As a father, the only thing Carlos could do to help her out was to give her a shoulder to cry on. Unrequited love was the worst.
The car drove away and Terilynn's tears fell like rain. She stared out the window, her tears blurring the wonders of the city.
At the Huo Residence
It was almost midnight and the lights were still on in the Huo Residence. Neither daughter had come back yet.
Debbie waited for Carlos and Terilynn in the living room. Bennett opened the door and walked in. Later, Carlos walked in, Terilynn in his arms.
Debbie hurried over and asked anxiously, "God, she reeks of alcohol! How much did she have?" She turned to a housemaid. "Get some hangover soup upstairs—quickly."
"Yes, ma'am."
Bennett answered honestly, "Miss Huo drank nearly an entire bottle."
Debbie sighed. Then she followed Carlos upstairs.
Carlos carefully set Terilynn down on the bed, took off her shoes, and adjusted her sleeping position. Then he tucked her in.
Debbie took the hangover soup the housemaid had made for her. She walked over to the bed and asked Carlos to hold Terilynn, forcing her to take a few sips of the soup.
When the housemaid came back downstairs with an empty bowl, she happened to run into Evelyn, who just came back from work.
Evelyn could smell the alcohol in the living room. When she saw the empty bowl, she asked the maid, "Did Terilynn have another meal?"
The maid shook her head, "No, Miss Terilynn Huo came home drunk. Mrs. Huo just fed her some soup to sober her up."
"Drunk? Terilynn?"
"Yes, Miss Huo."
Evelyn frowned, wondering why Terilynn was drunk. She was just a student. "Okay. Thanks." Then she went straight to Terilynn's room.
Carlos and Debbie had just left the room and closed the door.
"Father, Mother, what's wrong with her?" Evelyn asked.
Since it was about relationships, it was more of Debbie's area.
After looking at each other, she said to Carlos, "You need a shower. I'll come over later."
"Okay," Carlos replied. He knew his wife wanted to talk to their elder daughter in private. Evelyn had been working hard. Carlos was a little worried about her. Before going to his bedroom, he reminded her, "Since Terilynn has already turned in, maybe you should do the same. Don't stay up late."
"Okay, Dad."
Debbie led her back to Terilynn's room. The window was open, but she could still smell the stench of drunkenness. Not entirely alcohol, but a human component as well. It positively reeked.
Evelyn walked to the bedside and looked at her sister. "Who did she drink with?"
"She was alone."
"What's wrong with her?"
Debbie sighed. "I thought you knew. Terilynn has a thing for Tayson."
Terilynn had asked Carlos to appoint Tayson to be her bodyguard several times, but Carlos shut her down each time.
Evelyn nodded, "I knew."
They'd been around each other a long time, and Tayson had been her bodyguard for over a decade. Evelyn was no dummy, and had a nose for such things.
"She invited him out for drinks, but he turned her down. He also told Terilynn that he was engaged. He and his bride-to-be were tying the knot later on this year." Both Carlos and Debbie knew what happened this evening. Tayson called Carlos as soon as he left the bar.
Silent, Evelyn sat on the edge of Terilynn's bed and smoothed her long hair, brushing errant strands from her face.
"Your father wanted to pick her up earlier, but I wouldn't let him. Terilynn must be upset. She'll need time to get over it." Carlos told Bennett to keep an eye on Terilynn, and that he would give her a lift home later.
Debbie's heart broke. She wondered why both her daughters had such bad luck with men.
Evelyn said in a low voice, "Tayson's right. Since he doesn't like her that way, it was nice of him to let her know. At least he wasn't going to string her along."
Evelyn had been considering telling Sheffield the same thing. Was she stringing him along, too?
Debbie stood in front of her and asked, "About you and that guy; your dad and I don't see eye-to-eye on that. You still talk to him?"
Evelyn didn't know whether she should nod or shake her head. She didn't give Sheffield her number or anything, but she bumped into him all the time. "I've been thinking… Dad's right. He shouldn't have gotten me pregnant without asking…"
She had thought about it for many nights, but she still couldn't figure out how she got pregnant. Eventually, she concluded that it must have been Sheffield who had tampered with the condom.
It wasn't that she didn't want kids, but not like this. She almost died, thanks to him.
"Did you ever tell him? Ask him what happened?" Since Evelyn had had sex with that man, Debbie assumed that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the guy.
Evelyn was a mature and calm woman. She wouldn't misjudge people.
Debbie was worried that if Evelyn and the guy didn't talk frankly, they wouldn't be able to get past this. They'd stay apart, and stay miserable.
But if the man was just toying with Evelyn's feelings, then he'd have to deal with Debbie. So she thought it necessary for Evelyn to have a talk with him.
"No. I don't want to talk about it. It's water under the bridge, Mom." Evelyn didn't want to talk about it anymore. Nor did she want to argue about what had happened. There was no point in confronting him.
Debbie nodded resignedly. "I asked around about the guy your dad fixed you up with. He's a bit of a player, but all young men are, right? He doesn't like to brag, and he works in the Prosecutor General's Office…"
Evelyn stood up from the edge of the bed and interrupted her, "Mom, I know. I'm going to bed. Good night."
"Hey! I'm not done!"
Evelyn wasn't interested in it at all. She was done with the day. "Sorry Mom. I think I need to find out more about him when we start dating, okay?"
"Alright fine. I'll shut up. Get to bed, before you turn into a pumpkin." Debbie knew how tired her daughter was, so she dropped the subject. They went back to their own bedrooms.
At Orchid Private Club
When Evelyn and her two assistants arrived at the private booth, there were already three people in it.
When Sidell learned that he'd be meeting with none other than Evelyn Huo, the mysterious regional CEO of ZL Group, he dropped everything and took his contingent to arrange a sit-down with the popular female CEO.
As Nadia and the club manager pushed open the doors to the private room at the same time, a woman came into their view. A hushed silence fell over the area.
Today, Evelyn was dressed in a grey and blue suit, her long hair fell to her shoulders. She wore a dangly Cat's Eye earring in her left ear and a Cat's Eye stud in her right.
Her high-heeled shoes hit the soft carpet without a sound.
Sidell's assistant stood up first and spoke with a smile. "Nadia! And this must be Miss Huo."
