The truth was that Debbie had planned everything well in advance. The first step of her plan was to consolidate her position as Carlos' legal wife. That was why she had co-operated with him to register their marriage and had deliberately showed their marriage licenses to the reporters. Then, they held their grand wedding ceremony in a high-profile manner, and she showed off their love in public and online sites every now and then. Because of this, everyone knew that Carlos was deeply in love with his wife. Thus, even after Debbie went missing from the scene, no women dared to take advantage of her absence to try and hit on Carlos.
One month passed, then two...
As time slowly went by, the situation began to change. Three months later, word began to spread that Carlos was seen with another woman.
After that one rumor, more sprung up and spread quickly. Some people even assumed that Carlos and Debbie were already divorced, but were keeping it a secret for the sake of their children.
Debbie had heard from Dixon that Miranda had personally dealt with a woman who had dared to get into Carlos' car.
This was the story. One day, Miranda happened to notice a pair of high heels in Carlos' car—the one he always drove to work. But the heels were neither her size, nor Debbie's.
Miranda remained silent and didn't ask Carlos anything about it.
The next day, she stalked him and saw a woman take those heels from his car.
After the woman had left, Miranda angrily got out of her car and went to confront her son. When Carlos saw her approaching, he asked in a calm tone, "Mom, why are you here?"
Looking at the woman's receding figure, Miranda interrogated, "Did you give those heels as a gift to that woman?"
Carlos shook his head. "No. The night before, we had a business dinner. She had temporarily changed into another pair of shoes and had left those in my car."
"Oh…Is that so?" she said in a drawl, sounding sarcastic. Confused, Carlos looked at her and asked, "What's the problem?"
She smirked. "Nothing. I just wanted to remind you that you're a married man. Please keep your boundaries with other women."
Carlos was left speechless.
What a good mother-in-law she was to Debbie! Debbie was not around, so Miranda was keeping a close eye on him for her. Sighing, he reassured her, "Mom, please rest assured, and assure Debbie as well. I have no interest in any other woman. I only want my beloved wife."
Miranda nodded satisfactorily. "Okay. You go ahead with your work. I should get going now."
"Okay, bye."
Despite Carlos' assurance, Miranda wasn't going to let that woman go. She easily got that woman's information. That afternoon, they sat face-to-face at a cafe.
The woman was quite pretty. Miranda ordered a glass of sparkling water, while the nervous woman randomly pointed to an item on the drink list and said to the waiter, "This one, please."
Miranda took a look at the item she had ordered. It was cappuccino—Debbie's favorite.
Their orders were served very soon. The woman held her coffee cup in her trembling hands and took a sip. She was frightened by the strong aura emanating from Miranda. Just like Carlos, Miranda could easily scare people, even without saying anything. "Hi, Aunt." The woman finally broke the silence and greeted her.
Miranda snorted, "Aunt? Am I that close to you?"
The woman bowed down her head in embarrassment.
Miranda cut to the chase. "I didn't need to handle a commoner like you in person, but there are quite a few women trying to hit on my son. So, I need to personally deal with you, as a warning to the rest."
"No... Mrs. Miranda Huo... It's not what you think. Mr. Huo and I are just friends..."
"Why did you leave your shoes in Carlos' car?" Miranda asked sharply.
The woman was dumbfounded.
"You should know who my daughter-in-law is, right?" Miranda had sent Debbie away that day and it had been a part of her escape plan. So, she had to make sure that their marriage remained intact. No one was allowed to sabotage their relationship.
The woman mustered the courage to ask, "But, aren't they in a bad relationship now? I heard that they weren't living together anymore."
Miranda narrowed her eyes and cast her a sharp glance. "So, you decided to seduce a married man?"
The woman was dumbstruck. She took a deep breath before trying to explain herself once again, but Miranda didn't give her the chance to. She shot to her feet and scoffed, "I thought you were some clever, tactical woman. It looks like you are just another foolish woman in pursuit of my son. You are the secretary to the general manager of Yoda Group, right? I don't want to see you in Y City anymore!"
With that, the cold lady turned on her heels and left.
The next day, the woman moved out of the city. The news of this incident soon spread. When the other women, who had been coveting Carlos, heard about it, they all chickened out.
However, the rumor that Carlos and Debbie had divorced didn't subside. Instead, it went viral on the Internet. It seemed like only Debbie's appearance could clarify the situation now.
Debbie, of course, knew what to do.
On a scorching day at the end of August, the previous CEO of the Lu Group, Elroy Lu, passed away. He was angered to death.
Before he passed away, Decker had barged into Elroy's office, with a group of people and the major shares of the Lu Group.
With some confidential help from Carlos, Decker managed to take control of the board of the Lu Group in a very short time.
He had promised Curtis to spare Elroy, but the old man died because his health had worsened after knowing that Decker had taken over the Lu Group and had even changed the company name to "Nian Group."
Debbie became the chairman of the board; Decker took the title of the CEO; Gus was the general manager and Dixon became the assistant governor.
The company structure was completely reorganized. All the young talents formed a new management team to lead the Nian Group to a brighter future.
After everything was settled down and the new leaders assumed offices, the Nian Group held a celebration party.
Carlos was invited to the party as a special guest. He attended it without his wife, nor did he bring a date.
People naturally felt curious when they saw him come alone. They kept gossiping, and some women couldn't help but steal glances at him. They were itching to seize the chance to hit on him, but knowing that Mrs. Huo was the sister of the new CEO of Nian Group, they didn't dare to.
In the middle of the party, Decker walked to Carlos' side and said in a mysterious voice, "Carlos, I have a surprise for you later."
Carlos raised his eyebrows in expectation. "Is my wife coming back?"
The smug smile on Decker's face instantly vanished. "Bingo! Why did you guess it so easily? That is so boring," he complained.
Just as he finished his words, there was a commotion at the entrance. A woman, clad in a red evening dress and black crystal high heels, emerged from the crowd. She attracted everyone's attention, including Carlos'.
"Wow! Isn't that Mrs. Huo?"
"Yes, I think so! I haven't seen her show up in public for a long time!"
"Look, she's wearing a halter dress tonight. She looks so hot!"
Under the crowd's fervent discussions, Debbie, who had become even more beautiful now, slowly walked towards the person standing at the other end of the red carpet.
Everyone knew who she was walking to, so they moved to either side to make way for her.
Debbie had easily spotted the dashing man the moment she had entered the hall.
When she was about two meters away from him, Carlos shifted his goblet of wine to his right hand and reached out his left hand to her.
Debbie smiled broadly and picked up her pace, with a spring in her step. She took his hand and put her other hand on his waist. "Honey, I'm back," she said sweetly.
Carlos looked at her affectionately and asked, "Honey, did you have a good time?"