Take My Breath Away

Chapter 154: Carlos' Secret

"Megan's," answered Carlos as he walked towards the bathroom. Debbie's face soured at the answer. She knew it instinctively, but it became more real when he finally confirmed it. As if realizing something wasn't right, he added, "I lent her my phone and she kept complaining that she couldn't remember my PIN. So she changed it to her birthday. I forgot to change it back."         

    

'Is he trying to explain?' Debbie thought.     

Carlos turned to look at her and offered, "I'll change all my passwords to your birthday, okay?" He wanted Debbie to blend into every aspect of his life. She was his wife, after all, and often at the forefront of his thoughts. He was a busy man, though, and could only juggle so many things at once. He had to make any number of decisions day in and day out to keep his business running. So sometimes, he'd make a snap decision without necessarily consulting his wife. The man wasn't accustomed to married life. It would take some time getting used to it.     

She pouted her lips. "Okay. By the way, when is your birthday?" She gave him an embarrassed smile, as she knew it was not appropriate to not know her husband's birthday.     

He cast a meaningful glance at her before saying, "September 25th, Lunar Calendar."     

"What?! We have the same birth month! Mine's September 5th. Oh no! Why didn't you tell me about it earlier? I didn't get you anything for your birthday." Feeling guilty, Debbie jumped out of bed. Despite the fact that he was naked now, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.     

Stroking her hair, Carlos smiled, "No, you already got me a present."     

Confused, she raised her head to look at him.     

Although Carlos hated to mention what had happened on the cruiser, he had to explain. "When I asked my men to throw a girl into the ocean, it was my birthday. After boarding the cruiser, the girl gave me a kiss. That was the gift you gave me."     

"What? No, no, no. That doesn't count..." She didn't know that day was his birthday, and he didn't know she was his wife back then either.     

"It was the best gift I ever got," he said unreservedly. He did love her, but it was hard to find the time to remind her. She meant a lot to him, and he was trying to make sure that she was a part of his life. But why was it so hard sometimes? He scooped Debbie up into his arms, and carried her towards the bathroom. "You can't even stay away from me for one second, huh? Why not take a bath together?"     

"NO! Put me down, old man. I'm not a clean freak. I already had a bath today. Hahaha... That tickles! Don't bite my ear." Before they had gone out to grab some food, Debbie had already had a bath. She had even used the skin care products he had gotten her so she'd smell nice. He liked it when she did that. And she liked hearing him tell her.     

Carlos put Debbie down, pressed her against the door frame and kissed her affectionately before letting her go.     

Throwing herself onto the bed, she unlocked his phone, found the WeChat app and opened it.     

"Aaaaaaargh!" When she saw his WeChat name and profile, she couldn't believe her eyes. The scream was unintentional, but entirely understandable, under the circumstances. Carlos could even hear her scream over the rush of water shower. "Carlos Huo! I can't believe it! You calculating asshole! You added me as your WeChat friend awhile ago but never told me. Why didn't I know? Because you pretended you were someone else..."     

She opened her Moments and checked all her updates. To her dismay, she found that she had called him "a wolf in sheep's clothing" after he had kissed her in his office at school. Not only that, she had posted a picture of him wrapped in a towel and had even said that she wanted to date him while she was taking his class...     

Many girls at Economics and Management School had posted similar updates, so her friends didn't pay much attention to that update. But Gail had to be a troll.     

'He's an ass! He even pretended to be somebody else and told me he wanted to go out with me!'     

Truth was, the guy with the username "C" was Carlos himself.     

After changing his password to her birthday, she threw his phone aside and picked hers up. She opened a group chat and sent a message. "Men are all two-timers."     

"Ha! Who pissed you off?" read Jared's reply.     

"You know who," Debbie replied.     

"Really? What did he do this time?" Jared sent a Curious Face emoji.     

Debbie wondered whether she should tell her friends about the conflicts between her and Megan. It was a sore spot with her, and she and Carlos constantly fought about her involvement in their lives. But was it really appropriate to share that? After a moment's consideration, she decided against it. "Forget it. I said he was a two-timer, and he got angry at me."     

"And then what?" replied Kristina.     

"He's such a petty man. He didn't let me off the hook at all. He just had to punish me," answered Debbie.         

    

"Punish?" Jared sent a Dirty Smile emoji.     

"Hey, don't take it the wrong way! I didn't mean it like that," Debbie snapped.     

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Dixon cut in.     

'Nice, ' she thought. 'A Shakespeare reference.'     

"Exactly, dude. Come on, Tomboy. Don't keep us in suspense. Tell us."     

"Hold on. Need snacks. BRB," Kristina typed. And then she broke off chatting to get snacks. Debbie might not feel like sharing by the time she got back to her phone.     

Kasie sent a voice message in which she laughed out loud for 15 seconds. They had kept the pressure on, and were finally going to get Debbie to crack.     

Debbie mentioned Dixon and Jared and typed, "You two better delete your messages. You know how Carlos is."     

"No fair! How about Kristina and Kasie too?" asked Jared.     

With a Proud emoji—a grinning face with smiling eyes—Debbie replied, "Because I love Kasie and Kristina, but not you and Dixon. Capice?"     

"Does your husband know you're bi?" asked Dixon, along with a Winking Face emoji.     

Debbie turned to look at the locked bathroom and heard the sound of running water before replying, "Watch your language. My husband..."     

Carlos was so possessive of Debbie that he couldn't bear the thought that other men might find her hot. She had begged and cajoled, and promised him things for a long time until he finally agreed to let her go this evening. And she knew how close he was to saying no.     

Jared was sick of Debbie talking about Carlos. He thought she was showing off. He sent her a voice message saying, "Come on, Tomboy! Give me a break! Quit talking about how obsessive he is. Or I'll tell him you called him a scum."     

At the same time, Carlos stepped out of the bathroom.     

It was too late for Debbie to turn down the volume. Feigning calm, she mentioned Jared and said, "What?! Kristina called her dear boyfriend a scum? How could she say that? Dixon is so nice to her..."     

Her friends were struck speechless when they heard the voice message.     

Carlos walked over to Debbie and took away her phone.     

'Holy crap! I'm done. What should I do?' Debbie mused. She then saw Kristina send a voice message as well. 'Please don't listen! Please don't listen!' she prayed in her mind. To her disappointment, Carlos clicked the message and it said, "Tomboy, don't drag us into this, okay? Dixon and I are having a great time. You better bribe Jared so that he won't snitch on you."     

"Er... D-Dear..." Debbie stammered.     

But Carlos wasn't buying it. He sighed, his face stoney. The silence was agony, made all the more painful by Carlos' raised eyebrow.     

"No, no, no! Honey! Honey! Darling..." Debbie put on an unctuous smile.     

Carlos locked her phone and sat on the bed, emotionless. He looked so cold it caused Debbie to involuntarily shudder. She threw herself into his arms and said playfully, "Honey, please don't be angry. I was mad and drunk because Megan said you were her boyfriend. I was trying to forget."     

"Oh, is that all?" he asked.     

Debbie nodded.         

    

Sighing in defeat, he said, "Do you really think I'm such a petty man that I would get angry at you for such trifles?"     

Debbie nodded, then shook her head immediately. Before they had known they were husband and wife, he had been so mean to her. But ever since they had been together, he was much better and more tolerant.     

"You're the best husband in the world," she said. Now that he was not angry, she picked up her phone and lay down to play with it.     

"Debbie Nian," he called out.     

"What?" Debbie felt strange when he called her by her full name. 'Did I say something wrong?'     

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