So while preparing for his wedding, Ivan had to work overtime to cope with the trouble Carlos made for him.
Numerous times, he cursed himself late at night why he had been dumb enough to have chosen Debbie, out of all the women, for a sham marriage. After all, he had many other female friends to choose from. If he hadn't made the wrong choice, Carlos wouldn't have been angry with him and giving him a hard time now.
However, just as he was busy solving problems, Carlos suddenly stopped progressing with the purchase.
Just as he felt relieved and thought Carlos had let him off the hook, Ivan found that someone was buying his company's shares at a high price and selling them low.
Ivan was on the brink of having a nervous breakdown.
He was so miserable and helpless that he had to call Debbie for help. "Debbie, I raised Carlos' child for more than a year. Does he have to be so heartless to me?" he complained once she answered the phone.
"What's wrong?" Debbie was puzzled. She knew nothing about Carlos' recent acts of revenge on Ivan. Ever since that press conference that Carlos held, she had been swamped with commercials.
Then for the first time in Ivan's life, he broke down and started confiding in a woman about the cruel and callous things another man was doing to his business, which were taking a great toll on him.
Debbie was completely taken by surprise. "I'm sorry, Ivan. I didn't know he was doing that. It's all because of me. I'll try and talk to him."
"Please speak to him soon. The company is in utter chaos. I didn't even have time to accompany Kasie to pick out her wedding dress. My mom had to go with her instead. Because I had to sort out the mess Carlos created for me. At times I have been so depressed I wanted to kill myself. Please, Tomboy, call him now." The day Kasie and Ivan went to the bridal shop to pick out a wedding dress, Ivan was just about to try on a suit for himself when he got an urgent call and had to rush back to the office.
Before he left, he called his mom to come to the bridal shop to keep Kasie company. Thankfully, Kasie was understanding, and she didn't complain.
"Okay, I'll call him now." 'Carlos has gone too far.'
Debbie was deep in thought before she finally made the call. The phone rang a couple of times before it was answered. "Honey!" Carlos called gently.
"Knock it off. I'm not your wife. Why are you so mean to Ivan? Are you trying to make me feel bad?" Debbie asked bluntly.
Carlos smiled. "Of course not. If you stay at the manor tonight, I'll let Ivan off immediately. What do you say?"
"Too busy. I have a business trip tomorrow. I have to get ready," she refused without hesitation.
"Where are you going?"
"France. It's beside the point. I'm calling to ask you to leave Ivan alone. He's innocent. I agreed to have a sham marriage with him. If you're angry, take it out on me, or hit me. Just leave Ivan out of it."
Hit Debbie? Carlos would rather hurt himself than do that. "Fine. Call me, 'Honey.' Then I'll let him off," Carlos said, compromising with a frown.
Debbie rolled her eyes. "Carlos Huo, this call never happened. Since you're so stubborn, there's only one choice left for me."
"What's that?"
"I can't let you take the Wen Group from Ivan, so I'll leave the Star Empire and go back to the Wen Group." Debbie wouldn't concede.
"You can't afford the default fine," he declared calmly.
Debbie smiled. "No, I can't. But my ex-husband can. If I want to leave the Star Empire, he'll support my decision and help me out. Right, Mr. Huo?"
Carlos smiled hopelessly in a resigned manner. She knew he cared about her and that she was his Achilles' heel.
"How about a kiss, then?" Carlos tried again.
Although Debbie was amused, she still maintained a cold tone. "I can't. We're not a couple. There are boundaries. Thank you for leaving Ivan alone. Bye."
Carlos shook his head when she hung up, and stared at his phone.
Then he called Tristan on the inside line. "Stop the operations on the Wen Group."
Tristan was confused for a moment, and then he understood. "Yes, Mr. Huo." 'Ivan must have called Debbie for help, ' he realized.
The next day, before Debbie left for France, she went to the manor to see Piggy. Miranda had come back from New York. When Debbie arrived, she was having breakfast with the little girl, whereas Carlos had just finished his morning exercise and was taking a shower upstairs.
"Aunt Miranda," Debbie called.
Miranda looked at her and announced, "Sooner or later, we'll be a family again. I don't like this form of address."
Debbie was surprised by her bluntness, but she didn't object. "Mom," she called blushing.
"Mmhmm. Have you had breakfast?"
"Yes. I'm going on a business trip today. I came to check in on Piggy," she said as she kissed Piggy's cheek.
Evelyn already knew what a business trip meant. She hugged Debbie and said, "Mommy, play with me when you come back."
"Sure, I will, sweetheart." Debbie stroked her cheek, feeling guilty that she was a lousy mom. She spent too little time with her daughter.
By the time Carlos came downstairs, Debbie was already gone. "Daddy, Mommy will be away for half a month. I miss her already," Piggy said to her father.
"Did she come over?" he asked Miranda.
Miranda fed Evelyn a slice of fruit. "Yes. She came to see Piggy and then left quickly. I guess she didn't want to see you." .
She didn't sugarcoat her words at all, and Carlos felt hurt.
Miranda continued, "I plan to live in Y City. Your father will come back as well in two years. In the long run, it won't do for us to live with you and Debbie. So I'm going to have the old residence revamped, and move in there with Evelyn. You can come and see her when you miss her. And if you're busy, you don't have to worry about her."
Carlos and Piggy looked at each other as Miranda spoke.
"You've got a point. There is another villa available behind this one. You and Evelyn can live there."
Miranda joked, "You just want your daughter to be as close to you as possible, don't you?"
"Yes," he admitted.
"Okay then, I'll have it renovated. Once it's done, Evelyn and I will move in." Then she turned to Piggy, who was eating breakfast. She asked in a soft voice, "Evelyn, you and I are going to live in the next house. Would you like that?"
Evelyn swallowed her food and asked, "Can I see Daddy every day?"
Carlos felt warm inside when he heard that, and smiled happily.
"Of course you can, and you can see your mommy too."
"Okay," Evelyn agreed in her sweet little voice.
"What an adorable girl! She's as easy-going as Debbie," Miranda commented.
