Take My Breath Away

Miranda furrowed her eyebrows, annoyed by Megan's crying. "Stop crying for heaven's sake! It's New Year—a day of celebration. Crying is bad luck. Besides, are you a snowflake or something? I hate people bawling all the time. You should learn something from Debbie. Now, get back to your room and get some shut-eye."

Instantly, Megan stopped crying. With a pitiful expression, she apologized to Miranda. "I'm sorry, Miranda. I'm leaving now. Have a good night."

Connie helped Megan walk to her room. When they walked past Miranda, Connie said softly, "Mom, have a good rest."

Miranda nodded at Connie and then went back to her room. Despite Connie's humble family background, Miranda was pretty happy with her—Connie was kindhearted and was never a troublemaker. No drama was Miranda's rule, and Connie adhered to that.

When Tabitha and Connie left Megan's room and walked past the study, they could still hear James roaring.

Tabitha shook her head with profound resignation.

Debbie was unpacking when she heard a knock at the door. She opened it and saw her mother-in-law. "Mom, why aren't you in bed? It's late," she said with a smile.

Tabitha looked at her, not as close to Debbie as before. Hearing Megan trash-talking Debbie definitely changed the way she saw the woman. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Pointing to the luggage on the floor, Debbie replied, "Unpacking."

"Don't mind James. He's short-tempered. Don't take his words to heart," said Tabitha.

Debbie was stunned for a while. Then she nodded, "Mom, I can understand...Dad. Maybe to him, I'm just some rando off the streets. Maybe he just can't accept it."

Back on the plane to New York, Debbie had secretly practiced addressing Valerie and James as "Grandma" and "Dad" hundreds of times. Unfortunately, she didn't have the chance to call them that to their faces.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Tabitha smiled. Then she pretended to mention Megan casually. "By the way, how well do you know Megan? Her parents saved Carlos and Wesley. Did you know that?"

Debbie didn't know why Tabitha suddenly talked about Megan's parents. After short consideration, she realized that Megan must have snitched on her to Tabitha. She nodded honestly, "Car

ou're not part of the family. If you promise you'll divorce him when you're back in Y City, you can stay here for a couple of days."

Carlos was about to say something when Debbie grabbed his hand. She knew it was time for her to make a stand.

She stood straight with her head held high. "Grandma, Uncle, Dad, sorry I make you unhappy," she began, looking at them with no fear. "I don't know why you don't like me, but I'm Carlos' wife. We've been married for more than three years, and we love each other. We'll go through thick and thin together. Whether you accept me or not, I won't give up on him as long as he doesn't ask for a divorce."

Carlos held her hand in his, and this bolstered her courage. She went on, "No one gets a say in our marriage, except me and Carlos. And my temper's short. Dad, if you keep on treating us like this, I won't put up with it just because you're his father."

James was stunned, while Valerie stared at her like a poisonous snake. Debbie, however, didn't flinch. "Sorry, I guess I said too much. In short, no one is gonna split us up. And I'll come at anyone who tries to harm Carlos. Family members should care for each other. You should be happy to see Carlos have a happy married life. But on the contrary, you're all mad at him. You just want him to marry a woman that you like, even if he doesn't want to. Are you really Carlos' family?" Confusion could be seen in Debbie's eyes.

"How dare you!" Valerie bellowed and banged on the desk.