Carlos had already prepared all the necessary materials and papers for registering their marriage. All Debbie needed to do was sign her name on the license.
They went through the formalities smoothly. In a few minutes, they got their marriage licenses and walked out of the hall, with the blessings from the staff there.
Carlos got what he wanted the most, and all he cared about now was to escort Debbie back to his car and ignore all the reporters. However, Debbie had other ideas. She snatched the licenses from his hand and showed them off to the reporters. Smiling proudly, she said, "Thank you all for your interest in our marriage. We're officially remarried now. Thank you for your support."
Carlos felt that something wasn't right.
Nonetheless, he went along with her and kissed her cheek, showing off his love for her. Debbie smiled affectionately and gazed into his eyes. Everyone could see the love and affection that they had for each other when their eyes met.
Suddenly a big round of applause erupted from the adoring crowd. They cheered and called out their blessings to the happy couple. Carlos then cautiously escorted her to the car, and they sped away from the crowd and the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Once they were in the car away from the prying eyes of the crowd, a surge of mixed feelings coursed through her body as Debbie looked at her marriage license. She had been waiting so long for this day. After overcoming so many difficulties, she was finally the legal Mrs. Huo again.
She could feel how much Carlos loved her. That was the reason why he couldn't wait any longer and forcibly took her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get remarried.
Debbie snuggled into his arms, bathing in his warmth and love. She felt guilty to torture him anymore.
'No, no... Debbie, don't forget the pain and grief that he caused you.' She reminded herself not to forgive him so easily.
Carlos kissed her forehead and asked tenderly, "What would you like to eat now? We'll dine together."
Debbie sat up straight and slightly pulled away from his embrace. "No need. I'm not hungry. I have work to do this afternoon."
Carlos sensed that she was trying to put a barrier up again. He slowly moved closer to her side as he said, "But I'm hungry. You need to come with me."
"You're not a kid. Why do you need me to go with you for a meal?"
"I need my wife's company."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No..." Before she knew it, his lips were on hers. Then he threatened her in a low husky voice, "If you don't come with me, then I'll make love to you right here."
Debbie bit her lower lip in anger. 'You brazen jerk!' she cursed in her mind.
Given the alternative, Debbie agreed to have lunch with him. They dined on the fifth floor of the Alioth Building. Carlos ordered a table full of delicious dishes and romantically fed Debbie from each of them.
When they had finished lunch, Carlos dropped her back off to the company. Before Debbie got out of the car, she turned to him and said, "Mr. Huo, we've remarried now. Don't worry. I won't betray you."
Carlos smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Of course, I trust you. Hey, how about we go and pick Evelyn up together later?" Carlos suggested.
"No, I can't. I won't finish my work until late tonight. Then after work, I need to pack my luggage at Champs Bay Apartments for the business trip tomorrow." With that, she got out of the car without giving him a second glance.
Carlos watched as his wife coolly walked away, and he felt down in the dumps again.
He knew that Debbie was a handful and that she wouldn't ease up and make his life more peaceful.
He leaned back into the car seat and closed his eyes, racking his brain for a solution. Then it suddenly came to him. Carlos sat up, whipped his phone out and dialed a number. "Reduce my wife's workload. To one concert a year. No commercial advertisements, no variety shows, and no business trips!"
As a result, Debbie's original one-week business trip had shortened to a two-day trip, yet she didn't know why. Three days later, she was back at Y City Airport, pulling her luggage behind her.
When she saw that Carlos had come to pick her up, she was even more puzzled. Carlos had a broad smile on his face as he strode toward her, then gallantly took over her luggage as he kissed her on the cheek. She looked at him curiously and wondered how he knew that she would be coming back today.
Once they were both in the car, she couldn't help but ask, "Carlos, does my coming back earlier have something to do with you?"
He nodded and admitted with honesty. "I gave a few instructions to the senior managers. But they're the people who decide on your schedule."
Debbie was left speechless. She wanted to slap him across his feigned innocent face, but she wouldn't dare to.
On the way to the manor, Debbie insisted that Carlos drive her back to the Champs Bay Apartments. He didn't want to at first, but then he nodded and agreed to it.
When Debbie entered the apartment, she was shocked to see that it was completely empty, and she felt like crying. "Where are my belongings?"
Carlos replied calmly, "I had them all moved to the manor. You're my wife. We can't keep living in separate houses. It's not good for our physical or mental development."
'Physical and mental development? What the heck?' She felt so annoyed with this crafty man.
In the end, Debbie had no choice and went with him to the manor.
However, she did have her way to get back at him.
That night after she lulled Evelyn to sleep, Debbie went to the study to find Carlos. As she twirled her hair seductively through her fingers, she asked Carlos to go to bed with her.
Carlos naturally agreed. After having a shower, he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his sculpted waist. Debbie immediately went to him, hugging him and asked in an alluring voice, "Mr. Handsome, did you miss me?"
She rubbed her body against his, and her lips lightly brushed against his chest.
The gentle touch of her lips and her cute voice turned him on at once. With eyes full of desire, he grabbed her hand and said in a husky voice, "What do you think?"
Smiling mysteriously, she moved her arms up to his neck and pursed her lips. "I missed you. So I'm pretty sure you missed me too."
Carlos became wary of her unusual behavior. He sensed a trick coming his way. She had cooperated when they registered their marriage and now was the same. This wasn't like her.
"Mr. Handsome." She stood on tiptoes and whispered softly in his ear, "I want to have another child with you."
Then she stared at him, curling her lips into a sweet smile. He felt unable to resist her powerful temptation. Even though it might be a trick, he was willing to fall for it. Ignoring everything, he nodded, "That'll be great!"
"Okay. I'll take a bath first. Wait for me..."
"We can bathe together, later."
"What?"
With that, he pulled the bath towel away and let it drop to the floor. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her onto the bed. The room was soon filled with pleasurable moans and passionate lovemaking.
Meanwhile, in the dead of night on the other side of the city, James was ferociously whipping a hostage as he cursed, "Damn you! How dare you betray me! If it weren't for you, my leg wouldn't have been wounded, and I wouldn't have been caught by Carlos."
The hostage had fallen unconscious and was lingering on his last breath of life. He couldn't even react to James' cruel and relentless whipping.
"Carlos won't let me go, and I won't let you off the hook either!" James thrashed his whip at the hostage's limp body again. This unfortunate man made a mistake by letting slip the whereabouts of James to Carlos' men.
After he vented out his anger on the man for quite a while, a woman suddenly barged in, interrupting him by shouting, "James, bad news!"
Frowning, James looked up to see that it was Glenda.
In an urgent tone, she continued, "Our bank accounts have all been frozen. Someone is investigating the money you've transferred out!"
The news shocked James to the very core, and his face had drained of all color. He was depending on that money to fight back against Carlos. "It must be Adolf Yin. That asshole sold me out!" he barked. Adolf Yin was one of the managers of ZL Group. When James was the CEO, they ganged up together to embezzle a large amount of money from the company and accept bribes.
"What can we do now? What can we do?" Glenda planned to live out her aged life abroad with that money.
Suddenly, the blood had shot to his head, and James' face turned dark purple. Carlos didn't give him any chance to fight back. He meant to root him out completely. "Give me the money that Angus has given you. I'll hire some people to kidnap Carlos, Debbie, or even their kid." As long as he had either one of them, then he would have the chance to turn the tables around.
Glenda shuddered at his words. She didn't want to hand over that money, but in the end, she had no choice but to nod. "Okay."
The weather in Y City was terrible these days. It rained a lot, and it was cold and humid.