Debbie shook her head immediately. "Behave yourself, old man," she snapped. Who could guess that the aloof Carlos Huo could act that way in front of his wife?
Carlos pulled Debbie into his arms and began to accuse her. "Maybe you should behave yourself." Seeing her puzzled expression, he continued, "How about the village head's son? Hayden Gu? Gregory Song?"
"Huh?" Debbie raised her head, only to see the displeasure in his eyes.
Carlos lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "You're a siren, aren't you? Did you flirt with those guys? Remember, you're my wife. I'm the only one who can bang you."
Debbie was stunned. 'A siren? Flirt? And he's the only one who can…' "You married me just to…er…bang me?" she asked angrily.
"That's not the point!" he corrected her and kissed the corner of her mouth.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up," she said, blinking her eyes. She knew Hayden wanted her back. But the village head's son? And Gregory? What was he talking about?
Carlos pressed her against the liquor cabinet, raised one brow and said, "I'm a guy, see? I know how they think. Keep Gregory at arm's length. Getting the hots for my girl? Next time I see Colleen, I'll tell her to bitch at her brother for me."
'Gregory has a thing for me?' Debbie couldn't believe her ears. "You got it wrong. We're in the same class, that's all. I think you're way off base here!"
Debbie retorted. That would just be too much. Colleen and Gregory would think she and Carlos were both nuts. And that could ruin their friendship
"And you're naive," Carlos sneered.
'Naive?' Debbie was enraged. She disentangled herself from his arms. "Well, now that we're getting things off our chests…" She took a step back and stared up at him defiantly, arms crossed.
"What do you mean?" Carlos was confused.
"Ha! You're mad at me?! I'm your wife. We sleep in the same bed every night. And you told me that you loved me, that I was your everything, and that we'd grow old together. But look what you did. You said Megan was your girlfriend while I was standing right there! What? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Sighing with profound resignation, Carlos said, "I already explained that."
"So? You should've told me that Megan asked you to act as her boyfriend! And coming back to the city like that? Why didn't you tell me? I'm your wife, aren't I? Where do I fit into this? Men are all two-timers! Two-timers!" As if afraid that Carlos might not hear her clearly, she stressed the word "two-timers" and yelled at the top of her lungs. There was only so much humiliation she could stand! Her breath was coming in short gasps now, and she stomped to accentuate certain words.
Her face was red. Before he could say anything, she added, "What did I do to make you think that was okay? Hell, while we're at it, let's talk about Olga. To make her happy, you threw me out of the Shining International Plaza, and later, into the ocean. The OCEAN! What the hell were you thinking? If I couldn't swim, I'd be dead now."
Debbie could not believe how cruel Carlos could be.
"I told you, you should have let me know who you were." Carlos defended himself.
"So, you're saying I deserved it?"
Carlos was speechless. For the first time in his life, he realized that women wouldn't listen to reason.
The only thing he could do was apologize to his wife sincerely. "Honey, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that. Please forgive me." He gave her a peck on her lips.
"Humph!" Debbie rolled her eyes.
"Better?"
"Sort of." Pride could be seen in her eyes.
Carlos took the glass from her hand and asked with a cunning smile, "By the way, where's your ring?" He raised his finger to show that he was wearing his ring.
He had never taken the ring off ever since she had put it on his finger.
And he felt a little uncomfortable when he didn't see her ring.
'Oh my God! He always has a way to get back at me, ' she cursed inwardly. With an embarrassed smile, she stammered, "Er… I-I put it in the safe at home. I couldn't very well take it to the Southon Village, right? What if I lost it? What if it got scratched? I'd feel bad then."
Carlos nodded his head, but he wasn't buying it. "No big deal. If you lost it or it got scratched, I'd buy you a new one."
"I know you can afford it. But this is the first ring you gave me, and that can't be replaced. Get it? I'll put it on when we're back home. I won't take it off. I swear…"
Before she could finish her sentence, he stopped her by kissing her affectionately on the lips. After a long kiss, he said, "Okay. Forget about it. But you just called me a two-timer…" He put his hand on her waist, waiting for her answer.
Debbie felt danger approaching and cursed inwardly, 'Dammit! Can't you just let it go? You're such a petty man.'
She swallowed and with a fake smile said, "Two-timer? Who said that? Really?"
She wanted to deny it, but Carlos' next move suggested he was not satisfied with it. His hand slipped into her sweater. "Please don't. It's still aching there… Honey, I was just pissed. I didn't mean it that way. Please forgive me, okay?"
She stared at him, with a pair of innocent doe eyes.
His heart softened instantly, but he managed to keep a straight face and said in a cold voice, "I don't buy it."
"Honey, I love you. I really, really love you. But it's late. How about we get some sleep?"
It was indeed very late. Carlos gulped down the wine in his glass and kissed her fully, his lips gliding over hers. It felt like an eternity. Finally, he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom.
Lying in bed, Debbie watched Carlos, who was taking off his clothes. All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in her mind. "Hey you," she called out.
He cast a warning glance at her. "Hey you? Really?"
"Humph! I won't call you 'honey' until you give me an explanation. Why not add me as your WeChat friend? You hiding something?"
Carlos grabbed his phone from the table and threw it onto the bed. "Check it yourself."
'What did he mean by that? Doesn't he use WeChat?
Still, if he gave me his phone, he doesn't have anything to hide.' She picked his iPhone XS Max up. It was the first time she had played on his phone. With a sweet smile, she told Carlos, "Password, honey."
"1104."
'What? It sounds like someone's birthday.'
Debbie entered the password and unlocked his phone. She heard Carlos say, "Help me change the password, and tell me the new one."
"Why?"
Carlos took off his pants and answered calmly, "Change it to your birthday."
Blushed, Debbie looked away and asked, "Whose birthday is this?" She couldn't help but steal a glance at him and met his teasing eyes. She immediately lowered her head to avoid eye contact.
'He's impossible, ' she cursed silently.
