Carlos had been nice to Debbie all this time, and she really couldn't die like this.
Her will to live was so strong that she found the strength to swim upwards again.
After what felt like an eternity, she could breathe again. She took several breaths and shouted for help. "Help me…" Her voice could hardly be heard. She grabbed onto one of the concrete supports of the bridge and hung on for dear life.
Many people gathered on the bridge, and more people were arriving. A first-aid team arrived as well.
The moment she emerged from the water, someone saw her. "Look! Someone's there!"
Debbie was too tired, and when her fingers slipped from the concrete and she sank into the water again, she heard several people jump into the river.
Her chest burned like fire. She had no strength left at all; she closed her eyes and stopped struggling.
'Carlos Huo, I'm sorry…' Then she lost consciousness.
Debbie was awakened by the cold. She blinked, but the light was so blinding that she closed her eyes to stop the headache she felt coming on.
She heard people talking in her ear. Opening her eyes slowly again, she saw the blue sky.
'Am I still alive?' she thought.
"She's awake!" said a strange voice. "Is the ambulance here? She woke up!"
"Girl, are you all right?"
Debbie nodded by instinct. But she felt very cold, both physically and mentally. She was shivering, and for some reason, she was getting hot flashes. She wasn't sure why.
Someone helped her to her feet. She then noticed that she was wearing a man's coat. It was part of a uniform and had patches on it as well as a name badge. It must belong to someone on the first-aid team. Underneath, she was still wearing her wet knit shirt.
She heard the ambulance approaching, and some men gathered around her when it arrived. She was bidden to lie down on a stretcher and was carried into the ambulance by several men.
In the hospital
Sitting on a bench in the corridor, Debbie looked up and down the intake hall. The wards were fully occupied, and even the hall itself was overflowing with patients. A nurse bound her head, and then set her up with an IV. The IV rack had wheels, so she could walk with it if she had to.
"Miss Nian, we need you to contact your family. They need to pay for your treatment!" the nurse demanded in a loud voice with a wad of test results in her hand.
Debbie was still not entirely with it, and didn't hear the nurse at first. Not until the nurse called her several times did she come back to her senses.
"Pay the bill now, or you can't have another bottle of IV fluid," the nurse said impatiently. She was practically yelling, like Debbie was deaf or something. Debbie opened her mouth, but before she could respond, a familiar voice met her ears.
"I'll pay. How much is it?" She raised her head to see Hayden.
'We have to stop meeting like this, ' she thought.
Behind him was Portia, staring at her with burning eyes.
"$1, 600. If she needs more IV fluids, that's a total of $2, 100. Here's the bill. The cashier's window is on the first floor."
Hayden took the bill from the nurse and said with a friendly smile, "Thank you for taking care of my friend. I'm going to pay now."
The nurse, who had been impatient towards Debbie, was charmed by Hayden's handsome face and his impeccable manners. Although she was wearing a mask, you could tell from her reddened ears that she blushed with shyness. "I-It's my pleasure, sir."
After bidding goodbye to Hayden, the nurse left. He squatted down and looked at Debbie. "Are you okay? What happened? And whose coat is this?" Concern was written all over his face.
In no mood to talk, Debbie just shook her head.
"I'm going down to the first floor to settle the bill. Wait for me here," he said softly and stood up.
"Thank you," she croaked. After her experiences, she was still shook.
Hayden left, followed by Portia. Debbie could hear Portia berating Hayden. "Why did you help her? Look what she's done to you! Hayden, you're a damn fool!"
"Portia, I'll ask the driver to send you back home, okay? You don't need to be here," Hayden coaxed.
Not until Hayden and Portia were out of earshot did Debbie look away.
She really wanted to stop Portia and ask her what she had done to Hayden.
Sitting next to her was a woman with a baby in her arms. With an embarrassed smile, Debbie said to her, "Excuse me, miss, may I borrow your phone? I fell into the river and lost my phone. I need to call my family."
She was rather discomfited—she was soaked to the bone, and there was a blood-stained bandage around her head. The woman took out her phone and gave it to Debbie. She had no doubt that Debbie needed it badly.
Debbie thanked her and dialed Carlos' number.
Carlos, on the other hand, went directly to his office after he left the hospital.
Under great stress, he decided the best way to bleed off this stress was to light up. After he lit the first one, he took a drag and let his chagrin float away with the smoke. He was still smoking when some unexpected guests entered his office.
Damon whistled at his buddy and sat on the desk. "Hey, bro. It's rather smoky in here. Isn't there a smoke detector in your office?"
Before Carlos could respond, Damon spotted something and approached him. "Wow! Guys, look at his lip! Who had the guts to bite you? It had to be your wife. She used to be so wild."
"Looks like he's in a bad mood. I wouldn't tease him," said Curtis. He knew Carlos well, and he felt he should remind Damon. He didn't want Damon to get hurt if Carlos flew off the handle.
He sat on the couch and fixed his eyes on Carlos, wondering why he looked so upset.
Wesley and Megan sat opposite Curtis, and both of them stared at Carlos, who had just tapped his cigarette on the ashtray to get rid of the cherry. He still sat wreathed in smoke.
Carlos remained silent as if he didn't hear Damon.
Curtis crossed his legs gracefully and adjusted his glasses. "We heard you came back from New York, so we came here to meet you. Where's Debbie? In the manor?" he asked.
At the mention of his wife, Carlos still remained quiet.
The rest of them looked at each other, puzzled.
"Hey, bro! Did you have a fight with your wife?" Damon pried.
Curtis couldn't keep his cool any longer. He stood up from the couch and came up to Carlos. "You two were fine when I called you yesterday. What happened?"
Still, Carlos said nothing. At this moment, his phone rang, and it was Emmett calling.
They couldn't hear what Emmett said. Carlos just uttered a few words and then hung up.
Silence blanketed the office again. Megan walked towards Carlos, and coughed because of the acrid smell of tobacco. "Uncle Carlos, did you guys fight because of what happened that evening?" she asked in a concerned voice.
While shaking his head, Carlos stood up from his seat, walked past Megan and stood in front of Wesley. "Take care of Megan for me, okay? I need to deal with my wife. You know, she's tough."
'You don't want my baby, so you simply took the birth control pills. You think that will do? Certainly not! You'll have my baby if I want you to!
I won't let you go that easily.
You don't like Megan. Fine! I get that. I can ask Wesley, Damon and Curtis to take care of her, ' Carlos mused.
Upon hearing that, Wesley furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you fight because of Megan?" he asked.
"No, that's not it. She doesn't want to have my baby," answered Carlos. 'And she hasn't completely cut off relations with her ex.' But that was too embarrassing for Carlos to admit in front of his buddies.
The rest of them were rendered speechless.
Curtis walked towards the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of red wine. He poured everyone a glass of wine and asked casually, "Debbie is still a student. It's not a big deal if she doesn't want a kid now. Why fight about it?"
Damon nodded and patted Carlos' shoulder. "Does it bug you that I'm going to be a dad first?"
Carlos cast a murderous glance at him and said coldly, "Fuck off!"
