Take My Breath Away

Debbie was embarrassed into silence. Thanks to Carlos, some x-rated scenes flashed through her mind, making her blush bright red. In a huff, she silently tried to pinch him, but to no avail. The man was so slender that there was nowhere to pinch, only solid muscle. Frustrated, Debbie faked a smile and warned him, "Get your hand off me, or I'll give you hell!"

In contrast to her anger and frustration, he felt really good after finally going public with his wife's identity. He'd been waiting for this moment for months. He'd wanted to do it long before, but Debbie didn't want all the paparazzi following her every move. She didn't want to worry about going out in public, or attending school. She didn't want to worry who was pretending to be her friend only trying to get close to Carlos and his money. For every piece of jewelry or watch that Debbie had looked at with keen interest, he would secretly signal his assistant, instructing him to buy and pack up the item. In the meantime, he kept bantering with his wife. "I'll let go if you kiss me," he teased playfully.

Debbie took a deep breath to contain her anger. She felt like a pot about to boil over, and all Carlos was doing was increasing the heat. She closed her eyes, kept the feigned smile on her face and muttered between gritted teeth, "Carlos, I'm serious. Let go of me now. My foot hurts. Do you want a high heel in the face? Imagine what a scar might do to your popularity with the girls."

When what she said sank in, Carlos frowned and loosened his grip. The next second, he squatted down in front of her and asked with concern, "Which foot?"

'My wife is hurting. Who cares about everyone else?' he thought, not in the mood to carry on with the joke now.

He reached out his hand to touch Debbie's ankles, trying to check for a wound. In the process, he kept his back straight. It wasn't hard to tell he used to be a soldier.

His sudden gesture startled Debbie. She hastily tried to pull him up. "Hey, not here. Everyone's staring!"

Seeing Carlos obediently stand up, Debbie heaved a sigh of relief. Yet he scooped her up all of a sudden.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, Carlos strode towards the lounge, carrying Debbie in his arms. No one expected the gesture, so they stared in rapt fascination as he left.

On their way, Debbie noted the crowd's reactions. When she saw some of the women glare at her with resentment, she wanted to cry. "You're doing this on purpose, old man?" she complained.

Carlos lowered his head to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you told everyone who I was. I don't remember telling you that was okay. Then you tried to make out with me in front of all the guests. And now? You carry me in your arms. In front of everyone. You have a lot of fans! Don't make them hate me out of jealousy." Debbie was well aware of Carlos' popularity. If she guessed right, they might have already hit the headlines.

Unfortunately, Debbie's

, from necklaces, chokers, and earrings to diamond-studded bracelets. A dizzying array of gems, rubies, emeralds, opals, pearls, and polished pieces of jade. Even rings and cuff links. And some of the finest timepieces expertly crafted by Swiss watchmakers. But the prices were too high.

If their husbands were as rich as Carlos, they would have already bought all of the jewelry here and brought their favorites home with them.

"And what about the watches?" Debbie continued to ask.

Again, the women replied in confusion, "The watches are great!"

"Since everything looks awesome, maybe you should spend more of your precious time appreciating them. I'm not as interesting as all that ice out there. I shouldn't be the focus here. Please!" Debbie waved at them with a smile.

"You're being modest, Mrs. Huo. You're more attractive than those jewelry and watches..."

"Yes, I think so. Mrs. Huo, are you still a student? Where do you go to university?"

Meanwhile, more and more spectators arrived, adding to the group gathered around Debbie. Debbie was on the brink of a meltdown. 'Jesus! Save me from idiots! Please!' she exclaimed in her head.

She knew it. That was why she didn't want to expose her identity. Now, where was the bad man who had let the whole world know about it? Couldn't he see that she was surrounded by a large group of people? Why didn't he come back and save her?

Left with no choice, Debbie put on her high heels again and squeezed through the crowd that had gathered in the lounge. "I'm sorry. I need to look for my friends. Please enjoy yourselves!"

She broke free of the hangers-on, practically pushing her way through the crowd. Debbie limped through the hall to look for Carlos, Kasie or her other friends.

But she didn't see any of them. Instead, she spotted Wesley and Megan.

She had no interest in talking to those two, so she walked in the opposite direction. "Good evening, Mrs. Huo!" a guest greeted her.