Valerie cut to the chase and said, "Carlos is about to send his father and Lewis to jail for your sake."
The old lady wasn't someone who would joke with Debbie. Realizing the authenticity and severity of the matter, Debbie widened her eyes in shock. After a pause, she found her voice and stammered, "For real? Carlos…He… Is this true? What happened?"
Valerie sighed impatiently. "If it wasn't true, why do you think I'm making this phone call to you? Debbie, if you can talk Carlos into giving up his charges against James and Lewis, I won't be against your marriage anymore," Valerie swore.
As she slowly processed the old lady's words, Debbie dropped into an eerie silence.
Valerie silently waited for her reply on the other end.
A lot of questions flooded Debbie's mind. She tried to sort them out. 'Why would Carlos sue James? Is it because he slapped me? And Lewis? Was he sending him to prison for almost raping Kasie?'
After thinking hard for a few seconds, Debbie replied decisively, "Mrs. Valerie Huo, this wasn't the first time Carlos' father had laid his hands on me. And Lewis has done some really bad things. Are you sure you want to overlook their actions? I'm not sure if I can talk Carlos into letting them off the hook. But even if I do succeed, can you make sure that they won't commit the same mistake again? Can you make sure that your son won't hit me again? Or do you think you can stop Lewis from doing anything reckless from now on?"
Valerie already knew how eloquent Debbie was. "So, are you saying that you won't do me this favor?" she snapped, sounding a bit angry.
Debbie sighed. She never meant that she wouldn't help. She just wanted to get some sort of guarantee from her. "I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I'm just afraid that Carlos might not listen to me. But anyway, since it's a request from you, I'll give it a shot. But please, be ready for any outcome. I might not be able to change a thing."
"I know. Just call Carlos and tell him that you forgive them and that you do not hold them responsible for their actions."
"Mrs. Valerie Huo, you have misunderstood my words. I never said that I wouldn't hold them responsible." If she easily let James and Lewis be exempted from any responsibility this time, they would surely repeat their mistakes again. She couldn't just turn a blind eye on what they had done to her and Kasie.
"Why? What do you want from them?" Valerie raised her voice.
Debbie sneered. "If you think I will just let them walk away without making them suffer at least a little, then this call is pointless."
'Did this old lady really think that she could threaten me into doing whatever she wanted just with a phone call? I'm not a pushover!' Debbie laughed silently.
Valerie took a deep breath to compose herself. "Debbie, don't get too smug."
'I'm too smug?' Debbie snorted. "To be honest, I had a huge fight with your grandson over Megan. We are not even talking to each other at the moment. So, you know, I don't want to take the initiative to contact Carlos. I will be happy if you don't need me to call him."
Valerie panicked slightly. 'She won't call him? No, I can't give up now.' Debbie was her last straw in helping Lewis and James out of the lawsuit. Left with no choice, she softened her voice and asked, "What do you want?"
"I don't want anything… No, actually…there's one thing. I want you and Mr. James Huo to acknowledge me as Carlos' wife. If I'm not good enough, just tell me what I should do. But give me the respect that I deserve. Don't go against me for everything I do and resort to violence. I don't think I'm asking for too much." 'What else do I need from you? Carlos has already given me everything. I just want some spiritual comfort from the Huo family members, ' she thought to herself.
Valerie agreed without a thought. "Okay." She had intended to change her attitude towards Debbie if she could just make Carlos show some mercy towards James and Lewis. She was planning to be nicer to her if she could give her that much.
After ending the nervous call, Debbie heaved a sigh.
She was lost in deep thoughts as she stared at the locked phone screen.
She felt so annoyed. Every time she had a fight with Carlos, she always had to be the first one to contact him because of some reason or the other. Frustrated, she grumbled under her breath.
Their previous quarrels were not as serious as this one, so it was okay for her to make a concession in the past. But for this time, what he had done infuriated her to no end. How could she take the initiative to talk to him? She had already rejected at least a hundred calls from him in the past few days.
The next morning, Lewis and Portia showed up at the Civil Affairs Bureau of Y City. After going through some procedures, they smoothly registered their marriage.
As soon as they stepped out of the bureau, a throng of reporters instantly surrounded them. Shortly afterwards, everyone in the city knew that Lewis and Portia were married.
In the evening, Lewis took Portia along with him to the manor, and showed their marriage license to Carlos.
Carlos shifted his gaze away from their marriage license and said indifferently, "Stay at the manor tonight. Fly to England tomorrow morning."
"Yes, of course! We'll leave first thing in the morning," Lewis said obediently. All he wanted to do right now was butter Carlos up as much as possible, hoping that this overbearing man wouldn't lock him up in prison.
Despite her reluctance to apologize to Debbie, Portia had no choice but to nod, "Yes, Mr. Huo."
As he opened the company file to continue his work, Carlos said calmly, "Enjoy your wedding night. Lewis, be tender towards your wife."
Lewis was confused at first. But then he nodded understandingly and promised, "Yes, got it!"
On the other hand, Portia felt miserable, tears threatening to come out of her eyes. She had intended to live as a nominal couple with Lewis, without any sexual interaction. She believed that Lewis couldn't do anything to her if she continued refusing to sleep with him.
What she hadn't expected was that Carlos would mention this openly. On an impulse, she asked bluntly, "Why are you so cruel as to use every means to make me…" She couldn't finish her words; she was too ashamed to say those words in front of two men.
But Carlos understood. He flashed a sarcastic smile and said, "You should count yourself lucky that Debbie and Kasie are safe and sound. If anything had happened to either of them on that day, do you think you would've been able to stand in front of me like this today, Portia?" He had a ton of ways to deal with a woman like Portia. Thanks to Debbie, he had become much more benevolent than he was before. If not, he would have not spared Portia for what she had done.
Portia held her breath. Remembering how Carlos had wanted to let those bodyguards have their way with her yesterday, she got flustered and her face went pale. In an instant, she apologized in a hushed voice, "I'm sorry… I'll fly to England and apologize to Debbie tomorrow."
Carlos shot her a glance. "Do remember, this is your last chance. If you ever try to lay a finger on Debbie again, you know the consequences. Just as how easily I made you marry into the Huo family, I could also make you leave…in a very miserable way," he said, with an evil scowl on his face.
Portia dramatically shook her head and promised, "No, I will never do it again. I swear!"
Lewis couldn't stand the tension in the room anymore. He wanted to stay away from his cousin. So when Carlos didn't respond to Portia, Lewis took Portia's hand and dragged her towards the door while saying, "Carlos, we're retiring to the guest room now. Goodbye!"
Portia struggled to break free from Lewis' grip. But sensing Carlos' cold gaze behind them, she gave up on the struggle and with tears in her eyes, she resignedly followed Lewis into the guest room.
Half an hour later, Portia felt like vomiting. Lewis was a pervert. She couldn't stand his torture any longer. While he was off guard, she kicked him and pushed him off the bed as she rushed out of the guest room with her clothes in a mess.
However, just as she ran out the door, she bumped into Carlos, who had come downstairs.
He gave her a quick look and then stared into the guest room. Lewis bent over on the floor, groaning in pain. Shifting his gaze back to the terrified Portia, Carlos warned ruthlessly, "There will be four men waiting for you if you step outside."
