But Debbie wasn't intending on forgiving Carlos so easily just because he had given her a luxury watch. After all, he had been so cruel to her for the past few days. She raised her head to look into his eyes, and said in a clear voice, "I do hope I can forgive you, but you have been so insufferable lately. But, since you've spent so much money to make this watch for me, I'll accept it. But whether I'll forgive you or not depends on how you behave hereafter."
Some of the people around them who had heard Debbie's words were amused and burst into laughter; some were shocked, exclaiming loudly, and the others were just plain jealous and criticized her for being arrogant.
Carlos didn't mind at all. He kissed her hand affectionately and turned around to announce to the crowd, "This is my wife, Debbie Nian. From today, anyone in Y City who dares to go against her will become my enemy as well. I will not let anyone who hurts her off the hook!"
He revealed Debbie's identity in such a high-profile way that it made everyone understand how much he loved her. He obviously doted on her to the hilt.
And with his announcement, no one would dare offend Debbie anymore, and a lot of people would even try to butter her up.
"Mr. Huo, it seems that you've irritated Mrs. Huo yourself. So, are you going to let yourself off the hook?" a voice from the crowd asked.
There was a second's silence and then the hall erupted in laughter.
Debbie recognized Colleen's voice and looked in the direction from which it had come. She spotted Colleen who was holding Curtis' arm, a little far away from where she was.
Their eyes met. The two women smiled at each other with an air of quiet understanding between them.
Carlos raised his eyebrows at Colleen. He replied with a smile, "That's why I'm very sincerely apologizing to her in front of everyone here."
Again, the guests were dumbstruck by Carlos' attitude towards his wife. What he did and said today had subverted his usual cold public image. From now on, people would begin to see more sides of his personality—a good man, a slave to his wife, a loving husband…
The laughter and cheering came wave after wave. Embarrassed, Debbie blushed red and stared at the man beside her. "Stop it. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Carlos flashed a wide smile. "Are you still angry with me?" To make her forgive him, he had put away all of his pride and self-esteem. If she still couldn't let the past go, then he wouldn't know what to do next. He might need to consider offering a humbler apology.
"Of course I'm still angry!" Debbie said with a pout. 'I'm not that easy to be coaxed, you know!' she thought.
Another familiar female voice came from the crowd, "A couple's quarrel can be mended in a heartbeat. Young girl, Mr. Huo has apologized to you so spectacularly. Please forgive him."
Debbie tilted her head towards her right. Awkwardly, she looked at Lucinda who had just spoken. Standing next to her was Sebastian, who was smiling happily.
She greeted them in a hushed voice, "Hello, Uncle Sebastian, Aunt Lucinda."
The crowd nearby heard her address the middle-aged couple and realized that Sebastian, the chairman of Mu Group, was Debbie's relative, and by law, he would be Carlos' relative too.
The smart businessmen of Y City had already begun to mull over how they should fawn on Sebastian so that they could get close to him and attain more business resources from Carlos.
Carlos wrapped his arm around Debbie's slim waist and greeted the two elders with respect, "Nice to meet you, Uncle Sebastian, Aunt Lucinda."
The two of them nodded to him with a smile. Sebastian drew closer to Debbie and said in a low voice so that only she could hear him, "Debbie, your aunt is right. Mr. Huo has already apologized to you in front of all these people. Don't be headstrong now. Give your answer."
As arrogant and mighty as Carlos was, he had eaten the humble pie and publicly apologized to Debbie. Sebastian didn't understand why she was still being so stubborn.
Debbie was rendered speechless. She rolled her eyes at Carlos. She wondered if this crafty man had done it on purpose, using the public to force her to forgive him. He was the famous and respectful Mr. Huo. How could she not forgive him now after he had publicly made his apology? It would disgrace him if she were to be rude to him.
Left with no choice, she nodded and said, "Since Uncle Sebastian and Aunt Lucinda put in a good word for you, I forgive you. For now!" Then she leaned closer to Carlos and whispered in his ear bashfully, "Only because I love you too much!" She made sure that her last sentence was only heard by him. She wasn't as shameless as Carlos.
Although the others couldn't hear what Debbie had whispered in his ear, they all noticed the big, happy smile on Carlos' face. He kissed his wife once again and said, "Thank you."
Sasha shouted loudly from behind, "Wow, you are such a sweet couple! I'm so jealous!"
A lot of women echoed her words and began to compliment them. "Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Huo are so in love with each other. You're a match made in heaven."
One of the guests asked jokingly, "Mrs. Huo is so charming and beautiful. Mr. Huo, is that why you didn't want to reveal her identity to us before now? Were you afraid of her being snatched away by someone else?"
Those words reminded Carlos of someone. He didn't deny it. Instead, he casually shifted his eyes to the man standing some distance away from him and declared in an aggressive voice, "Indeed. My wife is so beautiful that I have to make one thing absolutely clear to every man here. This is MY woman. No one is allowed to covet her anymore."
Caught off guard, Hayden had no choice but to return a thin smile.
He realized that Carlos was unbelievably possessive of Debbie. Some weeks ago, Carlos had taken some serious measures to put the Gu Group deep in crisis. It was meant as a warning to Hayden for pestering Debbie. Hayden had just managed to get his company through the crisis and now, he was being provoked by Carlos blatantly.
No matter how much he refused to accept the reality, the fact was that they were a couple now. He could do nothing at the moment except force a bitter smile.
As everyone cheered, Debbie pulled the corner of Carlos' clothes and hissed, "Hey! My uncle and aunt are still here. And there are so many people here too. Stop saying these things!"
Carlos whispered in her ear, "You're my wife. Did I say something wrong?"
The show was finally over when the couple began whispering to each other without minding the people around them. The security guards came and dispersed the crowd quickly.
"Huh, I wouldn't know." Debbie made a funny face at him.
Carlos chuckled, "Do you like it?"
"What?" Debbie was confused when he changed the subject abruptly.
Carlos threw a glance at her wrist. Debbie got the hint and answered with a fake frown, "It's not too bad. I love this fragment of Martian meteorite. And for that alone, I would say I like this watch."
Her answer was nothing like he had expected. He had to admit that Debbie was really special. Most women would have focused on the diamonds, but Debbie was attracted by the Martian meteorite.
Later that night, thanks to Debbie's comment on the watch, the designer who had put forward the idea of adding the element of the meteorite in the design, was praised by Carlos and was promoted to vice design director. In fact, this designer's idea was initially disapproved by many other designers. But Carlos had liked the idea, just like Debbie had.
For the rest of the night, Carlos kept Debbie company and showed her around the exposition to appreciate the jewelry and designer watches.
Each time someone approched Carlos to talk business, he would refuse them saying that it was his private time. He enjoyed spending time bantering with his dear wife. That was far more interesting than any business deal.
Looking at a men's watch in one of the counters, Debbie faked a smile and whispered between gritted teeth, "Carlos, don't think that I've forgiven you yet. It's not that simple." Meanwhile, she was battling with herself, 'Should I buy a watch for Carlos? But these are so expensive…'
Carlos had gotten addicted to showing off their love in public. Even though there were people watching them, he still intimately rested his lips on Debbie's earlobe and whispered, "You won't forgive me? That's not what you said in bed last night. Don't you remember how you begged me to spare you? Who was apologizing to whom?"
