Stephanie's face turned dark purple in rage when she heard what Carlos said to Debbie.
Meanwhile, an ominous feeling began to settle in Debbie's heart. 'I don't like the way he looks. Something's not right.' In a shaky voice, she asked, "What do you mean?"
Carlos went berserk. "What do I mean? I tell you. Now. You need to divorce Ivan right now! How many times have I told you that, huh? Come back to me. No more fooling around!"
The atmosphere was no less tense, but it had changed somewhat. 'Wow, he's bossy, ' they thought.
With Miranda's words ringing in the back of her mind, Debbie mustered the courage to reply, "Why? Why should I do that? Because you told me to? Why should I even listen to you?"
Her attitude irked Carlos to no end. He wrapped his other arm tightly around her waist and declared between clenched teeth, "Because no one else can be your husband! Anyone who gets between me and you will end up in one place—hell!
Debbie's heart pounded faster with each word he spat. 'Does he have his memory back?' she guessed excitedly. That was the only way she could explain his strange behavior.
Seeing the excited and bewildered expressions on her face, Carlos flashed a mysterious smile. "Here's the deal. Make me wait any longer, and I'll immediately purchase the Wen Group, ruin Ivan Wen's career, and tell his mother that he's gay. I'll let the whole world know that he stole my wife while I was suffering from amnesia. And I won't stop there. I'll tie him up and lash him with a whip drenched in acid. Clear enough? For the last time, divorce Ivan now!" Carlos blasted out the threatening words in a single breath.
At this point, he was already plotting revenge on those responsible for his plight. They messed up his life. They took advantage of his memory loss to ruin his marriage, steal everything that belonged to him, force Debbie to marry another man and even make his daughter call another man "Daddy." He wouldn't let anyone involved in this off the hook! Including Debbie. Why did she give up on him so easily? He had to teach her a lesson—keep her on a short leash. She'd be at his side every day until she learned.
Defeated, Ivan touched his sweaty forehead and cut in, "Hey, cut me some slack. I didn't do anything to you."
Niles and Damon couldn't help but burst out laughing loudly. The latter moved to Ivan's side and teased in a low voice, "You had the balls to steal his wife, so it's time to pay the piper. He meant what he said."
A wave of excitement coursed through Debbie's body. She stared straight into Carlos' eyes, trying to detect any clue to support her wild guess. But his deep eyes and calm face betrayed nothing.
Left with no choice, she suppressed her excitement and asked expectantly, "Carlos, did you get your memory back? You…remember me?"
Her question silenced everyone, including the laughing Niles and Damon. They all fixed their eyes on Carlos in shock.
Carlos loosened his forceful grip on Debbie's wrist and let go of her. "Get my memory back? I hope so." He grinned and looked at the corner where his birthday presents had been set.
"So…wanna see me open presents? What did you get me?"
'No? Did I guess wrong?' Debbie let out a deep sigh.
But she had no time to think more about Carlos' strange behavior. When she saw Carlos unwrapping the gift box brought to him by her and Ivan, she quickly tried to stop him. "Mr. Huo, wait! You might want to wait till you're alone."
Her words fell on his deaf ears. He untied the blue ribbons and tore the wrapping paper from the box.
It was then that Stephanie finally found her chance to cut in. "This has gone far enough, Carlos Huo!"
Reminded of her presence, Carlos slightly tilted his head and cast her a cold stare. "Newsflash: we're done. You were just a pawn I used to get back at Debbie."
All the other people were dumbfounded. They gave Carlos a thumbs-up in their mind. 'That's some serious chutzpah. Way to go, Mr. Huo!'
Humiliated, Stephanie blushed in anger. She pointed at Carlos, yelling in a trembling voice, "Carlos Huo… You… You asshole!"
As he went on to unwrap the present, he questioned casually without looking at her, "You jumped at the chance to become my girlfriend right when I emerged from my coma. James Huo even arranged it for you, ruining my life to do so. Who's the asshole again?"
Feeling a little guilty, Stephanie couldn't find the words to form a retort. He wasn't wrong. Meanwhile, she sensed something was very wrong with Carlos. She didn't belabor the point—all she'd do was humiliate herself. This was not the right time. So she grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the private room without another word.
Carlos finally opened the box and moved the crepe paper aside to reveal his gift. He held it up for everyone to see. The guests looked at the present in his hands, eyes wide in surprise. It was men's underwear, and specifically, men's triangle briefs.
More surprisingly, there was a cute bowknot on the elastic waistband.
"Bwahaha…" Damon was the first to break the silence with a fit of laughter. He couldn't believe his eyes. What a weird woman! How could she give Carlos something like that?
Niles was the next to start guffawing. He gave a thumbs-up to Debbie, whose face was red from embarrassment.
Xavier and Yates also started chuckling uncontrollably.
Even Wesley, the serious colonel, grinned from ear to ear and watched the show with keen interest.
They thought that the manly Carlos might get angry when he saw this. But much to their surprise, he wasn't pissed. Instead, he carefully put the underwear back to the box and put it aside.
Then, he straightened his clothes and said calmly, "I need a cigarette. Have fun."
With that, he made his way to the balcony overlooking the golf course, ignoring everyone's confused gaze.
They exchanged curious glances with each other, unable to understand Carlos' behavior tonight.
Debbie became even more suspicious. It was almost like Carlos regained his memory, but since he denied it, she wasn't sure.
Damon and Kinsley followed Carlos to the balcony. "Sounds like a plan," Kinsley said. Damon tagged along, both men getting out packs of cigarettes and banging it against their fingers to pack the nicotine.
On the balcony
Clutching the rail as tightly as he could, Carlos looked far into the night, flames of rage burning in his deep eyes.
'James Huo! Damn you! How dare you frame my wife and harm my child! I'll send you to hell with my bare hands!' he swore in his mind, clenching his jaw.
Kinsley approached him, patting him on his shoulder. "Thought you were coming out here to smoke. Need a cigarette?"
Damon pulled out a cigarette from his pack and lit it. "You don't have cigarettes? Then just watch us."
Damon had just taken a drag when Carlos suddenly glared at him. The horrible look in Carlos' eyes sent a chill down his spine. Damon almost choked on the drag he took. "Hey, man… you okay? What's wrong? Quit scaring me."
Out of the blue, Carlos took a step forward and grabbed Damon's collar. Kinsley was taken aback. "Why didn't you do anything to help Debbie while I was unconscious? You even trash talked her! Damon, I did nothing to you. Why did you do me like that?" Carlos confronted Damon in an icy-cold voice.
Damon was shocked, his mouth agape. As a result, the cigarette between his lips dropped onto the floor, embers scattering on the concrete. But he was too busy being scared to care. Kinsley stepped on it to put it out.
"C-Carlos…do you have your memory back?" Damon stammered.
Carlos said nothing, but kept glaring at him.
Yet his silence spoke volumes. Now, Damon was sure that Carlos' memory came back when it looked like he was in pain. He was genuinely happy for his friend. He wanted to welcome the old Carlos back, but it looked he was pissed at him. "Hey, buddy, listen. It was your dad…no…James' fault. He lied to us. It wasn't that I didn't help Debbie. I was cheated by that sly fox too. It's not my fault!"
But his explanation didn't help. Carlos tightened his grip on his collar and spat coldly, "James will pay for what he did. And you, Wesley, Stephanie… Anyone who messed with my wife…bullied her, trash-talked her, you guys are toast." Megan was lucky. She died before he got his memory back. Or else, she would find out there were fates worse than death.
