold of her raised arm. "Let's eat together."
"No, I—"
Before she could decline, he dragged her all the way to the dining room.
Carlos frowned when he saw that they were going to have only instant noodles and sandwiches for dinner.
Debbie sat down in her chair. Sighing helplessly, she told him, "Don't complain. You know I haven't been home for months. I have no food here, and the supermarket is already closed. Lucky that we at least have instant noodles. See? My brother is pathetic as hell. He's a patient and he can't even eat noodles."
Carlos didn't say anything. He sat down, took his chopsticks and began eating.
Even though it was just instant noodles, since it was cooked by Debbie, it tasted different from the ones he had eaten before. It tasted good. Like she had added some sort of special ingredient in it. An invisible ingredient that affected his mood, which aroused his appetite. He even ate the sandwiches and kebabs she had prepared.
By the time they wrapped up their dinner, Niles had finished suturing Decker's wound and put him on a drip. Decker was exhausted from the pain and fell asleep soon after.
Niles put the medical tools back in his case and carried it out of the bedroom. When he saw Debbie cleaning the dining table, he asked in disbelief, "I was busy saving a patient in there, and you guys were enjoying dinner?"
Carlos nodded, "Yes."
Niles scoffed, "Don't you think you're being a little unfair?"
Debbie shook her head and teased, "Nope."
Niles gaped at her in disbelief. They had ganged up on him! 'Fine, whatever. After all, they used to be a couple.'
After instructing Debbie on how to take care of Decker and his wound, Niles left. Carlos went to the balcony and called Yates to ask him about Eckerd's information. Eckerd was apparently Decker's alias in some sort of organization.
When he ended the call and went back to the bedroom, he saw Debbie wiping the bloodstains off Decker's body with a hot towel.
After everything was done, they left Decker's bedroom together. Closing the door behind them, Debbie turned to Carlos and said, "Thank you for your help tonight. It's late. Go back to your apartment and get some rest."
Carlos felt like she was driving him away, and his face darkened in displeasure. He threw a glance at Decker's bedroom door and said casually, "I'm not sleepy."
Debbie rolled her eyes at him. He wasn't sleepy, but she was.
She was already exhausted from the long travel, and as soon as she had come back, she had to take care of the wounded Decker, and then prepare dinner. Sleep was overwhelming her. The only thing she wanted to do right then was take a hot bath and get some much-needed sleep.
The man stood still without moving a muscle. Sighing, she said, "Fine. Just sit in the living room by yourself then. I'm going to bathe."
"Okay."
Debbie was confused by his behavior.
But she ignored him and went to her bedroom, grabbed her pajamas and entered the bathroom.
When she stepped out of the bathroom after a nice, warm bath, she was startled to find the aloof man sitting on her bedroom sofa. "Mr. Huo, why won't you go back to your apartment? Why are you inside my bedroom at this late hour?"
She instinctively checked if she was properly dressed, but then after realizing that it was Carlos, she didn't mind at all. She walked to the dressing table while wiping her wet hair.
Carlos threw a quick glance at the woman in her pajamas and asked calmly, "Where's Piggy?"
"At my uncle's house."
He stood up from the sofa and walked to the dressing table. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, he took the towel from her hand. Debbie was confused. He remained silent as he began to wipe her hair gently.
Numerous questions popped up in her mind. 'What does this mean? Shouldn't he be cuddling with his fiancee in bed right now? Why is he here, helping me wipe my hair?
Does he want to—' "Do you want to sleep with me?" she asked out loud.
His face darkened at her straightforward question. But he didn't respond and continued wiping her hair.
The truth was that he just wanted to feel her existence; he wanted to make sure that she was really in front of him, within his reach. After all, her job had been keeping her away from Y City for so long.
Debbie could sense that Carlos was acting unusually. She quickly applied a coat of skin care to her face and stood up. "I'll dry my hair with the hairdryer now."
Carlos didn't stop her. She put on her slippers and trotted towards the bathroom.
In the bathroom
Debbie turned on the hairdryer. She was still pondering over Carlos' unusual behavior.
All of a sudden, a figure appeared in the mirror and startled her again.
Her heart pounded faster as Carlos approached her.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, breathing in the fragrance from her body. It was a familiar scent.
Debbie couldn't dry her hair anymore. Left with no choice, she turned off the hairdryer and turned around to face him. He was holding her so tight that they could feel each other's breathing. "Mr. Huo, you… Do you need anything?"
"Yes," he replied simply.
Then he went silent again, staring intently into her eyes.
Debbie took a deep breath. Pretending to be calm, she asked, "What do you want?"
Carlos leaned forward, and Debbie spontaneously bent backwards. Her back was now pressed against the sink.
He placed his left palm gently at the back of her neck and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Debbie was a little taken aback by his tender kiss.
If he had stayed behind just because he wanted to kiss her, he could have just said that. She wondered why he was behaving so mysteriously.
But she wasn't worried that Carlos would bug her for sex. It wasn't because Decker was in the bedroom next door. It was purely because she was married, and he was engaged. She believed that Carlos had his principles.
And she had guessed right.
After kissing her passionately for a few minutes, he let go of her.
While she was still panting, he hugged her tightly once again. 'She's here.' He felt her warmth against his body.
Debbie grinned playfully. She lifted a finger and stroked his chest flirtatiously. "Mr. Huo, we're having an affair right now," she teased him purposely.
Carlos said in a low growl, "You're cheating on your partner, but I'm not."
"How come?" She blinked in confusion. Besides, even if she was having an affair, it was him who had seduced her.
"Because I'm not married yet." He broke free from her.
Debbie pouted angrily. She retorted, "You're engaged, aren't you?"
"Yes." He tidied his clothes and added casually, "So, don't try to seduce me again."
'What? When did I seduce him? I didn't do anything!' she screamed in her head. She scoffed at him, "You were the one who seduced me. Get out of my bedroom now." She pushed him to the door.
Carlos didn't retort. "Go to bed early." With that, he strode out of her bedroom and left the apartment.
Debbie shook her head, unable to comprehend the man's behavior.
No sooner had Carlos closed the main door than her phone rang. It was Ivan. "Hey," she said.
"Hi Debbie, are you free now? I'll be spending a few days in a seaside resort with a few friends the day after tomorrow. Would you like to join us?"
Debbie didn't want to. But she couldn't bring herself to turn him down, so she nodded, "Okay."