The Slap
Debbie was speechless. She had originally hoped that Kasie and Kristina would console her and give her some advice. But all they did was support Carlos and even ask her to sleep with him. "I must have been blind when I made friends with you two! You betrayed me and changed sides?" Debbie rolled her eyes.
Kristina grabbed Debbie's hand and put it on her chest. "Tomboy, trust me. I was always your best friend... But that was before I knew that Carlos Huo is your husband. Now that I know the truth, I'm siding with him." Debbie retrieved her hand and hit her playfully. "Ouch! Hey, don't hit me. I'm just telling the truth."
The three of them made fun of each other and burst into laughter. Debbie felt more cheerful now after talking to them.
Kristina told some dirty joke again and Debbie instantly blushed scarlet and hit her arm. Kristina caught Debbie's hand and said, "Come on, Tomboy! Don't act like a kid! You are his wife, and it's perfectly normal for a couple to get laid." Debbie covered Kristina's mouth with her hands to stop her from saying anything more, and Kristina started tickling her in return.
Debbie laughed out loud, unable to tolerate the tickling torture. She waved her arms to stop Kristina. Kasie immediately held Debbie's arms and said, "Stop, you two! Tomboy, to be honest, you should feel lucky to have a husband like Carlos Huo. If he were not your husband, we wouldn't have gotten the VIP cards for the fifth floor of the Alioth Building. Why do you think he gave us the cards?" Kasie raised her brows at Debbie and continued after a pause, "It's as the saying goes, 'Love me, love my dog'. He wanted to treat your friends well because he cares about you! I wish you would look before you leap anymore. There must be some kind of misunderstanding between you and him. Why don't you two just sit down and talk?"
Kristina echoed, "Exactly. And that day, when we were having lunch on the fifth floor of the Alioth Building, he joined us. You two started showing off your affection for each other before us. We were so jealous of you! I still remember the way he looked at you. His eyes were full of affection. If it weren't for my dear Dixon, I would have already fallen for Mr. Huo."
Debbie rolled her eyes at her friends and snapped back, "I can't believe that you both are smitten by him. And here I thought that I could count on you to bring him down. Oh, my heart is broken." 'Kasie and Kristina are so mean. Ever since they found out that Carlos is my husband, they seem to have forgotten what he had done to me in the past, ' Debbie mused.
Since that time when Carlos had gone to J City to rescue her, Debbie had been so touched and had forgotten the terrible things he had done to her in the past. But now, the memories came flooding back to her. 'He had his men throw me into the ocean. And he even threatened to bury me alive! The jerk!' she cursed inwardly.
"Deb, trust me. He is a good man, and you need to cherish him. I think you should be nicer to him. And tell me the truth—did you hit him this time? I really hope you didn't..." Before Kasie could finish her sentence, she was interrupted enthusiastically by Debbie.
She gave her a proud smile and said, "I did! I slapped him right across the face."
"What?!" both Kasie and Kristina blurted in unison, stunned by her confession. Kristina choked on the red beans in the milk tea and coughed violently. After she stopped coughing, she asked in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? Tomboy, did you really slap him?"
Debbie nodded nonchalantly and thought to herself, 'How dare he think so low of me! I let him off easy by only slapping him once!'
Kasie covered her face with both hands. She knew that Debbie was a short-tempered girl, but she never expected that she would slap her husband across the face. "Tomboy, why are you always so impulsive? Who do you think Carlos Huo is? He's the richest man in Y City! No, the richest man in the world!! How could you lay your hands on him?!"
Debbie sat upright and told them with a straight face, "This is not the first time I've hit him. It happened once when Jared took me to a wine party. I almost turned him into a eunuch by kicking him in the crotch." She could still remember how hard she had kicked him that day.
Kasie and Kristina stared at Debbie, mouth agape.
Words had left them. Finally, Kasie found her voice. She patted Debbie on the shoulder and said, "Tomboy, he hasn't killed you after what you have done. He must love you very much. You must be nicer to him, okay?"
