'Hayden was involved in Debbie Nian's scandal, ' Carlos thought. His mood darkened, dampening the joy he felt at seeing Evelyn.
Hayden was taken aback by Carlos' question. But soon he regained his composure and replied with a smile, "Yes, Evelyn's my daughter. Debbie's her mom."
Hayden studied Carlos' face when he said that.
There was no mistake that Carlos' cold expression darkened even further when he learned Debbie was Piggy's mother.
Carlos compared Evelyn's adorable face to Debbie's and found that they did look alike. 'Piggy is really Debbie's daughter! Debbie and Hayden Gu's daughter!' Thinking of this, Carlos said sarcastically, "Mr. Gu, you're married. How could you have a kid with someone else? The child is illegitimate. Don't you feel bad about that?"
Hayden, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind his sarcasm. "I'll give Debbie anything she wants."
'So, was it Debbie's idea not to get married? Why wouldn't she marry Hayden? Is she really after my money and trying to get back together with me, just like Dad said?'
A trace of disgust flitted through his gaze at the thought.
'What a bitch! She chases after money at the expense of her kid's happiness.'
Hayden perceived the disdainful look in Carlos' eyes. After a while, he said, "But I was wrong, too. I was still married when I slept with Debbie. I'm glad she kept the kid, though. She's an awesome woman. I can't marry her, but she still wants another baby with me."
Debbie told Hayden she wanted another child, that much was true. But it wasn't like he made it sound. She actually said she needed to have another kid with Carlos to win him back.
Carlos didn't respond to Hayden's remarks. He looked at Piggy. A minute later, the little one ran back excitedly with a Chinese fried pumpkin cake in her hand. She reached out her arms to Carlos and said, "Here, Uncle Carlos. My favorite. Go. Try it."
She waited.
Carlos looked at her, still unable to believe that such a lovely child came from Debbie and Hayden.
It would have been okay if she was the daughter of Hayden and someone else. But no, it had to be that couple.
James told Carlos Debbie cheated on him with Hayden. And now, he had proof, in the form of a small child.
By now, Carlos' mood had hit rock bottom. He gave Piggy a glance and refused her coldly. "No." With that, he turned to leave.
Piggy looked at the food in her hand, feeling hurt. "Uncle Carlos…" she said in a choked voice.
Hearing her soft voice, Carlos closed his eyes and paused, but he didn't turn around.
Piggy took two steps forward and said sadly, "Uncle Carlos, you don't like pumpkin cake? You don't like me?" There was tension in the silence that followed.
Carlos eventually turned around. The look in his eyes was conflicted. "I'm not hungry. Just give it to your daddy," he said.
Rejected again, Piggy couldn't help crying. "But…but… would you taste it?" Tears started streaming down her pink cheeks. She wondered if she'd done something wrong. 'Uncle Carlos doesn't look happy. Is he mad at me?' she thought.
Hayden stepped forward and was about to scoop her up in his arms.
Yet the girl suddenly put the small, exquisite pumpkin cake into her mouth and chewed it between sobs. Then she trotted over to Carlos and hugged his leg. "Sorry, Uncle Carlos. You don't… have to eat it. Don't be mad," she cried, looking up at him.
Carlos' heart tightened into a knot at her sad, innocent tone. He bent to pick her up and consoled her, "Piggy, I'm not mad at you."
"But… you don't…like me anymore," Piggy said inarticulately, forgetting to chew the food in her mouth.
Carlos wiped the tears from her eyes and face. "Don't cry. I'll have dinner with you next time, okay?"
Shaking her head, Piggy wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't go. Let me go with you. Boo…hoo…"
Watching this, Hayden felt stumped. Piggy seemed very attached to Carlos. And she didn't like anyone. Father and daughter had a special bond.
Debbie was sitting over by the window and talking on the phone. She had a bad feeling when she heard Piggy's cries. She hung up on the detective and darted to the booth where the crying seemed to be coming from.
As soon as she rounded the corner, she saw Carlos holding Piggy in the hallway, along with several other people.
Debbie was astounded. 'Why does he have Piggy? Does he know? Is he trying to take her away from me? Or is he trying to hurt her to get back at me?
No, either way, I have to stop him.' She ran towards Carlos and jumped and pulled, trying to snatch Piggy away from him. "Carlos, put Piggy down. If you're mad at me, take it out on me, not her."
Carlos was dumbfounded by what she said.
Seeing how agitated Debbie was, he was worried that they'd all fall. He didn't want to see this cute child hurt.
He shifted Piggy to his other arm and pushed Debbie away, demanding, "Calm down!"
"Give me my daughter! She's not yours. She stayed in my womb for nine months. She is my flesh and blood," Debbie retorted. The only thought running through her mind was that Carlos forgot about her, left her and now he was taking her daughter away from her. She had to get Piggy back.
Carlos, however, was angry enough to strangle her when he heard her repeatedly say Piggy had nothing to do with him and her father was someone else. Even though they weren't together, there was still a possessive streak.
Somehow, Debbie and Carlos ended up in a fight.
Debbie aimed a foot at Carlos and he spun to keep Evelyn from getting hurt. Then he shifted his balance to avoid a fist, and narrowly dodged a joint lock she was trying to maneuver him into.The whole time he had Piggy in his arms.
"Let's stop, now, okay? Before she gets hurt," Carlos said flatly.
As things escalated, a crowd began to surround them. Later, the security guards dispersed the onlookers under the manager's orders.
That was when Debbie noticed Piggy had her arms around Carlos' neck. She didn't seem to be held against her will at all. So Debbie started to calm down. "I'm sorry, Mr. Huo. I was too worried. Please give back my daughter," she said, trying to be as nice as she could.
