For a few minutes, Jake had been crying outside. But it was hard for Debbie to leave the kid in the austere weather anymore. Ignoring Carlos' caveat, she opened the gate to the villa and walked over to the little boy, whose nose was red from the biting cold.
Heaving a sigh, she squatted to whisper in the boy's ear, "Jake, I'll take you inside, but you have to promise me to stop crying, okay?"
To Debbie's surprise, the imp pushed her hard without a word. Caught off guard, she slumped on the cold, snowy ground.
"You ungrateful, spoiled brat!" Debbie roared, boiling with rage as Carlos stepped forward to help her to her feet. The grim look on his face as he helped her up was enough to stop the boy crying.
When everyone thought that was it, Carlos released Debbie, clutched the boy and spanked him so hard that his palm hurt.
The kid burst out crying again. This time he was so loud you'd fear he was going to have a seizure.
Scared out of wits, Megan dashed over and intervened by pulling Carlos aside. Standing between him and the kid, she implored, "Uncle Carlos, Jake's mom is stuck in a traffic jam, but she should be here in about an hour. Can I get him out of here, please?"
"No, you can't!" Carlos growled coldly. "If you are worried about him, you can stay here and wait with him!"
Never had Carlos been so angry at Megan. Today, he had easily snapped at her time and again that she wondered what was wrong with him. Looking back, she recalled how just the other day he had also embarrassed her by standing her up at the party. She had been taunted by so many people. At the mere thought of it, anger consumed her eyes. But there was not much she could do, considering he held power over her. In disappointment, her mouth opened and closed involuntarily, as if she was going to say something but words failed her.
By now, the boy had cried so much that he was panting for breath. With a ferocious eye, Carlos looked at him and demanded, "Shut the hell up and apologize to my wife!"
A terrified Jake scampered for cover behind Megan, at his cold, menacing roar.
Irritated by the little brat's impenitence once again, Carlos pulled him out and roared, "I'll say this one more time. Apologize to my wife!"
Resignedly, the kid turned to Debbie and stammered between sobs, "I'm s-sorry. Boo…hoo… Mommy. I want mommy!"
After he had apologized, Carlos tucked him into Megan's arms and warned, "I don't ever want to see him again!"
Frightened, Megan held Jake tight and nodded with a pale face.
If she had known the boy would anger Carlos, she would never have brought him along.
Tabitha, who had been silently watching, walked over to check Debbie. "Debbie, let me have a look. Are you hurt?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Thank you, Mom. The ground is covered in snow, so I'm fine. Don't worry," answered Debbie shaking her head.
Learning that she was fine, Tabitha was relieved.
When they were about to head back into the villa, a BMW pulled in beside Megan's Mercedes. A short, plump woman in a green down jacket threw herself out of the car hurriedly.
She was wearing lots of jewelry, which she seemed to proudly flaunt. Obviously one hell of a flashy woman who just couldn't resist the urge to show off wherever she turned up.
Instead of checking on her son, she trotted over to Carlos and said, "Hi, Mr. Huo. I'm Jake's mom."
Seeing his mom there, Jake thought he had backup, so he cried, "Mommy, mommy, help me! This man is bad. He hit me! And they too. They all bullied me! Boo…hoo…"
'My son got hit?' Her heart ached at the word, but she couldn't bring herself to confront Carlos. All she did was hug Jake tightly and console him.
"Mr. Huo, I'm sorry I'm late. Awful traffic," she said to Carlos apologetically.
Carlos looked at her indifferently and demanded with a stern face, "Apologize to my wife!"
'Huh? When did Mr. Huo get married?' Jake's mom wondered. She looked at the woman next to Carlos and thought, 'Is this Mrs. Huo? Why did Megan never mention her?'
Carlos didn't even care enough to explain the situation to her. Megan came to her and said, "Jake messed up his wife's cosmetics, which were worth tens of thousands of dollars."
Megan left out the rest of the story. Jake's mom was stunned to hear that the whole thing was just about some cosmetics. She was angry but she restrained herself. "Mrs. Huo, my son is crying his heart out just because of some cosmetics?"
Debbie threw a stare at Megan who had left out the most important part of the truth, and was about to say something, when the housemaid that had been with the boy all the time responded, "Lady, Mr. Huo doesn't care about the money of course. Your son was rude to Mrs. Huo. He not only messed up Mrs. Huo's cosmetics but also hit her with a jar of face cream. And when Mrs. Huo tried to calm him down while he was throwing his tantrum, he pushed her down to the ground. Don't you think what your son did is wrong?"
The way the maid referred to Mrs. Huo again and again made Megan frown in disgust.
Meanwhile, the respectful manner of the housemaid towards Debbie and the grave look on Carlos' face awoke Jake's mom to the seriousness of the situation. After all, Carlos Huo was a man with vast influence across the city. That was not the kind of person she could afford to offend, for her own business and political interests in the city.
Gripping Jake's hand, she walked over to Carlos. "Mr. Huo, I'm so, so sorry. I've failed as a mother," she apologized, with her head bowed. Likewise she turned to Debbie. "Mrs. Huo, I'm sorry. I'll teach him a lesson when we get home. Again, sorry for everything."
Standing there, Carlos didn't respond. His mind was hard to read. Debbie had to stand with him.
To make up for the mess, Jake's mom called someone on the phone and had a few sets of the most expensive cosmetics at Shining International Plaza delivered to the villa. After hanging up the phone, she asked the bossy-looking man cautiously, "Mr. Huo, is it okay now?"
Carlos responded with a frown, "Is this how you're teaching your son?"
At first, Jake's mom was confused, but soon she realized what he meant. She pulled her son out of her arms and said to him, "Jake, what you did is wrong. Now, apologize to Mr. Huo and his wife. Come on."
"No, I won't!" the boy shouted as he pried his mom's hand away and ran towards the car. "I want to go home. I want Daddy! I hate all of you! You are all bad! You should be eaten by a monster!" he continued shouting.
His mom stood there, watching him climb into the car, terribly embarrassed.
"He… I… Mr. Huo…"
Without a word, Carlos looked at her coldly before turning around to go back to the villa with Debbie.
In the villa, Tabitha was giving instructions to Julie on what she wanted on menu for dinner. When she saw them coming in, she dismissed Julie and stood up. "How did it go?" she asked.
Since Debbie looked at Carlos, indicating that he answered, Carlos said casually, "Whoever touches my wife will face my wrath, and Jake is not an exception. It does not matter whether he's only a child or not."
Moved by his words, Debbie took his hands and said quietly, "It's over now. Jake's mom apologized, so don't be made anymore, okay?"
"No!" he protested.
Debbie lowered her head and smile at his stubbornness. When she look up again, her eyes were full of affection. "Jack is only five years old, dear. You have to get over it, or you may begin to sound petty. Do you think that is good for a man of your reputation?" she asked tenderly.
