Debbie's words shocked everyone. They wondered why she would get married all of a sudden. And who was she getting married to?
But whoever it was, the key point was that Debbie would be married soon.
Carlos and Debbie stared at each other in silence. After what felt like an eternity, he shifted his gaze away from her. Suppressing all sorts of mixed emotions within his heart, he threw out one simple word, "Yes."
'Yes…
He agreed…'
Debbie cried, tears gushing out from her eyes uncontrollably. 'He agreed to give me away to another man.'
Her heart bled. A voice cried out hysterically inside her head, 'Who can save me now? Who can make Carlos love me like he used to? Please, help me!'
Finally, the farce was over and the others left. Debbie was rooted to the spot, her face drenched in tears and her mind deep in sorrow. Through her blurry eyes, she saw a familiar figure. It was Kinsley.
When there was not much traffic, he crossed the road and ran up to Debbie.
"I'm so sorry, Debbie. I failed to hook up with Stephanie. But they haven't gotten married yet, right? I still have a chance. I can win her over before they get married!" Kinsley comforted her. He didn't want to accept defeat, at least for Debbie's sake.
Debbie shook her head absent-mindedly. She looked towards the side of the road where Ramona was supposed to be, but her depressed mother was nowhere to be found. Maybe she had been taken away by the Lu family.
Looking back at Kinsley, she said, "You don't need to do that anymore. I'm tired."
Kinsley didn't know what to say.
Carlos had already done everything to get back at her. All the pain she felt today was caused by him. After all, she had been pestering him for quite a while now, and had done everything to ruin James, which had resulted in the turmoil within ZL Group. James and Tabitha were almost divorced due to all this. To the amnesic Carlos, what Debbie had done challenged his patience.
And he used the best weapon to get his revenge on her—no violence, no blood, no physical harm. Just mental torture. He knew what she loved and wanted the most, and he mercilessly tore her hope apart and left her disillusioned. He threw her into the abyss of despair and sorrow.
To torture her, he used all means necessary.
But she could do nothing. She ignored his heartlessness and continued to treat him well. She would make one last effort to win him back, and if she failed, say goodbye to their past love.
The next afternoon, Debbie brought some homemade lunch to the cafe opposite ZL Group and texted Carlos. "Mr. Huo, can you come to the cafe near your company? Let's talk over lunch." Since she was a superstar, she couldn't just walk straight to his office carrying the lunch box. If anyone snapped a picture of her and uploaded it on the Internet, she would be in trouble again.
Carlos replied to her message. "I'm not in my office."
Debbie didn't press further. She left the cafe with the lunch box.
After returning to her apartment, she ate the lunch that she had prepared for Carlos.
The third afternoon, Debbie texted him again and received the same reply.
She had stopped taking new advertisements and set aside her lunchtime for him. There was still a month left before her wedding, so she wanted to finish everything before the day came.
The fourth day and the fifth day, she did the same thing. And she ended up eating the lunch alone at home.
Finally, on the sixth day, she got a different reply. "Okay," Carlos wrote back to her.
In five minutes, Carlos and Frankie showed up in the cafe booth Debbie was in.
She had already placed the dishes on the table. She had made wontons with fish fillings and two other dishes. When Carlos walked in, she was drinking her coffee.
Debbie didn't stand up to greet him. With a smile, she said casually, "The fish is super fresh. Come and have a bite. Frankie, you are here too. Did you have your lunch?"
Frankie looked at Debbie with a complicated expression. "Not yet, but I'm going to. Mr. Huo, Miss Nian." He tilted his head in a slight bow, taking his leave.
"Bye, Frankie," Debbie said with a smile.
Seeing the smile on her face, Carlos felt a tug. He sat down opposite her.
She grabbed the chopsticks and handed them to him. With her chin in the palm of her other hand, she said casually, "Lucky that I don't have to eat it all by myself today."
Carlos was silent. Understanding what she meant, he felt a dull pain in his heart.
But he didn't say anything. Taking the wet napkin from her hand, he wiped his hands clean and began eating.
They were all simple dishes, but he somehow loved it.
While Carlos ate quietly, Debbie told him in a low voice, "Ivan and I will be holding our wedding on the eighth of next month, in a church in Z Country. Mr. Huo, please do come early."
Carlos' hands froze. Still, he didn't say anything.
Debbie didn't mind his silence and continued, "I'll marry into the Wen family, and Piggy will finally have a father. I was thinking of letting her go to a kindergarten in Y City, but I can't do that now. She needs to go to a school in Z Country."
After a pause, she asked, "Mr. Handsome, will you miss Piggy if you can't see her anymore?" 'I'm marrying another man with your child, Carlos. Piggy will have to call another man "Daddy" now, ' she thought painfully.
Carlos swallowed his food and replied honestly, "Yes, I'm gonna miss her. Piggy is a lovely girl."
Debbie smiled. "Yes, she is so adorable. I had you once, and now, I have her in my life. You two are the best things that have happened to me in this life. I feel blessed."
Carlos frowned. "Piggy is Hayden's child, and he is willing to marry you. Why would you marry Ivan, and not Hayden?" he asked, unable to comprehend her actions.
'Hayden's child? What is he talking about?' Debbie wondered.
But it was pointless to explain anything about Piggy now. "I do love Ivan. I owe my success to both of them. Hayden has helped me a lot, but Ivan has offered me more help."
He asked flatly, "So, you will marry whoever has helped you more?"
Debbie was choked by his words. She thought of what she had said. It did sound like that. "No, that's not what I meant. Either way, the man I wanted to marry is tying the knot with another woman. So, it doesn't really matter who I marry. It's all the same to me now."
Carlos looked at her pain-stricken face without speaking.
When he didn't respond, Debbie asked, "So, when's your wedding?" She didn't hear the MC announce their wedding date during their engagement ceremony.
Carlos felt something churn in his heart. "Not sure yet. I have too much work to do."
That was true. He had been restored as the CEO only a few days back. His schedule was tight, with not even enough time for a proper meal. He almost had to sleep over at the company.
Seeing his weary face, Debbie felt her heartstrings tug. Carlos was always a busy bee. He could hardly spare any time to travel with her back then. She knew that it wasn't because he didn't want to accompany her. It was just that he was too busy. She remembered the time when she was studying in England, he had promised to fly there to accompany her, but he never could make it. In the end, when she got pregnant, he made her stay back in Y City.
Coming back to the present, she reminded him again, "All right. Do remember to attend my wedding next month." After that, Debbie stopped talking and meddled with her phone until he finished eating.
After tidying up his clothes, he looked at Debbie, who was putting away the things on the table. He said coldly, "You don't need to prepare lunch for me anymore. I can have my lunch at my convenience."
Debbie's smile froze on her face. Suppressing the pain in her heart, she smiled bitterly. "If you don't want to see me, I can pass the lunch to Frankie."
