Sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard, Carlos carefully took Debbie in his arms.
He took special care with the hand that was hooked up to an IV. Stroking her other hand, he noticed how pale her hands were. Her face was pasty white. He had never seen her so fragile. His every movement was made with extreme care, like she would break if he moved too fast or forcefully.
A tough guy, he rarely showed his feelings, much less adopt a different facial expression. But when Emmett told him that Debbie had a car accident and her car fell into the deepest river in Y City, all the blood drained from his face.
When Carlos and his men reached the accident site, Debbie's car hadn't been retrieved yet. Some professionals were working on it. The site was thronged with people, but few of them had witnessed exactly what had happened. Anxious to know how Debbie was, he told Emmett to ask around, see if anyone knew what happened to the driver. It took a long while before he found someone. They told him that the woman driving the car had been rescued and taken to the hospital.
Then Emmett checked all the hospitals nearby. It took him a bit to cut through the red tape, but that was what he was hired for. He finally found Debbie in Y City Second General Hospital.
Debbie had been asleep for quite a few hours, and had quite a few dreams to match that extended time. She remembered seeing Carlos in her dream. He told her gently that he came to get her out of that place.
A man's exasperated growl interrupted her wandering thoughts.
"Didn't you say she'd come around this morning? Do you know what time it is? 2 p.m.! Why is she still unconscious? You call yourselves doctors? I spend a ton of cash on this hospital every year. I pay you good money. And what do I get in return? A bunch of idiots! "
"Please don't worry, Mr. Huo. Mrs. Huo is only sleeping. "
"Sleeping? She's been asleep since last night! You tell me that's normal? "
"Carlos, why are you yelling? " a feeble voice scolded.
Hearing her, Emmett said to himself, 'Thank God, Mrs. Huo's finally awake. If she slept any longer, Mr. Huo would probably tear this hospital down around our ears.'
As soon as he heard Debbie's voice, Carlos' anger vanished like smoke on the wind.
He and the others all rushed to her bed. The doctors looked at her, thankful and anxious. Now they knew their jobs were safe. At the same time, they prayed Debbie would be fine so that they wouldn't get another round of sturm and drang from Carlos. Debbie was surprised to see so many doctors surrounding her. One might think she was dying or had contracted some weird and highly-contagious disease. But she knew that it was all because Carlos had lit fires under these doctors' backsides. They knew that their jobs were on the line, so they gave her the very best care. One of the perks of owning the hospital, Debbie figured.
The director of the hospital himself examined Debbie, listening to her heart and lungs, checking her vitals, making sure that her reflexes were good. Afterwards, he assured Carlos repeatedly and unctuously that there was nothing serious with his wife. Only then did Carlos allow the doctors to leave the ward.
Looking at Debbie's colorless face, Carlos was deeply worried. "Bring the food," he commanded Emmett.
"Yes, Mr. Huo." Emmett turned to fetch the food.
The couple were left alone in the ward. Carlos seemed a little distant, while Debbie was silent. The atmosphere in the room turned awkward.
"What happened?" Carlos finally broke the uncomfortable silence.
Debbie turned her back to him. "Isn't it obvious? Can't you see for yourself?"
Her car had been retrieved. After going over the car, they determined the brakes were working. The other parts of the car were all functioning fine. So the only thing Carlos could think of was Debbie's driving. "Since you're such a bad driver, don't get behind the wheel. The driver can take you wherever you want to go."
Debbie turned to look at him with a sneer. "Your bedside manner needs work." She had been expecting him to say how worried he had been, maybe even treat her gently and comfort her, just as he had in her dream.
But it turned out nothing was like the dream. No comforting words. No gentle voice. All she got was his accusing tone. She was beginning to think maybe she shouldn't have woken up. Just stay nice and warm and loved in her dream world. She was thinking maybe she should say she was tired and shoo him out of the ward. At least it would shut him up. She normally liked his voice, but now she just preferred silence.