Kristina patted her other shoulder and echoed, "Kasie's right. Go back home and apologize to him. He will forgive you."
Debbie couldn't believe her ears. She shook her head at her two friends.
She didn't want to go home then. And she didn't want to go home that evening either.
Dixon called Kristina a while later and she bid goodbye to her friends and left soon after. Kasie and Debbie stayed there until 9 p.m. They hailed a taxi and went to the university.
When they got out of the taxi, many students were swarming into the university. The university gates closed at 10 p.m. At the entrance of the girls' dorm, many couples were hugging and kissing, unwilling to say their goodbyes for the night.
"I'm a big big girl, in a big big world; it's not a big big thing, if you leave me..." Debbie was about to enter the dorm when her phone started ringing loudly.
She took it out from her pocket and was surprised to see the name on the screen.
Kasie turned to her and asked with a frown, "Who is it? Why are you not answering?"
After some hesitation, Debbie dismissed the call instead of answering it. She held Kasie's arm and said, "Nobody. Let's go."
However, her phone kept ringing again and again, no matter how many times Debbie dismissed it. Kasie was unable to bear it any longer and pleaded, "Tomboy, just answer it, okay? I'll lose my hearing if you don't."
Before Debbie could answer it, the ringtone stopped. And a text message popped up on her phone. Upon seeing the text, Debbie gnashed her teeth and grabbed her phone tighter.
The text said, "I'm waiting for you at the school gates. If you don't show up in five minutes, I'll come to your dorm and drag you out."
Debbie gave her stuff to Kasie and said, "I have something urgent to deal with."
Taking over Debbie's stuff, Kasie looked at her with a puzzled and worried expression. She grabbed Debbie's wrist and asked, "Tomboy, who is it? You look like you are gathering up for a fight. Do you want me to come with you?"
"It's Carlos Huo. Are you sure you want to come with me?" Debbie teased her.
Instantly, Kasie shook her head. "Oh No! No, no! You better get going. Don't make him wait for you. Clear your misunderstandings and start being a proper couple. I'm leaving now!"
Kasie dashed into the dorm as if she was being chased by some dangerous beast.
Debbie sighed and turned around towards the school gates.
She ran at her highest speed; otherwise she wouldn't be able to make it there within five minutes. When she arrived, she saw a familiar Emperor car. Many students' attention was drawn to the luxurious car. Some girls were trying hard to figure out who was inside the car.
Debbie gasped for air as she pulled up her hoodie and covered her face. She didn't want the students to gossip about her later on. She walked to the other side of the car and got into the backseat.
Carlos was in the driver's seat. He had spotted Debbie the moment she had arrived at the gates. After she was safely in the car, he started the engine and drove away from the university gates.
He said nothing as he drove towards the East City Villa. Debbie couldn't bear the silence anymore and said, "Mr. Huo, just tell me what you want right here. I'm not staying at the villa this evening. I'll take a taxi back to school."
Debbie was a straightforward girl—she didn't and wouldn't hide her true feelings in front of anyone. This was both her virtue and her flaw. She just wouldn't pretend to be polite and compliant. Carlos could tell from her long face and her words that she was still angry at him.
"You don't need to take a taxi anymore. I'll buy you a car," Carlos said in a calm voice.
'What the fuck?! I wasn't implying that I want a car, okay?' Debbie fumed with rage. "Thank you, Mr. Huo. But I don't need a car. I just..." On second thought, Debbie knew that it was of no use arguing with him. She sighed and said, "Never mind. Just stop the car and let me go back."
"I already told you that you're not allowed to live in the dorm again," he said coldly.
"Yes, you did. But why do I have to follow your orders? Who do you think you are? You also want me to quit learning martial arts and take Yoga and dancing lessons. But why do I have to listen to you?" she yelled.
"Because you are Mrs. Huo," he said calmly.