Take My Breath Away

For a few minutes, Jake had been crying outside. But it was hard for Debbie to leave the kid in the austere weather anymore. Ignoring Carlos' caveat, she opened the gate to the villa and walked over to the little boy, whose nose was red from the biting cold.

Heaving a sigh, she squatted to whisper in the boy's ear, "Jake, I'll take you inside, but you have to promise me to stop crying, okay?"

To Debbie's surprise, the imp pushed her hard without a word. Caught off guard, she slumped on the cold, snowy ground.

"You ungrateful, spoiled brat!" Debbie roared, boiling with rage as

Carlos stepped forward to help her to her feet. The grim look on his face as he helped her up was enough to stop the boy crying.

When everyone thought that was it, Carlos released Debbie, clutched the boy and spanked him so hard that

his palm hurt.

The kid burst out crying again. This time he was so loud you'd fear he was going to have a seizure.

Scared out of wits, Megan dashed over and intervened by pulling Carlos aside. Standing between him and the kid, she implored, "Uncle Carlos, Jake's mom is stuck in a traffic jam, but she should be here in about an hour. Can I get him out of here, please?"

"No, you can't!" Carlos growled coldly. "If you are worried about him, you can stay here and wait with him!"

Never had Carlos been so angry at Megan. Today, he had easily snapped at her time and again that she wondered what was wrong with him. Looking back, she recalled how just the other day he had also embarrassed her by standing her up at the party. She had been taunted by so many people. At the mere thought of it, anger consumed her eyes. But there was not much she could do, considering he held power over her. In disappointment, her mouth opened and closed involuntarily, as if she was going to say something but words failed her.

By now, the boy had cried so much that he was panting for breath. With a ferocious eye, Carlos looked at him and demanded, "Shut the hell up and apologize to my wife!"

A terrified Jake scampered for cover behind Megan, at his cold, menacing roar.

Irritated by the little brat's impenitence once again, Carlos pulled him out and roared, "I'll say this one more time. Apologize to my wife!"

Resignedly, the kid turned to Debbie an

"Is this how you're teaching your son?"

At first, Jake's mom was confused, but soon she realized what he meant. She pulled her son out of her arms and said to him, "Jake, what you did is wrong. Now, apologize to Mr. Huo and his wife. Come on."

"No, I won't!" the boy shouted as he pried his mom's hand away and ran towards the car. "I want to go home. I want Daddy! I hate all of you! You are all bad! You should be eaten by a monster!" he continued shouting.

His mom stood there, watching him climb into the car, terribly embarrassed.

"He... I... Mr. Huo..."

Without a word, Carlos looked at her coldly before turning around to go back to the villa with Debbie.

In the villa, Tabitha was giving instructions to Julie on what she wanted on menu for dinner. When she saw them coming in, she dismissed Julie and stood up. "How did it go?" she asked.

Since Debbie looked at Carlos, indicating that he answered, Carlos said casually, "Whoever touches my wife will face my wrath, and Jake is not an exception. It does not matter whether he is only a child or not."

Moved by his words, Debbie took his hand and said quietly, "It's over now. Jake's mom apologized, so don't be mad anymore, okay?"

"No!" he protested.

Debbie lowered her head and smiled at his stubbornness. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of affection. "Jake is only five years old, dear. You have to get over it, or you may begin to sound petty. Do you think that is good for a man of your reputation?" she asked tenderly.