Take My Breath Away

Carlos' words amused Debbie. She rolled on the bed and said, "No need to check what kind of bird I am. I was a humble sparrow in the past. But after I got married to you, I became a shining phoenix."

Carlos was in no mood to banter with her any longer; he needed to teach her a lesson in his own way. He pulled her into his arms and began to take off her clothes.

"Don't, Carlos. You are hurting me. Aaaaargh! Stop taking off my clothes. I was kidding. I don't have wings."

Debbie's cries were so loud they traveled outside the bedroom.

"Why are you kissing my back? I said I didn't have wings!"

"Shut up!" Carlos demanded coldly.

"No. I know what you're trying to do. This is daytime, and I'm not in the mood." Debbie knew more about Carlos after she had spent months with him. When he was mad at her, it would be torture to have sex with him—he would bang her like a stallion on steroids.

Without stopping, Carlos said through gritted teeth, "How could you meet your ex behind my back? And you were in his arms! Were you going to cheat on me?" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Debbie shook her head immediately and tried to mollify him. "I'm sorry. I was really, really wrong. I won't see him again. Please forgive me, old man."

"Old man? Who's old? When he held you in his arms, what did you call him? Mr. Gu? Hayden Gu? Hayden? Or honey?"

Debbie kept her mouth shut. Otherwise, she would be unable to hold back the impulse to yell back at him.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Did he do this?" he asked, caressing her breasts.

"Carlos Huo! You're an ass! Aaaargh! He didn't! He didn't do anything to me!" Debbie struggled hard, but to no avail. She was no match for Carlos' strength. Why was he still angry with her? Nothing happened, and it was all Hayden's fault. Well, maybe not entirely true. She did agree to meet him, knowing that he still carried a torch for her. If she hadn't gone to meet with Hayden, Carlos wouldn't have been alerted, and he wouldn't have witnessed anything.

She felt wronged. 'I gave my first kiss to Carlos. Why doesn't he believe me?'

After what felt like an eternity, Debbie lay in bed, motionless. Her body was killing her. Carlos, however, was donning his clothes again.

She

ad been terribly cool towards her. When he entered the living room and saw the family waiting for him, he came up to Debbie and sat next to her naturally.

Since Carlos was now here, Valerie cleared her throat and began, "Debbie, I heard your academic performance was not good."

Debbie was confused. "What?" 'Is she going to yell at me in front of everyone or something?' she thought to herself.

With a mocking smile, Valerie continued, "I don't care whether you're a bad student or not. But I won't have a thief as a granddaughter-in-law. Your behavior has brought shame on the Huo family."

"A thief? What do you mean?" Debbie couldn't believe her ears.

Valerie said with a cold smile, "Ever since you set foot in this house, things have gone missing. I lost a string of Buddhist prayer beads, Megan lost a limited-edition lipstick, and Miranda lost a limited-edition handbag..."

Debbie finally got it. "So, you think I stole them?"

"I don't think. I know," said Valerie firmly.

Debbie was at a loss whether to laugh or to cry. Taking a deep breath, she defended herself by saying, "Grandma, you may not know it, but your grandson treats me very well. He's given me a ton of precious gifts. Each of them is much more expensive than your string of beads. As for Megan's lipstick, your grandson built a lipstick laboratory for me. Well, Aunt Miranda's limited-edition handbag might be valuable. But use your head. Your grandson provides for me quite nicely. Why would I need to steal anything?"