This wasn't how he used to treat her.
Staring at her ghostly white face, Carlos didn't say a word. Indifferently, he turned around, leaving. His hands were in his pockets, balled into fists.
Only he knew how much he wanted to hug her. But he had been telling himself not to.
"Carlos Huo!" Debbie shouted, exerting all her strength to sit up.
Carlos paused and turned. "You're still too weak. Don't sit up. Get some rest."
Without waiting for a response, he continued with a frown, "Lie down."
"'Lie down' my ass! Don't you even care how I fell into the river? Where were you when I fell? Were you having a sweet moment with Megan, with her in your arms? The first thing I heard after waking up was you blaming me for being a bad driver. Was I ever a bad driver before? Why now? Did it ever occur to you that something happened before the accident? Or maybe you were hoping I died so that you could be with another woman." Debbie started panting after this. Only now had she stopped to take a breath.
Carlos walked to the bed and made her lie down. "I think you must have bumped your head. You're talking crazy. Maybe a CAT scan will reveal something."
Debbie wanted to punch him in the face. While Carlos was tucking her in, she slapped his hands and snarled, "Thank you, Mr. Huo. Save your energy. I'll do it myself."
At this moment, Emmett walked in with the hot meal. This happened to be at the exact same time she slapped Carlos' hands away.
It gave him great joy. Stifling his laughter, he put the food on the edge of the bed and said to Debbie with admiration, "Mrs. Huo, let me adjust the bed for you so you can eat more comfortably." He reached for the button to elevate the head of the bed.
"No, thanks," Debbie lashed out. "I don't want to eat. Let me starve. Someone would be happy to see me die."
Emmett persuaded, "It'll break Mr. Huo's heart to see you starve. You can't imagine how happy Mr. Huo was to see you wake up."
"Emmett!" Carlos shouted. Immediately, Emmett shut his mouth.
Debbie retorted, "Emmett, I bet you don't know that your boss fell in love with someone else! Wait, that's not it. He's always loved someone else."
"It seems that you're well enough. I guess we don't need the food. Emmett…" Carlos' order was implied.
Emmett was surprised to hear it. He had seen how upset Carlos had been when he heard Debbie had an accident.
He had seen Carlos holding Debbie in his arms in the middle of the night and kissing her repeatedly, worry written all over his face.
He had seen how Carlos roared at those doctors when Debbie didn't wake up like he was hoping.
'Mr. Huo, clearly, you care about your wife more than anything.
Why can't you just compromise and humor her a little?' Emmett was disappointed to see two people who were obviously deeply in love hurting each other. Even though he knew one day Carlos would regret these stupid fights with Debbie, it was not his place to do or say anything. That was why he didn't, even though he wanted to. In spite of Carlos, in spite of himself, he found he liked Mrs. Huo more and more each passing day. He didn't like the way Carlos treated her, but he had to keep silent. He followed Carlos' orders and took the food away.
Debbie's mouth had been watering at the delicious smell of the gourmet food, but right now she had to watch them being taken away. So this was how Carlos punished her? So unfair!
"Emmett,"
Debbie called when Emmett reached the door.
"Yes, Mrs. Huo," Emmett responded loudly.
Debbie sat up in bed and asked, "Can I borrow your phone?"
"Of course, Mrs. Huo. Someone you want to call?" Emmett walked back with the food.
"Yeah. I want to call someone and ask her to get me out of here. I know someone doesn't want to see me here."
Emmett stole a glance at Carlos. The man's gloomy face made him hesitate.
As he was wondering if he should lend Debbie his phone, the door to the ward opened. Emmett saw the people that walked in. "Mr. Lu, Miss Song," he greeted.
Too worried to respond to Emmett's greetings, Curtis hurried to the bed. After examining Debbie carefully with his eyes, he asked anxiously, "How did this happen? How's your forehead? Still hurting? Is anything else hurting?"
